Rock In-dependance..

So i just got home from I-Rock 2004. I didn't know what to expect, and the show ultimately left me with mixed feelings.

Sceptre opened, which was surprising. However, what wasn't surprising was that their set didn't excite me at all. Same old stuff all the time. Their originals Nuclear, Revolution, Quicksand and Charred. Good to decent. Nothing ground-breaking. Plus uninspired covers of Ozzy's Perry Mason, Metallica's One, and some Pantera stuff.

PDV were up next, and a lot more energetic. They had quite a few originals, and good stuff at that. Great crowd response. Also covered SOAD, and Deftones's My Own Summer, which was fucked up. Otherwise pretty neat set. Enjoyable.

Gary Lawyer came up next, in place of AFS. His band was awesome!! Excellent skills, and great showmanship. The entire crowd was swaying as if one. However, i didn't really like the song selection. Enough of Roadhouse Blues and Highway Star (can't believe the crowd still wants this shit played over and over again). Plus Bon Jovi and Creed got a bigger response than any other song played by anyone. So much for a supposedly metal-hungry crowd. But Lawyer was still great, very vibrant, and his band was awesome! The best of the day.

Finally, AFS. Was looking forward to them, 'specially Rushad on the bass, However, they seemed kinda lacking, like maybe the time out had robbed them of something. The covers wee ok, a surprising but screwey cover of FNM's Gentle Art Of Making Enemies, and a good one of RHCP's Give It Away. Originals were decent. Left when they were playing Eager Beaver, cuz i had gotten bored and tired.

Picked up stuff. Autopgraphed copy of Shrapnel's Intellectual Persuit, and Reptilian Death's Total Annahilation. Excellent inlays and production, the former, and some sadistically funny songs, the latter, including Nursery Rhymes For Satan's Children and 5 Easy Ways To Murder Someone. Awesome!
Got the PDV poster too, which is now totally creased and folded. Shouldn't have put it in the bag.

Good show overall, worth my 150 bucks, but didn't seem like I-Rock. Seemed just like a random show happening at some ground. Which wasn't half bad really. Chitrakut Ground. Pretty breezy in there. Was kinda tipsy when i went in, so couldn't see if the chicks were hot or not, and by the time i could, it was too dark. Travelling is easier for me now, no long distances. However, i still miss Rang Bhavan.. :-(