11 December,2010 11:12 PM IST | | Lalitha Suhasini
Brit alt rock band The Magic Numbers have a new live album planned and will play tracks off The Runaway when they take to stage on the final day of NH7 Weekender in Pune tonight. Here's why you should drive down
Eight year-old alt rock band The Magic Numbers will decide on their set list for this evening an hour before they step on The Dewarists Stage at the Bacardi NH7 Weekender.
Angela Gannon, percussionist and vocalist of The Magic Numbers
Says Angela Gannon, percussionist and vocalist of the four-member band The Magic Numbers, in a telephonic interview from UK, "We always try and check out the clock before we decide what to play at a festival.
Sometimes, you can't play the slower songs. If it were our own show, we'd play whatever we like."
But it may not have been so tough for the band to hit it off with any festival audience with their sunny, happy tunes that are in contrast with the not-so-cheery lyrics.
Both, their self-titled debut that released in 2005, and second album Those The Brokes out in 2006, don't sound like studio albums that show off their studio skills. Instead, they underlined the fact that The Magic Numbers were a fantastic live act, who couldn't shake that energy off even in the studio.
With their latest album, The Runaway, that released this year, the band decided to get studio-snazzy. "We took a break and realised it was great to start afresh," says Gannon. "The new album's a little more electronic and it's not just a collection of songs, but we've worked on the concept of an album."
The third album was tougher because this was also the first time that the band stopped itself from playing the new songs live until the album was completed, which meant no audience feedback until the sound was in place.
"Earlier, we used to play the new songs during rehearsals and sound checks but there was none of that this time," adds Gannon, "We first played it at a tiny club in UK, I forget which one, but clubs like that help us up the game. They don't have the best equipment and it's a small audience."
Of course, it looks like The Magic Numbers have arrived, having been billed alongside Bob Dylan at the Hop Farm Festival earlier this year.
"We've always been influenced by his music," says Gannon, who lets in that the band might work on a live album this year. Will recordings from India make it to the album? Watch this space to find out.
The Magic Numbers are scheduled to perform between 7.40 pm and 8.40 pm at The Dewarists Stage tonight at the NH7 Weekender, Koregaon Park, Pune
Entry: Rs 750
Log onto: www.nh7.in for details on the other acts at the music festival
