Lou Majaw @ The BFlat Bar
The grand old daddy of Indian rock brought his unique style of music to The BFlat Bar, and rocked the joint. At about 9:15pm (45 min after the advertised start time of 8:30pm; BFlat gigs always start late), he nonchalantly strolled up to the stage wearing his trademark denim hot pants, mismatched socks, and towels draped around his shoulders. He could be mistaken for a wrestler or a boxer were it not for the small leather satchel slung across his left shoulder and the cylindrical glass of whisky he placed on the amplifier.
A couple of members in the crowd screamed and hooted, and Lou swung around and squinted good-naturedly. The performer in him had awoken. He slung his guitar over his shoulder, plugged it in, switched on his amplifier, and casually began to strum. Before we knew it, the gig had begun, with no introduction, no sound check, nothing. It was as if Lou had just walked into a house party thrown by friends, picked up a guitar and was jamming.
He karate chopped his guitar a few times every song, and played a juicy version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”, before he invited his friends on stage, and what a talented bunch they turned out to be! The lead guitarist, a small young man with tiny delicate hands and wearing a shiny black Fedora, ripped the guitar. His fingers flew over the fretboard and he had won over the crowd in no time. In fact, mid-way through the last song before the break, Lou unslung his guitar and made his way through the crowd to the bar, where he ordered more whisky, presumably, and made small talk with the patrons, while the rest of the band played up a storm on stage. After the lead guitarist was done with his shredding solo, it was the turn of the drummer to belt it out, and he did so in style, even placing his foot on the floor tom as he swung from soft to loud and slow to fast. The big-built bassist stood by watching in the classic unperturbed bassist role. His order taken, Lou jumped back on stage and finished the song.
Lou was the showman in all the songs he played with his friends, jumping around on stage like Angus Young, even walking into the crowd with his guitar, and ending each song with an exaggerated, extended crash of cymbals and guitars. At the dramatic end of one song, Lou leaped and punched the air, but instead caught the false ceiling, resulting in a “rain of dust”, as he called it.
The BFlat Bar is quickly becoming the go-to place for great live gigs. It can boast of an intimate set-up, some very good acoustics and sound equipment, and an appreciative vociferous crowd. Plus, they bring in some truly spectacular out-of-town gigs.
“Hold on to your dreams. Hold on to your love. And if you have neither, hold on to your glass.” - Lou Majaw
Date: July 23, 2011
Location: The BFlat Bar
Time: 9:15pm-11:30pm
Gig Rating: 4/5
Location Rating: 4/5
Crowd Rating: 4/5
- 1 year ago
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