Its been an amazing weekend. For me, and for the band. It has, infact, been so amazing that the event have not fully settled in, and an odd feeling of elation, mingled with disbelief surrounds the entire band I think.
It all started this friday. Well, no, it actually started way before, with the Kingfisher October Fest. Our band got into the finals there and was invited to play in the main fest in Palace Grounds. It was an ok show, nothing phenomenal. But the result of us getting to play was insanely phenomenal.
We got a call later on. From Kingfisher. They told us that they wanted to interview all the bands that had played in the october fest. This so called "press conference" was to happen at a pub call On Da Roxx, on Brigade Road. So we went there, Expecting nothing.
On reachin there, we found the place half empty. The guys from Inner Sanctum were there. There were also a lot of small flyers advertising the Sepultura concert to happen the next day. So there we were, chilling out and just relaxing. There was free booze and food so everyone was happy.
There were a lot of rumours going around that Sepultura themselves were to make an appearance. We just laughed it all off. Sepultura come to some Bangalore pub? Yeah, right!
Then the press started pouring in. And not just one or two newspapers or journals, but a whole lot of tv people as well. And then we started wondering if so much media was really necessary for the eight or so bands that played in the October Fest. Then some foreign guys walked in. Now we were really wondering what was happening. I happened to see the big alphabet "S" written on the back of one of those guys and it looked vaguely familiar. I just realised what it was and i turned back to the entrance, and in walked Andreas Rudolf Kisser, Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., Jean Turrer Dolabella, And Derrick Leon Green. In short: Sepultura.
What followed is really hazy. All I can remember are photographs, hand shakes, screaming, autographs, Karthik, our drummer, hugging Mr. Green. It was almost like a dream. And especially for our band, because we are hardcore sepultura fans. We even cover Slave New World by them.

(Ston'd with Derrick Green of Sepultura)










So that night was the start to the most amazing weekend of my life. We left the pub and drove home under a torrential cover of rain. We may have got wet, but we were on fire more than ever for the next days concert.
Saturday morning dawned. It was only then that we realised that we ourselves had two concerts to play that day, after which we would have to head for the sepultura concert which we thought of as the grand finale.
There was some difficulty getting to the venue of the Campus Rock Idols Prelims. Blame the traffic and bad directions. It then turned out that the venue was an old Sanskrit Institution. Weird. The stage was too small but the acoustics were pretty neat in the hall.
We were the fifth band to play. Then we got a call for our other guitarist. He said that he was still in class and would not be able to make it. All of a sudden we were a little nervous. Actually, very nervous. I had not been able to attend practice sessions as i frequently as i would have liked to, owing to the unbearable torment that this year is.
So we get on stage. I would honestly say our show was sub-standard. I hit the wrong buttons on my pedal, altering my guitar tones and making it sound real weird. But what was done was done and we had no time to think of it, because we had to run to our next show. It was a charity show in an all girl school.
So we scooted off to the school. We found Vibhas, the drummer of Spitfire, hanging around there and fighting with the sound engineers. Apparently the school had given a sum of thirty five thousand bucks to the sound guys and they turned up with equipment worth less than eight grand.
The organiser (I have to add at this point that she was HOT) was almost in tears. She was running around trying to get everything organised. A couple of my friends from school showed up and i was hanging with them.
The show started very late, and that was a problem because we had to go for the Sepultura show in another couple of hours. The show, by the way, was, in a single word, phenomenal! The sound was horrible, and the acoustics in the auditorium we played in were disgusting for a metal show, but the crowd more than made up for it.
I mean, an all girls school. What do you expect?
Then we had another problem but that was quickly solved. We didn't have a place to dump all our equipment but a colleague of my father generously offered us his office to keep the instruments.
So we threw all our instruments in the office and shot off for the Sepultura Concert. We thought we were really late but we arrived to find Brahma playing their last song.
We somehow managed to get front row positions. What followed was the most incredible onslaught of aural sensation.

(Sepultura LIVE!)

The concert was a little rough. Rough meaning that some of the guys from the jam room got into a big ol' nasty fight. It ended up with Rajesh knocking out someone with a square punch on the nose and Kiran getting hit thrice on the face, consequentially losing a tooth. He did nothing to retaliate though, the gentleman that he is.
We also then realised that we had got through the Campus Rock Idols Prelims. And that we had to play the finals the next day.
Sunday morning dawned, bleak, cold and sore as hell. No one had the energy to do anything let alone play a concert, after last night's show. We jammed half heartedly and then decided to chill out for sometime before pushing off for the venue.
We got to the venue really early. Karthik picked our slot and it turned out we were playing eighth... we would be the last band on stage.
The competition was tough. The bands on stage had a good reason for being there. We on the other hand were pretty nervous. So finally after all the bands finished playing, we got on stage. While our vocalist was getting his water organised, I grabbed the mic to talk to the crowd.
"How you guys doing? Bangalore, make some noise for yourselves!"
(Screaming)
"Aw man, it's been such an amazing weekend for the band. We've had a lot of shows to play these few days. First of all, take a look at yourselves. You guys must be the greatest audience we've ever played for!"
(Screaming)
"Also, we got to meet some very special people this weekend. Has anyone heard of Andreas Kisser? Derrek Green?"
(A few people cheered)
"Sepultura?"
(Amazing roar from the crowd)
"Yeah! This first song is a tribute to them! Hope you guys have fun!"
And we were off. We started off with Slave New World, a cover of Sepultura's song. What followed was one of the most amazing performance i think the band has ever played. Everybody got all their parts spot on and the band sounded extremely tight.
We were feeding off each other's energy on stage. So much that Sudhir, our usually quiet guitarist, was screaming his lungs off on stage. It was brilliant.
We got off stage, ecstatic and thrilled. We didn't care if we did not win, for we knew we had played one of our best shows and that is all that mattered to us. Hugs, hand shakes and screams were flying all around as we got on.
Then there was the long wait as the headlining bands finished their sets. Galeej Gurus from bangalore were great, but Sceptre, from mumbai, were a disappointment.
Finally they were done. The judges were called on stage. They gave the usual speech about how great every band was, and what a tough choice it was to make. No one believed that. We all knew for sure Illuminati were going to win, and we actually thought we would be coming in at second place.
Anyway we won third place. Which meant we got a trophy and all but did not get through to the south zone finals. Illuminati, as expected, came in first, with a chennai based band called Nervereck coming in at second. That was a little sad, but we didn't really care that much.


So we headed back home. Sore, tired and amazingly happy and satisfied with these last few days. And even now, as I write this and try to wring out the memories of those few days, it seems to be fading. Maybe the memory of the events will. I know the memory of the feeling never will.