Rock Vaccine: A shot in the arm of the underground rock scene
Trainwreck, the newest, most famous band from our capital took the stage as one of the first headliners of the night. The vocalist is a demon that has ascended from hell, the bassist follows in the footsteps of mega talented shirtless bassists (at a certain point he seems to forget he is a bassist and taps on the fretboard with the virtuosity of a lead guitarist)
Say what you will about the state of live shows before or after the pandemic, one thing about the Dhaka underground scene is for certain: the front rows are always packed and the fans are always rabid.
It was a pure rock n roll show: raw, aggressive and full of diehard fervour. Rock Vaccine did not have an MC, but it did not suffer for it in the least. Most fans of the underground scene are purists and react to more savage and demonic riffs than some hype man on the mic.
Gates opened at 2PM in Jamuna Future Park on the 5th floor. This was one of the few live events to be held around the town without limited seating or pre-booked ticketing. One could show up at the gate at any time and buy their way in for Tk 350. Small price to pay for being able to see some of the greatest up-and-coming and legacy bands in town.
Even the opening bands tore the house down. Onubhikkon is a great Celtic folk metal band that has weathered the pandemic and came out. The synth player's post-processing abilities were on blast and the mixing was mellifluous. Obviously metal isn't for everyone but the band had a passionate following right up front. The frontman has a larger-than-life stage presence, but is supremely soft spoken and quite courteous offstage. On stage, he expressed gratitude for the more established bands offering them the chance to open for them.
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They will be playing again on 6 May at the Steel Concerto event; the venue is yet to be announced.
If you have ears and are vaguely alive somewhere around Dhaka, you cannot claim ignorance towards the legacy and brilliant discographies of Karnival and Black. These two figurehead bands packed the audience section wall to wall and played songs that echoed back from the lips of the audience. If you want praises sung in their honour, just find a fan that remembers the late 90s/early 00s, you are sure to be in for a homegrown aural ride.
Trainwreck, the newest, most famous band from our capital took the stage as one of the first headliners of the night. The vocalist is a demon that has ascended from hell, the bassist follows in the footsteps of mega talented shirtless bassists (at a certain point he seems to forget he is a bassist and taps on the fretboard with the virtuosity of a lead guitarist). Co-front man and lead guitarist, Ekram Wasi, shares mic duties with the lead singer and their chemistry goes a long way to establish that close and kindred ambiance that makes underground music shows thrive.
Trainwreck is a straight up death metal band. If you're over a certain age, you can be forgiven for never having heard of them. Looking at the length of the band members' hair it may be easy to deduce which of them have day jobs and which of them don't, but once they start playing, it becomes apparent to everyone within earshot that this band was meant to live and die on the stage in front of worshipping fans.
Their mastery over their crowd is unparalleled, they can get squeals just by playing two measures of a riff, they can part the sea of audience members like Moses upon the red seas and bring them back together in camaraderie and collision with the most fun mosh pit this side of the pandemic.
Shahariar Hassan, 36, of Thumbs Up Marketing Solutions, in tandem with Joty Broto Basak Shanto, a 27-year-old Managing Director (of Barn Door) and a fellow journalist by day who moonlights as an event organiser, both have deep affection and love for the underground music scene. With the help of Ershad, of Artcell fame, and some connections here and there, the organisers were able to wrangle together a show that was made for purists.
They have a ration playout scheme for the headliners, and up-and-coming bands are provided with conveyance and other amenities to make the artist's journey as smooth as can be. The scene benefits immensely from having people like these around.
"We tried our hardest to make sure that every band received some form of remuneration. Apart from the headliners, we gave the younger bands a token of appreciation to make their journey and performance less a hassled affair," said Shahariar.
After all, given the society and culture we find ourselves in, the pursuit of art is not a supported or readily encouraged life pathway. Shahariar and Joty are the people on the ground that propagate the scene and keep it alive. Their name of choice for the event was thought out quite reasonably. Now that underground music lovers have received their first shot of the Rock Vaccine, the organisers tease that more events like these are in the offing, maybe even 'booster shots' masquerading as some of the best rock shows being put on this year.
