Get your money's worth at an underground concert

Seven Alternative bands will show you what they're made of at Control Alt Delete, a concert for hardcore music lovers. You also get to decide how much to pay for entry

Seven Alternative bands will show you what they're made of at Control Alt Delete, a concert for hardcore music lovers. You also get to decide how much to pay for entry

Indie Pop band Sridhar/Thayil's invite for Control Alt Delete (CAD) establishes the mood for the concert at the onset. The words "Sticky floors + cheap beers + shadiest venue in Bombay" stand out in neon letters on the flier. The invite goes on to (mis?)inform you that B69 Bajaao, where the gig will be held, was once a massage parlour, a bank and a strip club. The other important piece of information is that CAD will have a 'pay what you want' entry. An offer that's pretty much unheard of in the city. And lastly, Sridhar/Thayil (S/T) gleefully let us know that 'the bar is a dude with a carton.' So, expect no fancy martinis and margaritas here.

Split

What you can expect is pure, unadulterated music. Event organisers Himanshu Vaswani and Shawn Pereira of SideStand guarantee that. The duo has come up with CAD to promote the Alternative music scene in the city. "The Alternative music space is a very broad space. It's not just about Funk or Grunge bands. There are lots of Alternative bands that are coming up, but only the bigger bands get invites for gigs. So, with CAD we're putting together smaller bands with bands like S/T and Split, who can draw crowds," says Himanshu, explaining the concept.

At the concert, bands like The Lightyears Explode, The Riot Peddlers, Forcefield, Artificial Red and Clear Blue Sky, who have a few performances to their credit, will play alongside Alternative Rock band Split and the lyrical pop duo Sridhar/Thayil.

SideStand, a band management and event organising outfit, hopes to bring in new bands from across the country soon, and widen their reach. "Control Alt Delete will be the gig to go-to, to find new music," declares Himanshu.

The gig works for the musicians too, because it's 'by the bands, for the bands' and the crowd comprises hardcore music lovers. "Everybody is there for the music, not to be seen with the 'it' crowd. That vibe totally outweighs the boring 'businessmen having dinner while we perform' scene," says Suman Sridhar from S/T. Himanshu nods, "Yeah, you don't have to dress up for the gig because B69 is not a high-end restaurant. It works exactly like Razz (Razzberry Rhinoceros) used to work, back in the day."
Cheers to that, we say.

On Today, 6 pm onwards
At B69 Bajaao, Bhaidas Bhuta Compound, Mogra Lane, off Nagardas Road, Andheri (E).
Call 67106668