Gig Review : Bangalore Open Air | Tune Patrol Blog:

GIG REVIEW : BANGALORE OPEN AIR

TL;DR version: Definitely not for the weak hearted. For a festival marred by last minute pull-outs, they managed to put on a surprisingly good show. BOA is a showcase of everything that falls under the red areas of high octane metal.

This edition of Bangalore Open Air kept in line with the extreme and raw nature of metal that we have come to associate with Wacken. Right from the Wacken Metal Battle, the energy was high and bands were belting out gut-wrenching riffs. Expectant metalheads braved a rare slice of Bangalore heat as entry into the arena was delayed which meant that the Metal Battle bands started off playing to an empty arena.

Demonic Resurrection took the stage to huge applause from the audience which shows the growing recognition that Indian bands are getting among the local metal community. As Animals as Leaders set up, there was already a small crowd of hangers on that were ready to watch virtuoso Tosin Abasi trip them up on 8 strings. Little did the band know about the following they had in India for as they started playing, the audience, who had clearly done their homework, started requesting for their favourites. One fan’s day was made as Matt Garstka kicked through his bass drum and later signed and threw the torn drumhead into the crowd. Needless to say, they went back with a much bigger fan following than they came here expecting.

Timing seemed to be a huge factor for the organizers as Leprous went on stage even before the crowd could disengage from Animals as Leaders. The Norwegian Black Metallers could not be faulted for lack of proficiency or energy as, despite lacklustre response from the audience, they kept the spirits high. Ihsahn joined them soon after to a similarly one sided flow of energy. Apart from a select few, the crowd was largely unenthused. Dark Tranquility had to be the most welcome performance of the evening as from the very outset heads were banging and the mosh pits were raging. Complete with visual effects in the background, they delivered a stand up performance, barring a few technical difficulties in the middle.

Closing down the show on the Jeff Hannemann stage, Iced Earth took the stage at 8.55p.m as the organizers maintained their inexplicably impeccable sense of timing. Throwing out their standard set list, they had the crowd going with their usual hits like Anthem and V. And in keeping with the motif, the set was finished at 9.55p.m sharp. Cries of “Encore” were strictly not entertained throughout the festival as anyone expecting some surprises was vastly disappointed. The show wound down to a slightly anticlimactic end as concert-goers were left a little dazed by
how quickly it had passed.

It was clear that stall owners grossly miscalculated the collective hunger of the crowd as most of them wore a hassled sold-out look by the time it was dark. Kingfisher and Bacardi did not make the same mistake; there was no dearth of beer or rum around the stage.

The day was won by Animals as Leaders who, for an opening act, quickly had the arena packed. Dark Tranquility commanded the most energy from the crowd by far as they set the mosh pits on fire.

All in all, the organizers managed to pull off a great show and the bands that did show up did not disappoint. Small bumps in the form of bad stage setting and issue of tokens could easily be ignored in the wave of mind blowing heavy metal that encapsulated the cantonment area on Saturday.

Amogh Simha
You can follow him on twitter @ahmishgoma

"The day was won by Animals as Leaders who, for an opening act, quickly had the arena packed. Dark Tranquility commanded the most energy from the crowd by far as they set the mosh pits on fire."
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