Reviewed By: Kabya Ghosh
Photo Courtesy : Karnika Arya Roy
Avial LIVE
Come taste the flavour!
It was a lovely winter day on the 12th of January. There was a nip in the air, people out with their loved ones, everyone wearing a warm smile. The day was also special for a certain section of music buffs, including yours truly. Why you ask? Well, it was the day when acclaimed alternative Malayalam rock band was gracing the city of joy for their debut gig.
With anticipation for witnessing a great show, this reviewer headed towards the Indian Statistical Institute (the fest where the band was coming down). There were a handful of people despite the free entry system, which is a shame because the ones who didn’t or couldn’t make it to the gig did miss out something. The show started two hours later than the scheduled time, and when finally the band took stage, well…everything was lost in their bout of stellar, amazing performance.
The band’s frontman Tony was dressed up in his now trademark black shirt/black dhoti attire and he played the showman to the hilt. The rest of the band, guitarist Rex, bassist Binny and drummer Mithun were both a treat to the ear and the soul. The Malayali banters from the frontman were rather enjoyed by the Malayalam speaking lads present, while the rest of us wore a bemused expression. Each and every song had samples interspersed to perfection, which simply enhanced the entire band’s performance. They belted songs mostly from their self-titled debut album and tracks like “Chekele”, “Aadu Pambe”, “Ettam Pattu”, were magnetic to say the least, and irrespective of the language barrier, the gathered crowds sang around. The much awaited “ Karukara”, featured a female crooner who belted out the song with panache. Slowly moving towards the end of the gig, the band belts out “Nada Nada”, which is the first single that got them airplay and the attention and the crowd lapped it up!
Special mention must be made to Binny, the bassist who was amazing; his fluid playing is something that many bass-players should take lessons from. Avial’s performance was stellar as well as entertaining (what’s with Tony suggestively moving his dhoti and almost gyrating). The gathered faithful were ecstatic and we all wish to see the band live again in our good old Calcutta.
