Battle of the Bands is by far the biggest live event hosted by Revels consisting of amateur to semi-professional musicians from across several colleges. It’s the one day that music enthusiasts and musicians alike come together in celebration of live music. It’s the one event each and every music lover looks forward to, and prepares tirelessly for,for an entire year in Manipal. This particular one, I daresay, was well worth the wait.
The event was scheduled to start at 5. The Local Train (the headliners) came in for a soundcheck at around 4 and carried on doing so until 6:30pm, so the event ended up starting at around 6:45 pm. The stage was set up impeccably well, thanks to the organizing team who had brought in sound equipment and technicians from Bangalore (Systematic MC), who furnished the Quadrangle stage with their quality tube amplifier stacks and cabinets. The lights team did an amazing job in setting up and coordinating the stage lights as well: the perfect setup for a musical extravaganza.
The rules of the night were simple: 15 minutes of stage time per band which included setup time. Original compositions would earn you brownie points,and swearing on stage would chop them off. The audience crowded the quadrangle in numbers never before seen at any Battle of Bands before. Their enthusiasm was an absolute delight to witness. Amidst much cheer and applause, the first band, Cloudburst of MIT took the stage and performed two blues rock originals. Their guitar and bass tones were impeccable. There was a section in their second song which had a time signature of 7/8, which made many heads turn and nod impressively. It was funny in the sense that you could instantaneously recognize every music theory nerd in the quadrangle by how they were counting to a 7 with their fingers, or mouthing it voicelessly. That, to me, is the unifying beauty of music, and that in itself makes any Battle of the Bands so eloquent in expressing it: the fact that you can connect with a person sitting across a whole courtyard sharing the same taste as you without so much as ever speaking to them.
The second band, Nevermind, played classic rock originals. Their music had an AC/DC vibe to it with Slash-style guitar solos. They made the audience stand up and gather around the stage for some good old-fashioned hangbanging. By this time, the Quadrangle was almost full – a never before seen rarity in any event, let alone Battle of the Bands. The show was officially on in full swing. Other notable acts included Under the Cross, Pandas Playlist, Pappu Project, LSD+Summer and Jade. One particular performance that blew the crowd away was that of Delirium, who played Obsolete Soul and Dark Age (originals by different bands whose members, Tuhin and Parth were a part of Delirium). The light synchronization was absolutely bonkers and their performance was mighty impressive, inspiring a big mosh pit among the crowd.
The Local Train took the stage at around 9:15 pm after every participating band had finished performing (which was a brilliant new idea on the organizers’ behalf). Their highly inspired performance went on till well after midnight, warranting an entirely separate article, which you can find here!
It was a night that no music enthusiast present at the venue would ever forget. It was easily the best executed Battle of Bands in the history of Revels, with Raenoj Iyer, Rishab Sardesai and Yash Goyal at the helm of what made it so successful. Its commencement brought the very eventful Day 3 of Revels to a conclusion, and allowed the organizing team a well-earned moment of respite.
It was by no means a stretch to assume that an event as successful as this was the harbinger of the magnanimity that lay ahead the next day.
– Rahul Basu for MTTN
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