Live review from Underground 109:
Setlist:
No. 1
No. 2
No. 3
Two men, with a lot of what looked like rubbish on-stage; it was easy to see that this was going to be an interesting set. They had water drums, paint cans, and even kettles; this alone brought the audience to the front out of curiosity. And all of this was used to create three acts of percussion. They started off each bit with a theme, and varied on it for the rest of it. No. 1 was a relatively simple number, that took on a Latin-ey tone at times. No. 2 had almost a club-music feel to it. Kettles heralded the opening for No. 3 and this was the most intricate piece, with lots of stops and starts, and changing beats midway through the song. I’m sure there are other similar things, but the one I am most familiar with is duets between mridangam or tabla players in Indian classical music – each takes their turn and tries to outdo the other – and the street music version was as captivating as I have known these to be. The two have clearly honed their skills through a lot of busking, and it shows, for they’re not only (evidently) talented percussionists, but also good at the showmanship side of things. I only wish it could’ve lasted longer, but it was certainly unusual and a great interlude.
— Shashwati Kala
