Occupy a Venue

By Asif Khan

As had been become customary for this night of the week, the basement was packed to capacity. So much so that there were people sitting on each other’s laps {yeah, the ones who liked sitting at a table and having a ‘quiet’ drink}, while those who were standing wouldn’t find it so hard to imagine their body to be a mere blob in an archipelago of human bodies vying with each other for space. A blob of an island which could be swept off with the approach of the first instance of a high tide – rather, a moshpit. The archipelago of human bodies extends as a chain to outside the entrance, where it takes more than just a knowing look, a wink, or a nudge to the bouncer to gain entrance to the basement. Back downstairs, a band made up of piercings, tattoos, steady stares, taut jugular veins and a cocktail of intoxicants, get on stage. With the first guttural growl that leaves the vocalist, that archipelago of humans moves in unison in the manner of a reaction to a shift in tectonic plates below them. A few blobs are later reported to have been seen erupting to at least a couple of feet high into the choking layers of smoke above the rest.

Elsewhere, there are smooth waves of people wafting through, touching the shore and retreating back into the expanse of their comfort space. There are no piercings or tattoos to be seen here, nor are there any primal grunts or grungy riffs. A lot of hair is on display, more on the chin than the scalp, and the vocalist doesn’t appear quite legible over the concoction of oddball kitschy samples, the glitchy distortion of the bass, echoing synth reverbs and the metronomic tapping of a beer bottle. Not that the vocalist cared either – he probably didn’t care as much even when his original band members kept leaving the stage as musicians from other bands changed duties to continue the jam. A multitude of neon hued geometric shapes casts its shape over the sea of people – a sea, not because of its size, but its characteristic calmness which accompanies the hours between day and night – while ripples of human waves move together and apart in a somewhat disjointed harmonic motion. The only thing that enjoys harmony that evening is the chaos which occupies the sounds that night.

Both the scenarios would be situations any regular on the Delhi gig circuit would be familiar with. Except that the first scenario dates back to some time between 2005 and 2007, while the latter scenario is what can be seen when you cut to 2012. In case you’re wondering about the venues – yes, the basement is the erstwhile Turquoise Cottage {which has since lost its legacy after reopening as the TC catering to drunk off tune karaoke night patrons who also like to sing along to that stuck-on-a-loop CD playing “I Will Survive”, ad nauseam}. The latter scenario, on the contrary, is what one would see at The Living Room in the Hauz Khas Village, any night of the week these days when they have live music being played.

So what’s changed between then and now?

Not much, and still a lot. 

Typically, for the proliferation of any performance art, there are three categories of venues which act as platforms {and we’re talking of indoor venues – no festivals in stadiums or municipal grounds or amphitheaters}. The large, swanky, top-of-the-line club – that of the mega stage and mega spending audience. The pub which opens its doors to any and every musician/band irrespective of the genre of music they belong to – essentially the machinery which churns out the pulp of music being produced everyday. The intimate neighborhood hangout, which while may not be the best setting for live music, allows for experimentations and jams for genesis of newer formats, with a receptive audience. Then there are venues which straddle the lines between these.

Till a few years back, there used to be a handful of venues which would be open to the idea of getting a band to play. Turquoise Cottage quickly built up a reputation for being the Mecca that bands flocked to, so did Mezz and Cafe Morrison which became the playground for hosting moshpits for headbanging metal fans while Haze catered to the somewhat evolved patrons of blues and jazz. Then Turquoise Cottage was forced to close its doors, Mezz had an accident and didn’t recover enough to open its doors fully, and Cafe Morrison gradually waned off from its identity as a live venue. In the lull that followed, there was a gradual growth of venues which sprouted across the Capital, so much so that at this point at least around a dozen or more venues can be considered as ‘active’ live venues.

Blue Frog recently opened its doors for the live music lovers in Delhi. But while such a top notch venue can boast of superior equipment and in-house gear for providing an optimum live experience, naturally it comes with a cost which doesn’t leave them with much leeway in the form of economies for the perennially strapped-for-cash gig regular. The ‘Hard Rock’ Cafe has, since the time it opened in Delhi, seemed like one of the most blasphemous jokes to have been cast on its name – substandard gear, terrible FOH sound, tacky stage lights, and one of the most ‘un’hardrock friendly audiences. Moving below on the pyramid, the ones which host regular gigs range from the friendly neighborhood TLR with an audience most receptive to experimentation, to Out of the Box right next door to them in Hauz Khas Village, to Zook and its dub friendly electronica nights in Saket, to Striker in Gurgaon, to the somewhat upmarket newer spots like Chéri, Circa 1193 and Shroom.

While earlier, it used to be a rarity to have more than one gig happening any given week, these days, one is spoiled for choice deciding between at least three gigs happening each night of the weekend, excluding a few more spread over the remainder of the week. For musicians, this has opened up a much broader avenue for exposure. Things haven’t really looked as bright in the recent past few years. Despite the fact that there are venues which may not have the best acoustics or gear, venues which continue trying to rip off bands by not paying them, and venues which purely treat live music as a means of generating revenue for their outlet. The fact that there are more venues open to the idea of live music is promising, regardless.

All of this sounds good on paper, but a crucial question still remains unanswered.

The audience, and the numbers which come along with it.

More than a couple of good live venues have closed their doors to bands when they realized that, not only were they not making profits, they were actually running into losses on gig nights. Running an establishment is a business, and even if the venue owners have the best intentions at heart to help provide a platform for music, it would be foolish to expect any one to shell money for it from their pockets. Generating revenue at any establishment, like any business, would revolve around either or a combination of two factors – value and volume. Both of which are things, that wouldn’t be unfair to think of as somewhat lacking among the audience we have right now. Actually more on volume than value. There can only be a small cross section of the population which can be expected to pay value all the time, and if there is anything to blame for it, the economy still hasn’t reached a stage where the purchasing power of enough individuals who enjoy live music has grown to the needed level. This is still something that shouldn’t come across as a roadblock for a growth in terms of the numbers that could be counted as part of the regular gig crowd. What can’t be made up in terms of value, can surely be compensated in terms of volume. The question is, have we reached a stage where we can safely believe that a critical mass in terms of volume has been achieved, even if it is just enough to sustain the indie music scene as a subculture alone?

There are the bands. There are the venues. Where are the people?

And if this continues to be the case, 2007 just might have been a better place to be in.

About the Author | Photographer and writer, Asif Khan, has been steadily following the independent music scene for the past more than a decade. An engineering graduate, he pursued a rewarding career in a corporate environment, while at the same time continuing with contributions in various publications by writing on music and popular culture. In the meantime, he also developed an interest in photography, and started shooting at live music concerts. The combined passion for writing and photography overcame his upward journey on the corporate ladder, and he quit in 2010 to pursue them both full-time.
Asif is currently based in Delhi, and works freelance for publications while taking on professional assignments as well.

Photographs by Shiv Ahuja.