Gig Review: Comedy Rock

What: Comedy Rock
Where: The Comedy Store
When: July 14
Verdict: Totally worth it

It was the choice of venue that drew us in. And going by the packed house that the comedy rock night saw mid-week, there were many curious to know what the city's musicians could pull off.



Quite literally, rockers wove in sex and drugs into not-so-subtle lyrics and struck home every single time.
With stand-up comic Vir Das helming the show, and Kavi Shastri aka Rohan Mehra filling in (with very few funny lines), six bands braved a full-house and kept the gags flowing with little effort.

Jam band Something Relevant minus Ryan Sadri on saxophone went on stage first. Surprisingly, the band didn't fall back on risqu ufffd lines for their two tracks and 15 minutes worth of fun on stage. The opening track Love Me Like You Do Me could have been a regular track with Aazin Printer's instantly- appealing smooth, shimmering vocals. But Luis Chico's impromptu detour on the keys into Last Christmas (the Wham song was a mock request from the audience before STR went on stage) brought on the laughs. BBQ Mosquito with its hooky lines and easy rap (Stuart DaCosta) showed off subtle, intelligent humour again. Sure, acoustic gigs always make for a warmer vibe, but STR had never sounded better or more self-assured. Next up, Workshop, Demonic Resurrection's Sahil Makhija's side-act plunged right into the sex comedy routine. Songs about masturbation (inventively titled I Came) and Bollywood (called Bunty and Babli) won the audience over. Although, the just-under-60 female section of the audience didn't return after the break.

The biggest surprise of the evening was former Indian Idol finalist Meiyang Chang and Vir Das' collaboration. Chang sportingly laughed at himself in the track, He's a Chinky, which rode on racist jokes. Das had a winner in the track's quick-witted turn of phrase peppered with insults and a message. A friend compared the duo to Flight of The Conchords, the versatile two-man comedy band from New Zealand. While the Kiwi act's musical prowess is no match for Chang and Das, the quick repartee and performance style did draw a parallel.

Next, singer Ankur Tewari and his band Ghalat Family did a new track titled Vir Das, illustrating the Das's sexcapedes. Not subtle, but the formula never fails. Again, thanks to the venue's impressive acoustics (and a rehearsal perhaps?), this was Tewari's best show yet. Tough on Tobacco, the rock band fronted by the uninhibited performer Sidd Coutto brought on the laughs with his facial histrionics and spontaneous touches to TOT originals such as Smoke Some Ganja.

Das wrapped up the show with more sex in Delhi Girls, a face-off between women from the capital and Mumbai, andu00a0 Sabjiwali, which appearsu00a0 to be a hit already.

If this is what turns Mumbai's music on, then we want to hear more.