The · Other · Side...

The bill of fare this Saturday was mostly Hook, if one ignores the extempore noodlings of one Pravin (“one of Bangalore’s finest guitarists, in Carlton’s introduction).

Hook, comprises Sameera Mohammed’s vocals, Prakash’s acoustic guitar-work (with the bass seemingly turned up high, to compensate for lack of a bass guitar) and Shanky’s multi-instrumentalist virtuosity. And I might venture forth to add that they’ve entertained me sufficiently on the few occasions I’ve caught them, not something I can say for most local acts.

This time, as ever, Shanky and his violin were in fine nick, and did justice to their takes on Joplin’s ‘…Mercedes Benz’, Joel’s ‘New York State Of Mind’ and other such recognised tracks. The highlight, in fact, was their ‘Gimme One Reason’ which featured sari-clad guest vocalist Anupa (no, I haven’t missed the ‘ma’, that’s her name, if you will). Prakash and Shanky went quite ballistic on their duelling acoustic guitar acts too, notable numbers including that Dave Matthews song I forgot the name of, and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. The couple of originals were good enough to make me buy their CD if and when they put it on shelves. Cribs? Their track selection didn’t keep with their obvious skill; one mustn’t sing ‘I Never Really Loved You Anyway” simply because it originally had a violin on it, however cute I think Andrea Corr is.

That said, do catch Hook the next time they play, it’s my local live-act recommendation for the year.