From Delhi, With Love: These are the City’s Best Live Music Venues
No, live music in Delhi isn’t dead – here are some of the best venues you should go to for a listen.
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There’s an epidemic going around called the In My Day syndrome. It has only one symptom, where sufferers utter this one phrase repeatedly: “Back in my day, things were much better. Back in my day...”
Clearly there’s a craft involved in uninformed whingeing.
See, many a sermon has been delivered on the death of live music in Delhi. How all the old venues that established a space for young artists to hone their skills are defunct; organisers have disappeared; crowds are dwindling; how no one cares.
It’s partly true (maybe), but there’s a strong counter-argument too.
The city has a whole bunch of venues that host live music on a frequent basis, keeping the flag flying. We take a look at a handful, well aware that there are several others not listed here:
Hard Rock Café
(Saket and Gurgaon):
First, the big fat elephant in the room: HRC features a lot of what can best be called corporate rock ‘n’ roll – tepid, watered down, inoffensive, accessible music lacking in soul or integrity.
Corporate rock ‘n’ roll – by design – isn’t very rock ‘n’ roll at all. A lot of the gigs they host are by easy-to-digest, popular artists (Indian, international both) or those dreaded ‘tribute nights’ – a celebration of covers lapped up by the crowds. (Why not drop the pretence and play a CD instead?)
They do have the occasional ‘edgy’ or underground artist playing though (maybe by accident), so we’ll give them that. Plus, the place looks great with all that populist memorabilia; they have excellent food; and you will certainly catch the serving staff dancing to ‘YMCA’.
Summer House Café (Aurobindo Market):
It’s hard to crowbar Summer House Café into any clear category, since they seem to do just about everything under the sun – from stand-up comedy to salsa, heavy bands to badass dubstep DJs, fruity cocktails to dirty Kingfisher pints.
You could go there in shorts or a tuxedo and you wouldn’t be out of place.
One night will feature a DJ belting out deep house, another a barely-hatched alt-rock band. And it all seems to work! The dingy, dim-lit interiors and low ceilings add a grimy, walls-caving-in sense of claustrophobia allowing listeners to really get into the music – perfect for the intimacy a pub gig so desperately demands.
Social/Antisocial (Hauz Khas Village):
Antisocial, in the anarchist concrete jungle called Hauz Khas Village, is the classic lo-fi hole-in-the-wall venue. The place has an over-the-top sense of crudity to it, reeking of smoke and giving off an abandoned-warehouse feel, with inexpensive drinks.
It makes for a spectacular gig-watching experience, with the ever-looming sense that it could all go horribly, horribly wrong at any given second, so one had better cherish these last few moments.
Hauz Khas Social, its elder brother downstairs, has a more nuanced presentation – with a makeshift stage and better acoustics – so the bigger electronic artists usually play there. It’s a solid 7/10 place with great food, loud and kitschy décor, decent programming, but maybe not the same character.
BandStand (Aurobindo Market):
As the name suggests, BandStand exists primarily as a pub venue, and they’re giving it a real good go – what with programming producers, DJs, bands – even some good old blues, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll.
They’ve only been around for a couple of months, so the venue doesn’t yet drip with Look At Me pile-ons. The staff is polite, friendly, and helpful – which adds a sense of charm.
They also have a stage, with a small (or is ‘cozy’ the politically correct word?) area in front for people to watch. The sound and acoustics are a little iffy at times, but it’s nothing that can’t be smoothed over with good production.
Piano Man Jazz Club (Safdarjung):
The Piano Man Jazz Club mostly hosts artists who do a mighty fine job playing jazz and its many offshoots.
Jazz music is basically music for people who smell their drinks before sipping them, but it’s nevertheless important, and often aesthetically mindblowing. So naturally, the club has its loyal, dedicated patrons.
Unimpeachable sources have informed this writer that Piano Man is a fantastic venue with an easygoing, laidback atmosphere. People go there to actually listen to the music – with little posturing – and drink their incredible cocktails.
(It’s apparently a little snooty too, but that’s part of the fun.)
(Akhil Sood is a New Delhi-based freelance music and culture writer with an undiagnosed fear of tomato sauce.)
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