For many aspiring as well as veteran musicians the opening of Furtados in Bangalore will no doubt be a reason for excitement and in the long run could prove to be a shot in the arm for the rapidly expanding music scene in the city. With a fantastic array of top class musical equipment on display, the inauguration of the store drew a sizeable number of people, which included the cream of the Bangalore music scene as well as guest appearances by Shivmani and Loy Mendonca.
Five bands were roped in to inaugurate the opening of the store turning out to be quite a crowd puller. The first band of the evening, Catalyst, played a tight, decent set of some of their originals with Midnight Zone the highlight of their performance. The band has certainly tightened up since I last saw them and with a little work they could definitely push their sound to the next level.
Today’s Special followed with a good mix of covers and originals, which included a very cool version of Deep Purple’s Hush. Unfortunately the urge to satisfy my nicotine cravings every now and then meant that I missed bits of their set.
Up next were the latest fusion sensation Swarathma, who also happened to be promoting their new album at the store. By the time they started their act the place had become quite stuffy and it became increasingly difficult to concentrate on the band. I’ll admit fusion isn’t my cup of tea and Swarathma didn’t do much to convince me otherwise but the crowd seemed to love them. The violinist especially was a big hit with the audience but I really couldn’t figure out what the horse prop was for. To each his own I guess.
Bhoomi were easily the most anticipated band of the evening and they didn’t disappoint. Playing a short, tight set of three originals they easily worked up the crowd and got a lot of heads banging. Although Tony’s guitars were a little low in the mix Sujay was in excellent form and Bhoomi showed exactly why a renowned producer like Neil Kernon is so pleased to be working with them on their debut album.
-Nolan Lewis
