Thermal And A Quarter… And how I got to meet them :)

“Today I met Thermal And A Quarter” — the statement should suffice… but if I stop here, I won’t be able to gloat all the way through this post then, will I??

So well… It all began around a week (or more, who cares?) ago, when I read in the small print on taaq.in that TAAQ would be performing on 7th Sept. ’10 at 10DS, Hyderabad. Now this was news… Their last show, which was at HRC, was before my days as a TAAQ fan, and for that, I plead guilty. Anyway, let bygones be bygones — This show was like the light at the other end of the mid-sem exams and I was all taaqy with anticipation.

The much awaited day arrived, and as I broke free from the clutches of the exams, I had no clue what ups and downs were in store for me this evening. First came the shocker… Couple Entry only, and it spoilt some well made plans. But I suppose where there is a will, there’s also a nice understanding friend willing to be great company. Sania very graciously agreed to come along.

The venue was OK-ish, but the show was brilliant… TAAQ exceeded my expectations and even though 2 songs I was really hoping for weren’t played (One Small World, This Is It), the set list was superb. Bruce was stellar as usual, Prakash was awesome too (I don’t know if he managed to get a peek at the audience with his headgear) and Rajeev kicked some serious ass on the drums throughout. The songs were played to perfection, the bass and drum solos here & there just added to the magic. Pity the “funny money” didn’t buy us drinks, though After the show, I grabbed a TAAQ T-Shirt & a “Plan-B” CD and we headed back.

Funny Money

The second jhatka came late at night when I decided to try on my groovy TAAQ Tee. I’m not sure how to describe what I felt when I unfolded it — It was tiny!! I wonder what the guy who called it “L” was thinking. Thanks to Baba (Native Tongue) I managed to get Bruce’s number. They invited me over to have the tee exchanged. So around 2 AM I found myself “in the company of giants” (yeah, I’m using that phrase a lot… but it’s my goddamn blog, my fb profile and whatever else). The band and some friends were chilling at their hotel room when I arrived. It was great to meet them all and I’m quite sure I was acting mighty strange, trying to keep the excitement bottled up. Now I don’t know what you may have read about bands having attitude or ego issues or blah, but this was a group of fellers who made me feel at home almost instantly. Heck, the way Rajeev expressed his concerns about me riding all the way & back “all alone in the big bad city” would’ve reminded anyone of home! So after a teeny sip of what Rajeev was having and some chatter, someone (bless his soul!) said I should have a pic with my new TAAQ T-shirt. The way I’m looking like a 16-year-old kid on cloud 9 in the pic brings back some memories of Stillwater & the kid from Almost Famous. Bruce gave me a copy of “This is It” as a keepsake for my nightly visit. It was time to leave, and I had left the room when it struck me to get the CD signed — and I did 8)

(L-R) Buce, me, Prakash, Rajeev

As I cruised back to college, I was happy that I got the bad T-Shirt. Luck comes hidden in the most unexpected things, I guess

Spoils from the evening

Autographed copy of "This is It"

In retrospect, my description of the gig could’ve been more elaborate… but I’m quite sure I’m useless as a music critic — I love stuff, I like stuff, I don’t like some stuff and that’s about it.

Tagged: Music

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