From Guns and Roses in Bangalore to a reggae festival in Goa, jam sessions in Hampi, and now Snoop Dog in Pune, I have had a good selection of live music in India!
We found out about Live from the Console in Goa while we were still in England as Bristol based band
The first few acts were singer songwriters so it didn't really matter that there weren't people dancing, but the last of them, Sid Siddharth Basrur, had us all singing along to "make me a sandwich, with chicken and cheese, make me a sandwich, i'll make some watered down tea". After that Tough on Tobacco, Dubblestandart, Dub Mafia, and Julian Marley had us dancing solidly throughout the night and the place started to fill up (although there was still space to dance at the front).
Security was pretty tight at the Goa festival, they had guys with guns on a lookout point near the entrance and no smoking allowed anywhere in the outdoor venue (although that was only mildly enforced) but at the Snoop Dog gig it was ridiculous. Not only did I get searched on the way in, which is pretty standard, I also got searched again going into the toilets! They were also confiscating people's lighters and cigarettes but then selling cigarettes inside (but not lighters, you had to get a match from the bar person and give it back ...). Generally logic didn't seem to be present in the logistics of the organising. There was a bar to buy drinks but you couldn't take them out of the cornered off area, and security weren't even letting people take water into the dance area by the stage. The general vibe that the security team were creating, combined with some terrible djs as support acts made me very disapointed with the whole event initially but when Snoop Dog came on stage it made it all worth while. Again, the lack of people meant that we were able to be right up near the front and still have space to dance! Loved it :)
We found out about Live from the Console in Goa while we were still in England as Bristol based band
DUB MAFIA were playing but while travelling around India in the month before no one seemed to have heard of it, everyone that was going to Goa where there for Sunburn (a trance festival). The promoters could definitely learn a thing or two from the UK and initially this showed in the crowd size - the place was basically empty when we arrived!
The first few acts were singer songwriters so it didn't really matter that there weren't people dancing, but the last of them, Sid Siddharth Basrur, had us all singing along to "make me a sandwich, with chicken and cheese, make me a sandwich, i'll make some watered down tea". After that Tough on Tobacco, Dubblestandart, Dub Mafia, and Julian Marley had us dancing solidly throughout the night and the place started to fill up (although there was still space to dance at the front).
Security was pretty tight at the Goa festival, they had guys with guns on a lookout point near the entrance and no smoking allowed anywhere in the outdoor venue (although that was only mildly enforced) but at the Snoop Dog gig it was ridiculous. Not only did I get searched on the way in, which is pretty standard, I also got searched again going into the toilets! They were also confiscating people's lighters and cigarettes but then selling cigarettes inside (but not lighters, you had to get a match from the bar person and give it back ...). Generally logic didn't seem to be present in the logistics of the organising. There was a bar to buy drinks but you couldn't take them out of the cornered off area, and security weren't even letting people take water into the dance area by the stage. The general vibe that the security team were creating, combined with some terrible djs as support acts made me very disapointed with the whole event initially but when Snoop Dog came on stage it made it all worth while. Again, the lack of people meant that we were able to be right up near the front and still have space to dance! Loved it :)
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