When Hard Rock Cafe in Worli shut shop last month, it was another setback for indie musicians in the city in terms of venues they can ply their trade in. The yawning gap that had been created by the earlier closures of Blue Frog and AntiSocial hadn't yet been filled completely, despite the emergence of places like The Habitat and The Quarter in Khar and SoBo respectively. And now, here was another option biting the dust. Bands that already had few places to go to hit another brick wall, and a barren musical landscape suddenly became further bleak.

But what's been happening over the years as a result of this paucity is that some pubs and bars have emerged as oases of sorts within this deserted environment. They have started to increasingly double up as venues for live music. Verbena in Lower Parel is one such example. So is Flea Bazaar Cafe nearby.