Skyharbor: Gig Review

Friday is usually a long night at work for me. A 10pm exit is the best case scenario, but the 28^th of November was different, not just for me, but for many of the people that were at Counter Culture. It was a night where intentional light physical trauma trumped deadlines. It was the night that we’d get to watch Skyharbor for the first time after the launch of their new album, Guiding Lights.

I’d been blasting the album driving to and from work ever since it came out and to see it performed was something I had been looking forward to. After one lame excuse and a new found apathy toward work, I was at the venue on time to catch Inner Sanctum.

In retrospect, it was the correct decision indeed. My neck shall testify. Sanctum ripped through their set in a spectacular fashion. It drove me to mosh and bang my head way more than I had for the past few months. It felt incredible to just let go and trust the integrity of my shoes as I dived into the pit. The new lineup was insane! And so were the songs off their new album.

               

Inner Sanctum

Many incredible riffs and solos later, it was waiting time as the stage was being set for Skyharbor, and after much bated breath, they finally came on stage, only to hear that Daniel Tompkins’s vocal chords were swollen. It didn’t seem to slow him down for a second. He was just as active as he was when I saw Skyharbor last in the Strawberry Fields fest about two years back. There was not one note that was off key. It was perfect, and the crowd was appreciative. If I didn’t know any better, it seemed like the band were driven on by the energy that the crowd showed off.

Skyharbor takes stage

The set started off with the opening track of the new album, ‘Allure’. The speedy start to the song pumped life back into the audience and about thirty seconds, when the riff picked up, we were fully on song, singing along to bits of the song that we knew.

The one thing that’s amazing about Skyharbor is their incredible ability to make a song feel heavy with so much melody infused in the song with the use of amazing vocals and the ambience of the songs. The band were truly alive and kicking and it was great to see five people who live quite far away from each other belt out the opener with so much fluidity and enthusiasm. Something I was sorely missing.

The next song was probably my favourite song off the new album, ‘Patience’. It started off with a beautiful section that made you want to bob your head only to realise its deceptively simple. This is another of the numerous abilities of the band, to make odd time signatures seem so natural and melodious. The bass played by Krishna Jhaveri was beautiful, it accented the music perfectly and the drumming was spot on. This was the song that made me go back home and look for lyrics and try to sing along. I wish I knew the lyrics whilst I was at the gig though.

Amazing vocals amidst a sea of flying horns

It was at this point that Dan said that he was having a tough time and he needed us to sing along to the next one, ‘Evolution’. It started off with a fast riff and a slow build up to the main riff that turned most of the audience into a mosh pit spontaneously. It was liberating. ‘Evolution’ definitely has one of the best choruses among the songs from Guiding Lights. Dan stood up on the monitors when it came around, and our vocal chords took one step toward being swollen. It was impossible not to shout out.

Scream for me Bangalore!

Then, we heard a riff on the left speakers that then bounced off to the right speakers and before you knew it, we were all screaming after having realised that it was ‘Catharsis’. It was the first song of Skyharbor’s I had heard and it was amazing watching it being performed after so long. I just love the lyrics of this song, probably the most poignant lyrics from Blinding White Noise. This song also has my favourite solos, which were played with closed eyes and a smile by Devesh Dayal. You know what else is poignant on this song? The vocal parts after the solo. It really makes you think of all those times you were home, sat in your chair, listening to your favourite music.

Next up was Halogen, a song off Guiding Lights. One really must tip his hat to Keshav Dhar. He set up the ambience for each song to perfection. Everywhere I looked around me, there were people lost in the music, wearing nothing more than their favourite metal T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a smile.

The band seemed to appreciate crowd participation

Next up was Guiding Lights, the title song of the new album. It starts off with a terrific atmosphere, again, set up by Keshav. Those who were familiar with the new album got it as soon as the opening riff was played. During the bridge of this song was when the spotlight fell, once again on a very enthusiastic Krishna Jhaveri. He had his eyes closed and was singing along to the lyric. Before this song, Daniel assured us that Skyharbor would always write music together, and the song itself was enough to convince anyone that they weren’t kidding. The chemistry of the band is quite something.

The next song was ‘The Constant’, the longest song from the album, clocking in at 9:33, although it didn’t seem long enough! You can really hear the sound of the band evolving in the new album and this was the culmination of that. Alternating between ethereal clean parts to heavy riffs seemed to come naturally and effortlessly to the band and it was terrific to watch them enjoy playing the song just as much as we enjoyed listening to it.

All focus was on the music

Unfortunately, the next song was also the last one. Many people from the crowd kept screaming ‘Celestial’ wishing that it would be the song ringing in their ears for the night, but the ambience of the next few minutes meant it was obvious, we would get this wish. The whole crowd sang along to the song. It was familiar; it felt like coming home after an amazing journey. For me, this song captures all that Skyharbor is about. The music, the lyrics, the vocals, everything just seemed very unreal in a very intimate setting.

Lights fade out, away

After the set, we were left wanting more. We shouted for an encore, but with a premonition that it was over. The guys were gracious enough to step out and take a picture with their fans though. All in all, it was a spectacular evening. A much needed evening at that. Let’s hope we get to see more and more of these gigs in Bangalore, where the bands and the crowd just have one intent, to enjoy the music.

Seventeen Strangers and One Kindred Soul

Mr. Thompson was the Fourth Grade Math teacher. He was sure of this. He was sure that he was Mr. Thompson. For some reason that seemed just about as certain as the look on the students’ faces as they saw the man’s ego contort to an unimaginable extent. Mr. Thompson’s existence, in his head, was slowly, but surely fading away; although, he knew it wasn't slow. He knew that the past second felt like an eternity to him. Concepts like time and existence seemed to alienate him. He felt betrayed that he was left in a world like the one he was in: a world of hopeless disorientation.

It was the morning of the Sixth of October when little Timmy glanced at his parents fighting over the last loaf of bread. Timmy always felt detached from society; he was an outcast like a horse among donkeys, although he would tell you that he was the donkey, no doubt. He was one of the few children on the planet who liked to go to school. It was his escape, his solace. He enjoyed plucking flowers for Mrs. Beasley just about as much as he enjoyed Mr. Thompson’s classes. He felt close to Mr. Thompson. He looked at him as if he were an enigmatic father figure. The only reason he was enigmatic to Timmy was that he was always afraid of talking to him. Timmy did, however, solve all the problems in class and when Mr. Thompson recognised Timmy’s math skills, he handed him a Rubik’s Cube. Timmy became obsessed with it. He would play it in recess, in between classes, even in the time he had allotted to pluck Mrs. Beasley’s flowers.

Many flower-less ponytails later, Timmy had finally solved the cube and had come to class with an elusive sense of pride. He would show what he had done to Mr. Thompson and he would finally have a man to look up to and admire; a man to confide in. Timmy wanted to know what he had to say, the joy allowed him to sleep with a smile on his face after many nights.

Mr. Thompson felt alone and helpless on the Sixth of October. His head seemed to be floating up above his head and he felt his view was elevated. He felt the angels calling him from above and the devil urging him to give him company. The angel and devil upon his shoulders were making love. There was no right, no wrong. Mr. Thompson was in the midst of mental breakdown in the middle of a class filled with eight year olds.

Memories seemed like glimpses, flashes, like specks in the infinitely wide spectrum of life. Memories of him being bathed as a baby, of him learning to throw a football, of his wife, her scent. She possessed him. Then he saw it, he saw what he had forbidden himself from seeing. He saw her asphyxiated face and her disfigured neck. He fell deeper and deeper into the abyss.

It was strange. Mr. Thompson was incoherent on the Sixth of October, unlike his usual self. Timmy was mildly worried with the tepid manner of his class. There was no excitement, no rush. It was dull, not much of an escape. As the class wore on, Timmy saw something, a brief look of extreme alienation, something familiar to Timmy. He kept his empathetic gaze on the disoriented Mr. Thompson as he dropped the chalk and gazed aimlessly at the board. The children looked around quizzically, but Timmy held his gaze. His eyes met Mr. Thompson’s and he smiled as he showed him the solved Rubik’s cube.

Mr. Thompson felt as if his world was crumbling in the space of a few seconds. He realized just how much of a loner he had become. He lived alone, had Nine pairs of clothes and they were housed in a closet that had more books than clothes. He switched on his Television almost as often has he fed his goldfish. He liked the goldfish for his unobtrusive nature, in fact. It all made sense. He felt empty and he had finally realized why. He looked up at the blonde kid with blue eyes in the second row of the classroom, the only one who seemed not to mind the fact that Mr. Thompson was in his company every day. The kid smiled at him and showed him a solved Rubik’s cube. The kid had finally done it…. Timmy had finally done it.

He instinctively smiled back as it all settled down. He was okay. It had been fifteen years since the Pandora’s Box that was his ego had been stuffed to its brim. It was never opened until a random day, in a random room that had Seventeen strangers and One kindred soul.

It was a shattering orgy of great realization and empathy.