A new property at an Andheri bar will shift focus from cover music to originals
Alchemy, the band
The customer, for most pubs and bars, is king. So when these venues programme live music, the interest of their patrons is the primary concern. That's why you generally get to hear a lot of Bollywood or English pop and rock song covers at establishments that have regular live gigs. And that's what the case was at The Stables in Andheri, too, at a weekly property called Man I Love Fridays, which involved bands playing a set list that comprises 80 per cent of cover tracks.
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But, the proprietors will try something different tonight. They are experimenting with a new series called The Anonymous Project. It will have three upcoming city bands - Asar, Alchemy and Corner Cafe Chronicles - playing a set of songs of which 70 per cent are originals, with a few stray crowd-pleasers thrown in. "[This property] is something we are trying out. If it works, it works," says Shramith Shetty, the pub's co-owner, adding - rather frankly - that the main purpose isn't to promote independent music, but to see what sort of footfall they attract on the night, and to check whether such a gig is commercially viable.
The onus, in that case, is on the patrons to expand their horizons beyond a limited repertoire of chartbusters and loosen their purse strings for original content, if this property is to stay alive. While Asar and Alchemy play experimental Hindi rock, Corner Café Chronicles occupies a more punk and funk space.
All three bands pride themselves on their original content, though. But what remains to be seen is how Mumbaikars from the suburb warm up to the idea of trying out something new.
ON: Tonight, 7 pm
AT: The Stables, Peninsula Red Pine Hotel, Andheri East.
CALL: 8291847087
COST: Rs 300 (including cover)
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