When two become one A unique live gig features two bands with almost the same members sharing the stage, playing each otheru2019s songs Shunashir Sen shunashir. sen@ mid- day. com The stars were twinkling. The moon was smiling. And the people on the ground were lost in music when The Many Roots Ensemble played a gig at a festival last weekend. The music that the massive outfit of seven members was creating on stage was so intricate and unusual that it came as a breath of fresh air in a market thatu2019s swamped with DJs playing generic beats. So, donu2019t say that live music is dying. Instead, head for a concert this evening where Many Roots will share the stage with Rashtriya Swing Sena ( RSS), a contemporary jazz band, to understand what we mean.
The unusual aspect of this gig is that both outfits have the same members, barring one person. u201c Thatu2019s why we decided that weu2019d play a back- to- back set, in the sense that all of us will be on stage throughout instead of one act opening for the other, and weu2019ll play each otheru2019s tunes in succession,u201d says guitarist Subid Khan, one of the founding members of Many Roots.
Think about that sequence for a second. The concept of a back- to- back, or u201c b2bu201d, gig is usually reserved for two DJs who play simultaneously. Itu2019s rare, in fact almost unheard of, for a couple of live acts to join each other on stage for the entire duration of a concert.
What makes it all even more impressive is that both the bands play divergent music.
The cheekily- named RSS, like we said, plays mainly jazz. But Many Roots belts out a mix of Afro- Cuban and neo- soul music, making extensive use of instruments like a saxophone, trumpet, keyboard and percussions. On occasion, they even have a rapper joining forces with them u2014 MC Tod Fod of citybased hip- hop crew Swadesi u2014 as will be the case this evening.
Khan admits that they go with a curtailed line- up for gigs at smaller venues. But it will be a full house at this concert. The venue is indoors, unlike at the weekendu2019s festival, though going by what weu2019d heard, the audience will still be lost in music. So take a break from electronica if thatu2019s what youu2019ve mostly been subjected to and rediscover the magic of a straight- up, no- nonsense live gig.
ON Tonight, 9 pm AT AntiSocial, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel.
Log on to instamojo. com COST ' 350 music The Many Roots Ensemble Rashtriya Swing Sena
