Bangalore’s metal heads send out a collective gasp as boy band Backstreet Boys and crooner Richard Marx are set to headline rock concert
It wouldn’t take even minutes for rock fans to list out who they want to watch perform live. A set that typically sees itself as an elite in the world of modern music has been fed on a high-nutrient diet in Bangalore. The two-year-old Rock In India is an example in case.
In 2008, the concert got the adrenaline pumping by getting Machine Head and thrash metal kings Megadeth to take the stage. The show’s 2009 edition belonged to Iron Maiden. It’s not easy then to swallow the news that Rock In India 2010 will be headlined by boy band Backstreet Boys and ballad king Richrad Marx.
So is Bangalore’s rock bastion taking its first hit? Galeez Gurus’ guitarist Naveen Thomas is wistful. “Sometimes organisations take a call on what works out commercially for them. I know because I was part of an event management company once. The target audience this time is completely different from the last two years. This is how corporate strategies work in the end,” he says.
Sources close to organisers DNA Networks say the jump in going from rock to pop is a deliberate measure to reach the neglected, pop-music loving audience who constitute a larger part of the market in India. Manek D’Silva of Slain says, “They’re trying to open up concerts for people who generally don’t go to concerts. This is a show for all those who never bothered too much about Rock in India over the past two years and an attempt to reel them into the groove. It is not the best thing for any rock lover honestly; the ever enthusiastic metal audience has been sacrificed for a different audience all together.”
Motherjane’s Suraj Mani can barely conceal his disdain. The branding and image has gone completely wrong. This is a sure surprise and quite a let down for many of us.” Motherjane was among the acts that had lined up at Rock In India 2008 and the biggest band this side of Asia.
So who is going to queue for the show tickets and who is going to stay home to blast metal over the stereo sytem? Backsteet Boys has a strong fan following among girls for the past decade or more. Their new album This Is Us has caught on well with the non-rock audience here in the city. As for Richard Marx, a generation has crooned to Right Here Waiting.
If you’re a true fan of music, you really wouldn’t let the title of the show affect you,” says financial consultant and music lover Ramitha Ramanujan. “How about approaching it as a different kind of event even though the name at first might seem a little out of place. I think we should appreciate the music and the history that this pop group has,” she adds.
Rock In India happens on February 22 simultaneously in Delhi and in Bangalore.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
THIS IS US TOUR: Pop Goes Rock!
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