We started with the top 12. And tonight, we will be reduced to the final 6.  But before anything, I am back with the liveblog I received a lot of mails and tweets asking me why I wasn’t liveblogging yesterday’s show. To answer that question – I was off on a holiday [ sometime I am allowed to]. And I just got back home. But I am here liveblogging the results show tonight. It’s a big night tonight, and not just because of X Factor. There’s the Doctor Who episode – Water of Mars which I have been waiting for so long. But coming back to the show, we saw performances from the acts to the songs of Queen. While some absolutely shined through, some crumbled in front of the sheer size of the compositions. And its decision time tonight.

My predictions for the night.

Bottom 2: Lloyd Daniels and Jamie Archer

Elimination: Lloyd Daniels

The liveblog hits off at 8 pm London time. Join us then. [ Watching Doctor Who rt now ]

After the jump – Liveblog continues.

Right, the liveblog is now Live from London. The judges and the host are in the studio. Another One Bites the Dust playing in the background. Love love love the song. Queen’s highest selling single it was.  Lines are still open. An ensemble performance of Bohemian Rhapsody. The intro chorus is so mimed. That is just studio perfect. I am wondering if Jedward are allowed to sing in the ensemble May be the Scaramouche portions Oh yea, and Gallileo. Hehehe. Lloyd says that he is just poor boy, nobody loves him . Very true Lloyd. This performance is totally on the choir. Not a single bit goes to the performers.  OMFG. Brian May and Roger Taylor. BOWS…BOWS..

Danyl and Jamie go out and rock out…So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye. Wooohoooo. High High High on Queen right now  Love to see Brian May and Roger Taylor. I hope they perform some more tonight. Hail Queen!!! Best Band ever.. [ well Aerosmith and Metallica too].

Wow…that was all worth it just because of Queen. Ooh..Brian loves Stacey. Roger Taylor goes the safe route and says he loves them all.

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A quick recap of last night.

Jamie – Radio Gaga – Was just average IMO. And someone please shut up Louis.

Lloyd  - Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Shut up and go home.

Olly – Don’t Stop Me Now – Out of Breathe…but still safe. Still amazed why the judges can’t hear it.

Joe – Somebody to Love – Best of the Night. Love love love it.

Jedward – Under Pressure/ Ice Ice – Guilty pleasure. Surprisingly entertaining. In an amusement park show kinda way.

Stacey – Who Wants To Live Forever – HUGE VOCALS. Singing wise, she was brilliant.

Danyl – Off at most places. High notes – always a winner from Danyl. Louis calls him Final 3 stuff. Hmm!!

And now off to the first performance of the night – Shakira.

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I like some of her numbers. But her latest single  - ‘Did It Again’ from ‘She Wolf’ album is not my cup of  tea. I loved her ‘ Hips Don’t Lie’, ‘Underneath Your Clothes’, and ‘Objection Tango’. But this one is just way too much overdone breathing and no melody. But who listens to what Sujoy says. People are buying her single as we speak on iTunes. And then she jiggles her belly some more and the selling figures go higher. I am not complaining – just saying. Anywho. Shakira advises the finalists not to be afraid of Simon in the competition.

Anywho, time for a break. And after the break, the voting lines close.

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Back from the break. And welcome to the results. The Voting lines are NOW closed. Time now for the Charity song of X Factor performed by X Factor finalists. This year, the charity is going to be donated to Great Ormond Street Cancer Research Foundation.The single is – You’re Not Alone [ By Michael Jackson ]. Oh it is all 12 finalists. Not just the ones remaining. So we have Lucie, Rachel and Rikki and oh..Miss Frank too.. all dressed in white.  BUY BUY BUY…DONATE DONATE people.  And oh I forgot about Kandy Rain.  Loving the lightworks more than the song. Am I being cynical? Maybe a bit. But I would buy the single just for the sake of the cause. Applause..Applause!

Where do you get to download it? www.itv.com/xfactor

Time for another break. After the break – 7 acts – 5 acts will be safe, 2 acts will be in the Bottom 2. C u in a bit!

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Okie dokie. Time to face the results. The contestants and judges are on the stage now. Time to reveal the Top 5.

The acts who are safe this week and will be singing next week is:

1. Joe McElderry

2. Danyl Johnson

3. Stacey Solomon [ Wooohooooo!!!]

4. Olly Murs [ I knew it].

5.  John and Edward

So my prediction of Bottom 2 – Lloyd vs Jamie was absolutely accurate. After the break, the song for survival. C u in a bit

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Back from the break. Given that Jamie is in the bottom 2, so at least we hope that Simon is not going to put it to bloody Deadlock. Anywho – Jamie Archer. He is singing a Queen song – Show Must Go On. Go Go Go Jamie!!!!  Needs more power, needs more punch. Hold back your vibrato Jamie. Why does this arrangement sounding a bit too rushed? Am I complaining too much? But in the real world, he is far better than Lloyd. He CAN Sing. And yes Jamie – The Show Must Go On – No Matter what!! That was a good performance and clearly he gave his all.

Next up – Lloyd Daniels – singing Paolo Nutini – Last Request.

As expected, his vocals are all over the place. He basically hits the notes on the surface, and does not complete a whole note. It is just a bland song, and all the notes are wrong wrong wrong. I don’t think that would have passed through the audition stage if Cheryl was to hear that in the auditions. Clearly, Lloyd should go home. But let’s see what Louis says.

Over to the judges now!

Simon : Artist who I am sending home is – Lloyd

Cheryl: I am sending home – Jamie

Louis: I am sending home is – Jamie [ WTF!!!! Louis is clearly mental]

Danny:  For me it’s about who sang the best – The act I am sending home is – Lloyd.

So, because of a twat called Louis, we are back to DEADLOCK. UGh!!!

So the act with the lowest audience vote is Jamie. So Jamie leaves us tonight. Hmmm. Lloyd is safe yet again.

Off to Jamie’s montage. Jamie singing – Sex On Fire in the audition was stellar. He made Simon lipsync with him. In a way we are happy for what he has achieved so far. And I believe that his future from now on is only going to be brighter. Not a big shocker. Yes Jamie – It is not the end. It is the beginning.

So that is it for the show tonight. Next week – Mariah Carey and Susan Boyle perform. C ya then!!

Shout out in the comments section what you thought of the show. Cheerio!!

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UPDATE: This is why Jamie’s departure actually has worked for him.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/xfactor/news/a185672/jamie-archer-threatens-to-quit-x-factor.html

Apologies for not liveblogging the event but just updating at once of the show tonight. And big thanks for still joining the discussion. I am on a holiday in the South of England, and it was a big deal for me to get a Wi-Fi connection. This made it impossible for me to liveblog it, so we are instead just posting the show update of sorts. [ In a way, I am liveblogging it whilst watching the show, but posting it at once] Now that I have established how I am blogging it, let’s get on with the show.

Last week’s Movie week turned out to be a very controversial week with Simon’s consecutive second chickening out decision which resulted in sending Lucie . But moving on, tonight is the night – the contestants are taking on songs of one of the best bands in Rock History – Queen. I love and worship Queen. I worship Freddie Mercury and Brian May and Roger Taylor’s backing vocals. I even love Queen performing with Paul Rodgers. And let’s hope Simon does not chicken out this week and steps up as a man. The show is just about to start. The liveblog is live after the jump. Cheerio!

Okay, the show has begun. I think, this season, after having watched the last two shows, I am getting more annoyed by Simon than Jedward. But moving on, tonight is going to be a big fight about song choice. Coz seriously, song choice tonight will make or break an act. Louis promises Jedward has every chance to win this week. Seriously, they do have the chance to win the show now. The public might mock vote them just to make a mockery of the whole show. Jedward wins the show– and then they sell only 20 copies in total. Anywho, Dermot has entered the stage with One Vision playing in the background. I love love this track. And here are the Killer Queens – Simon, Cheryl, Danny and Louis.

A quick AV tribute to the best British band of all time – Queen. God knows I want to break free, and All we need is Radio Gaga. Not to forget – We Are the Champions. Let’s begin the show. Simon Cowell to begin the show – he’s being received with lotsa boos. And hello Simon, Susan Boyle wasn’t on X Factor. Simon is promising that he trusts the public and has never played tactics. Hmmm. He’s trying to heal the wounds. Back to the show, first up – Jamie Archer. It’s lovely to see them getting mentored by the Rock Gods – Roger Taylor and Brian May. Over to the performance:

Jamie Archer: He’s singing- Radio Gaga.
He needs to hold back his vibrato. He is overdoing it. But clearly Simon likes it. But it is such a powerful song not to dislike it. The song is working wonders. But the song is better than him. I love the song, not sure about the act. The song is just way too powerful and anthemic that I want so much more. And I am left asking for more. Does not mean I am not enjoying it. It is a very intelligent song choice. Sounded a bit weird, not a karaoke version, but not too original either.

Judges verdict:
Danny:- In some ways it was a brilliant song choice. But did not show off your vocal abilities.
Louis:- Crowd pleasing choice. But you are out of your debt tonight. Pfft. Louis, have a look in the mirror.
Cheryl:- I don’t like your hair. But you definitely started off the show well.
Simon:- You got an incredible reaction from the crowd.

Jamie carries himself well. And he definitely has pleased the crowd by singing a crowd pleasing song and then also reassuring that only and only the public counts. So basically, up yours Louis.
Jamie’s code: 01. Vote Vote Vote!!

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Back to the show:

Lloyd Daniels. He needs to go home. Him performing a Queen song is going to be atrocious. It is just wrong that he gets to meet Queen, and I don’t
So he is singing – Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Let’s see how it goes.

All dramatic opening. What has he done with the lyrics? I like the song. I have sung it But Lloyd singing this song doesn’t appear to me as confident. But it is a better performance than last week’s. But then he ended it with a terrible terrible verbal exercise.

Judges verdict:
Danny – Best performance from you.
Louis – You have to perform better next week.
Simon – You are like a puppy taking part in Grand National. But you are having a good time.
Cheryl – This is what I am talking about. [ Whaaaa? Are we watching the same performance. ]

His code 02. Not appealing enough to me. And after the break – Olly Murs performing.

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Now back from the break. Performing next is – Olly Murs. He’s been one of the most consistent performers. But let’s see what he does with a Queen song. This week he is singing – Don’t Stop Me Now. This is a full on vocally challenging Freddie song. Let’s see how he does it.

It’s an awful start. The lower notes are rushed, the falsetto is just awful. He sounds like he is totally out of breath. Way too big song for him. Sounds like Olly needs singing lessons. The choreography is good, but I hate hate hate to see him dancing. He has a good voice, but I just don’t like his performance tonight. Simon loves it. Singing wise – that was shit.

Judges verdict:
Danny – I think you are the best performer in the show by far. The song musically swallowed up your vocals.
Louis – That was an electrifying performance. You remind me of Robbie, Gary Barlow.
Cheryl – You are one of the performers that I look forward to every week.
Simon – For once I agree with Louis, you remind me of Robbie. Coz you have the ability to entertain.

Olly is a good performer, I give him that. But tonight, singing – Don’t Stop Me Now, that was just not right. And that reaction from the crowd is just not justified. Well, the public is voting, not me.
His code: 03. Vote for Olly!!

Next up: Joe McElderry. I wish he sings – Somebody to Love, Coz he has the voice to carry off that song. Let’s see.

And yes he is singing – Somebody to Love. I love love love the choir arrangement. I love love this voice. Now we are talking. Brilliant song choice. But a weak note in the first Chorus. C’mon Joe. He is oozing personality tonight. And yes, this song has given him ample opportunity to showcase what he’s got. And he is taking each and every chance. Lovely falsetto in the end. Spot ON. Well done!!! That was FLAWLESS. You can’t say that was OK. That was so not OK. That was Bloody Brilliant. One to beat.

Judges verdict:
Danny – You bring it on every week.
Louis – Really big song for a little guy from the North of England. I think the choir helped you little bit.
Simon – You are nitpicking Louis. I think you sang better last week. I think the song slightly overwhelmed you.
Cheryl – It’s irrelevant what they say. Coz the people at home have ears. [ Love Cheryl shutting up Louis and Simon ].

I think this is the best act of the night. Just loved this performance. His code: 04.
Time for another break. But the twins perform next.
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Back from the break we are. This is the time where we get to see the twins. Jedward take on a Queen song. Are they going to sing – We Will Rock You again? And is Mr.Rule book – Louis going to allow it? And just forget the pussy that is Simon Cowell for a while and concentrate on the act. OMG, they are singing – Under Pressure.
They are doing a Rap version of this song fusing Ice Ice Baby. I wonder what Mr. Rule book Louis Walsh would have to say about it. Confession time – I am not disliking it. The choreography is good, and I am actually liking it. I am not so mad anymore for keeping them in the show. That was for sure very entertaining and their best performance.

Judges verdict:
Danny – For the rule book, where does Vanilla Ice fit in with Queen. I’m sorry some of the rapping was even out of time.
Cheryl – I am so happy to hear them cheering Jedward for you. Good for you.
Simon – I can’t judge you in the real world anymore. I’d say that was your best performance.
Louis – This was your best performance.

Their code: 05. This was actually an entertaining performance. And I guess, they are here to stay for at least this week. Lemme say this, that there are performers who are much less talented than Jedward who have gone to sell millions of records [ Am I actually backing them now? Hehehehe.] But again, this is a singing competition. Anywho, will I buy a Jedward record? Never.

Time for a break. And Stacey sings next.
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Back from the break. The only girl act left in the competition. Stacey Solomon. Brian May and Roger Taylor applauded what Stacey performing their own song. I hope she does well.
She is singing – Who Wants To Live Forever. Grand Diva Entry, and she is dressed to be a Diva. That is an iconic song, and the vocals that needs to go with this song is just way too much to ask for. And Stacey – you go girl. That was pitch perfect. I want this single to be released. I literally mean it. This will surely be the Christmas best seller if it is officially released. That was brilliant.

Judges verdict:
Louis – That was incredible. You looked like a Diva
Cheryl – That was absolutely stunning. You totally sang your socks off.
Simon – That was by mile the best performance of the night. Brilliant.
Danny – That was brilliant.

Simon reminds us of the brilliant song writing of Queen. Wooohooo. *Bows to Queen*
Vote for her people. Her code: 06. Last performance of the night. Danyl performing next.

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Time now for the last performance of the night. Closing the night, it’s Danyl Johnson. Brian May recommends Danyl to be himself. Danyl needs to be comfortable being what he is – a performer, and care a damn about the three judges. He is singing – We Are The Champions . It is a cocky song actually. I don’t like the breathing technique that he is doing on the song. But Danyl has got the vocals to pull off the song. Not liking the lower notes. Higher notes are much better. No time for losers – Louis, are you listening? A mixed reaction. Not sure if I love it in total. In parts, yes I did. Simon is proud.

Judges verdict:
Danny – I absolutely think that it was your best performance in the live show.
Louis – Tonight, you have proved that you got it all.
Cheryl – You totally overwhelmed me by the end.
Simon – That was not a karaoke performance. Outstanding.

His code – 07. I mean that was a good performance. But in the real world, that is a tough song to sing. But Danyl fell short in the lower notes.

Voting lines are now OPEN. Time to vote vote.

Quick recap of the acts.

Jamie – Was one of his average performances. I reckon it spells trouble.
Lloyd – Better than last week. But still Bottom 2 stuff
Olly – My least favourite of the night. But he’s still safe.
Joe – My favourite of the night.
Jedward – Addictively entertaining [ I confess ].
Stacey – Diva stuff.
Danyl – Average. That’s it.

Bottom 2 predictions – Lloyd and Jamie. I love Jamie, but I think that was not a good performance that justified his performance. Having said that, Jedward might also be in trouble as a backlash from last week. So who will be going home tomorrow? We’ll find it out in the results tomorrow live at 8pm London time.

And yes, I will be Liveblogging it. Join the liveblog and discussion tomorrow. Thanks for visiting this post. Cheerio!!

Tonight’s result show will see one of the 9 acts being eliminated, and only 8 will remain. The top 8 will come back for next week’s performance night. Rock Night posed a lot of challenge for all the acts, and some outperformed others. While Jamie, Olly and Rachel shined through, Danyl gave in to the pressure of being in the bottom 2 last week. As for Stacey and Joe, their performances were likeable. I still utterly hate Jedward although their performance last night was entertaining to be honest. Lucie’s performance was weak but the worst performer of the night goes to Lloyd.
And tonight on the results show, we will see X Factor’s most successful band till date – JLS perform.
Also performing is Jon Bon Jovi.

My predictions for tonight’s results still remains the same

Bottom 2: Lloyd Daniels and John&Edward. [ Although, I think that Danyl could be in the bottom 2 again]

Eliminated: Lloyd Daniels.

We’ll find out the results at 8 pm Live, London Time. Do join us for the Liveblog. Until then, discuss in the comments section. Cheerio!

We are here live with the Liveblog now. The Rock Week results night is live from London. Tonight, 9 will become 8. And JLS and Bon Jovi perform. The recap of last night’s backstage revealed Danyl Johnson in tears saying – I don’t know how much I can take. He seems like he has already given up with being in the bottom 2 just once. All his confidence has crumbled. He needs to get his act together. Because we all know how talented and awesome he is.

The judges have entered the studio. And the background score is Bon Jovi – Livin’ on a Prayer.  Thanks to Cheryl for wearing something normal. Now for the contestants group song – Walk This Way by Aerosmith. I actually like Danyl’s performance tonight more than last night’s. And Rachel seems to have rediscovered herself. And Stacey and Lucie are totally into it. It was a fun group song. Time for a recap of what happened last night.

Joe – Rock turned Pop. He is fit for West End, but not Rock. And seriously, what was Cheryl wearing.

Lucie – Too big a song for you girl.

Danyl – Where’s the Mojo dude?

Lloyd – To be honest, that was shit.

Stacey – Loved it  honey.

Jamie – You are the Best.[ And up yours Louis ]

Rachel – Probably she’s one of the best female singers in the competition along with Stacey.

Jedward – As Simon puts it, Night of the Living Dead.

Olly – That was sexy. One great performance.

Now, time for the first performance of the night. They are – Bon Jovi. I’d like to dedicate this post to one of the biggest Bon Jovi fans I knew. Riang Das. He’s no more with us. May his soul rest in peace.

Back to the show. It is the typical Bon Jovi sound. The single is – We Weren’t Born to Follow from their latest album – The Circle, releasing tomorrow. Catchy groove, pop rock feel and the usual vocals. I would like to Richie Sambora do more with his guitars. The song was wrapped up too fast too soon. But anywho, it’s a likeable track.

Time for a break, and JLS will be performing after the break. C u guys in a bit.

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Back from the break. The voting lines are now closed. Over to the judges. Simon announces that Cheryl has got the no.1 single and the no.1 album. And he jokingly invites Cheryl to join his record label. And Louis jokes around of being the guy with the rule book. Over to the 2nd performance of the night – JLS with their brand new single – Everybody in Love. Lemme tell you people who don’t know much about them. They are last year’s runners up. And they have a huge following in the UK. They have certainly grown since last year. And their performance in Manchester’s mall was extremely overcrowded with fans.

As for the single, it’s a nice mix of RnB, Pop and Hip-Hop. It is a catchy song and looks like the Christmas no.1 spot is going to be a tough fight. But, I am having the feeling that the chorus is being mimed. The choreography is top notch. The crowd seems to enjoy it fo sho! I actually liked it more than Bon Jovi. And hang on, people. Before you judge me, I am a Rock fan more than anything else.

Simon sez to JLS: You are the reason why we do this show. Great inspiration for all the contestants.

Right time for another break, and the results after it.

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Time for the results people. Moment of truth, time to face the results. The drill is the same as every week. Bottom 2 battle it out in front of the judges. The rest are safe. The list of safe contestants are:

Joe McElderry

Olly Murs

Lucie Jones

Jamie Archer

Stacey Solomon

Danyl Johnson [Phew!] All of Simon’s acts are safe.

And Jedward.

So bottom 2: Lloyd Daniels vs. Rachel. Rachel is in a bit of a stunned state. Cmon Girl. You been here. Prove them wrong again.

Time for another break. After the break, the sing off between Rachel and Lloyd. I guess, we know it by now that Lloyd is leaving tonight. C u in a bit.

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Back from the break now. Time for the sing off – Singing first for the survival – Rachel Adedeji.

She’s singing Oasis – Stop Crying Your Heart Out. In a word, she’s wonderful. I believe in her performance. As an impromptu performance, she excelled even last night’s performance. It was spot on. Just brilliant. She deserves to stay in this competition.

Next up: Lloyd Daniels singing – Joe Cocker. He is off key. He is out of tune. I don’t get the feeling of him singing. It sounds as if he’s humming lightly. And for Christ sake, that’s a Joe Cocker song. He messed up the performance, and Cheryl is not happy. He gave in to the pressure. Over to the judges for the decision. Whom will they keep in the competition.

Danny: Sending home – Lloyd

Louis: Sending home – Lloyd

Cheryl: Sending home – Rachel

Simon: Sending home – I want to let the public to decide this.

DEADLOCK. Over to public vote.

Least votes —> Rachel. WTF!!!

Rachel goes home tonight. Even after all the awesome performances she has given us, she hasn’t been able to quite make the mark. It’s her third time in the Bottom 2, and now she’s eliminated. She definitely deserves to go places. We’d love to see her in Sister Act at the West End. Bless Rachel!!

That’s it for the show tonight. Next week Black Eyed Peas and Leona Lewis perform. Join me next week for the liveblog and discussion. Until then, shout it out in the comments section. Peace out!

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Minor update: Someone called Claire from Leicestershire called up #XFactor and spoke straight to Cheryl saying her dress last night was awful

Someone else complained to Simon about his song choice for Danyl.

And Danny just reminded us, that next week will be halfway through.

[ Why am I watching Xtra Factor..still ? ]

]]> http://www.oneknightstands.net/liveblogging-the-x-factor-2009-live-results-4/feed/ 26 http://www.oneknightstands.net/wagon-rags-the-making-of-devils-ride/ http://www.oneknightstands.net/wagon-rags-the-making-of-devils-ride/#comments Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:14:54 +0000 Sujoy http://oneknightstands.net/?p=73

Ladies n Gents, Boyz n Gals, make room for the Rock to hit you, coz here they are: Wagon Rags to knock your socks off with their rock and well make Bollywood remixed bitches eat dust. But well, Mr.Lead Singer, Jh**ga (though he specifically mentioned his displeasure over being referred by this name and that Jh**ga is not derived from Abhishek JHA but from his affinity to prawn dishes) would put it otherwise. (I asterisked the name coz my chicken platter is at stake) He says, Wagon Rags aren’t here to compete or battle against any form of music. Wagon Rags are just here to belt out their music and sweep the crowd off their feet. Ok, I know Wordsworth said “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”. And well, “A little of Self Promotion is SuJOY forever *wink*”. First, lemme introduce the band before I go into the intricate details of the seven hours in Sound Ideaz Studios of Pune where we witnessed a nine month old tune take its shape, riff by riff, solo to solo and beat to beat.
Drum Rolls: Dheessh!!!!!!
Dean on the Bass.
Gyan on the Drums
Vatsal on the Guitars
Parag on the Lead Guitars
Abhishek on the Vocals.
The Band: Wagon Rags . First Single: Devil’s Ride
In a way, it makes sense that the bands Rhythm guitarist:  Vatsal Raicha is a Mechanical Engineer from NIT Surathkal. But then, he has lost all of his mechanical gyan of IC engines, and that now all he knows is screw up the nuts of his project teammates (he is a project lead in an respectable IT Firm ). And well, to say that Wagon Rags has anything to do with Mr.Raicha would just be cool for the sake of it. That is so not how it happened. Wagon Rags emerged as the winner over such great ones nominated as “Marcoly’s Punch”, ” Pure silver Brutal Farce” and well the one suggested by me – ” Paanch Badan Ek Jaan” (5 bodies, one soul). Clearly Wagon Rags seemed logical to them, but well I still think Paanch Badan to be a clear winner.

BAND PROMOTION PICS FROM RECORDING ROOM AFTER THE JUMP

Venue: Sound Ideaz Studio run by Nitin Joshi
The band is already there since 3 pm trying hard to put together the drum setup. But then, the mixing of Brute Force’s next track is on. So plans are a bit postponed. And then, the clock have now been set up to start ticking at 4:20 pm. Nice choice. Drums setting up starts. The quest for the perfect bass, and THE sound on the tom is on. Muting, tuning, taping, cushioning with extra pink pillows, tightening of screws (or screwing em up) and getting rid of the extra toing. It takes an extra hour and it  almost consumes three hours to get it done right (not to forget, we had a fun jam inside the studio and then finally realised that we were being charged by the hour, and that before we could actually settle down and record a thing, the Rags are already been charged a cool 1000 bucks). But then, the Rags wont stop until the perfect sound is achieved. Such a bunch of perfectionists. (A slight element of promotional stunt, given that these guys are my close pals, but what the heck, they even made me a pseudo publicist and promised me two meals of chicken for this post).

Drums all set to roll. Gyan takes his Throne. Headphones on. Mirrors tilted to see the reflection from the mixing room. Nitin on the Mac. Guys ready with their instruments for the demo take. The plan was to go one by one. The order to be followed was: Drums >> Bass >> Rhythm Guitars >> Lead Guitars >> Vocals . Gyan gives the cue, and we ROLL. A taste of the lyrics is given below.

Worlds movin, but on really slow feet
tryin to keep time, its missin a beat
an ol black n white
I wanna paint it, i wanna paint it in speed

I dont even let the wind set the pace
gonna overtake the storm and set the chase
gotta make every moment a raceday out here
i leather my skin, i get ready to race

(pre-chorus)
and theres that sign ahead that says go slow
never cared to know what the fuck that means
have seen them lights all red n yellow
but i dig only … i dig green …

(chorus)

I…. get on the devils ride,
kick up dust … leather my stride
blazin wheels … better watch your side
coz I…. m doin the devils ride

First take of drums- a bit flawed. First take was a bit of a disaster as everyone didn’t seem ready. The guitars went out of control and so everyone was shut down. But surprisingly, the tempo is a bit on the higher side than the one in the rehearsals. And it sounds GOOD. Gyan hits for take 2 and it goes goo..oood until the last 20 seconds when his headphones fell off. Take 3..and we are done with the drums. Best part in a band is when everyone knows his flaws through and through. We listened the entire drums track closely and carefully, and couldn’t deduce any flaw until Mr.Gyan pointed it out. And with some help from Nitin’s mixing skills, drums are served on the platter. Next up :Dean Vaz on the Bass (try to say it as a rhyme).

Dean on the bass, goes easy and smooth. Just a bit of improvisation required and with instructions from Jhinga, Vats, Parag and Nitin, job is done. And yes, it looked as easy as it sounds here. Very smooth.
And we are almost four hours into the clock. Now the debate for recording the rhythm guitars:- whether to go for direct Line Out Recording, or go for the Amplifiers. Vatsal knows it best. Amps it is. And we enter the studio again. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, Gyan is already out of the room, and is puffin some smoke of the tobacco kind.

Vatsal settles down, overcomes his stage fright, leaves all his worries of Project deadlines and attritions behind, and gathers the confidence to PERFORM. Must be the Hide n Seek and Cashew Nut Good Day that he ate (You guys I spent 25 bucks  on that). First take- Vats not satisfied. Second take : went well until he looked up through the looking glass and saw Alice…no I meant Jh***a. Third take: Job Done…or was it the seventh? Parag is in next. The Rhythm parts to be filled first. Done. Solos in the verse part, Done. Intro Solo..one take ..Done. Outro Solo..Done. The solo part where the spotlights are to be on on Parag..3 takes. Done.

Last but not the least, Mr.Jh***a  (Abhishek Jha) takes control of the microphone. He entered, he made some mistakes, he corrected em and was then beaten to pulp. Why do I keep deviating? Must be too much of Korean gore that I have been watching lately. The recording on the other hand went smooth, quite.
And then, it was up to the Man to make the pieces fit perfectly. Mr. Nitin Joshi. And so he did. With regular inputs on the volume levels, the punching in and punching out,etc. after almost 5 and a half hours of clock time, Devil’s Ride was ready to ROCK THE WORLD. Go here to the Myspace Page of Wagon Rags to listen to the Track. I have the MP3 but they won’t let me upload it here for download.

Bonus Track :Live recording in two takes: Tie Your Mother Down: Original Artistes- Queen
Long story short: Signed, Sealed ,Delivered. Hear me in the Chorus. LOL.
CD Burned: Thanks Steve Jobs for the Mac. Thanks Sujoy for the cookies. Thanks Nitin Joshi and Sound Ideaz.

PROMOTIONAL PICTURES AS PROMISED ABOVE:

The Pseudo Band Manager / Publicist

Photographs Exclusive to : OneKnightStands

CONTACT for Band: wagonrags [at] gmail [dot] com

MySpace Page: myspace.com/wagonrags

If you are one of those lazy bums who just can’t sit through the 1285 words of my previous post on the Maiden Gig in Mumbai, this is for you. And for those Maiden Maniacs like me, this is definitely for you. And for those who missed it, burn , burn, burn in ENVY!!!

The Story in Pictures .
=============================================

The Pass

The Prophet

The Place

The Playlist

The Percussions

The People

The Pandemonium

IMPORTANT LINKS:
More Pics at Flickr.
Playlist Pic courtesy Slaytan 666
IMAGE COURTESY: abhijeetkin hpiramal Satya’s Multiply Site

In the beginning, there was darkness. And the Devil said,” Let there be Metal”. So Sir Winston Churchill speaketh, “…. we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,” and the cymbals hit hard with the guitars riffing. Mumbai screams in unison, the bass commands us to Jump, the lights go haywire, and Bruce Almighty jumps out of nowhere , over the monitors in his army cargos, and orders

“Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live. Aces high.”

I was there. HELL YEAH! I look around to see only one reaction, the headbanging, the fingers closed perfectly to show the devil’s horn and the music taking control. IRON MAIDEN ripped us all apart. And when you just wanted to take a breather, the shredder reveals another killer with the drums rolling to the Anti-War Anthem “2 Minutes to Midnight”. The crowd goes frenzy, and chaos prevails. My first bruise, my first kick on a guy’s back (now his T-Shirt reads the mirror image of Size 9), and even more jumps and pushes. Ladies who were expecting some sort of courtesy and ahem, respect, got the unexpected answers. Hilarious it was, when a lady started to roam around searching for her lost boyfriend, and my pal told her, Auntie, you won’t be able to manage yourself in the first row. It took her not more than two minutes to realize that.

Track 3: The very AC/DC-ish Revelations. The crowd responds as Bruce commands and that’s what you expect at a Maiden gig. Personally, not one of my Maiden favorites, and add to that, the great fall of Sujoy. I do a “Konhi to Konhi” (elbow to elbow) Dance to stand up, to be pushed down furthermore. And before I could even realize, I was at row 10 from the barricade. I somehow managed to get a breather when Dicksinson engaged the crowd with his English English. My dear neighbors thought I had passed out , I replied , not yet!! Yeah right! Unaware of what was coming up next. Track 4: “The Trooper” and you know what that means to “We, the Maiden Maniacs”. How many times have we blasted our stereos with that track, how many times have we airguitared to that riff, and how many times have we been scolded by the nasty neighbour auntie- Mrs.Shukla for making her ears bleed. And to see that song come alive in front of me, can be best described as next to Heaven. The crowd goes O-o-o-o-o-o-O-o-o, and I go completely dry, I mean dehydrated. As Mumbai faces the Charge of the Maiden Metal Brigade, I try to somehow keep myself in senses . And as the song descends, I am yet again doing the Konhi to Konhi dance to find a way to the nearest Pepsi stall. 10 bucks for a glass of water, 30 bucks for a glass of Pepsi. Gulped down, I donno how many. And before I could realize, Maiden had already opened the envelope to “Wasted Years”.

Track 5: The Number of the Beast:

I left alone my mind was blank
I needed time to think to get the memories from my mind
What did I see can I believe that what I saw
that night was real and not just fantasy
Just what I saw in my old dreams were they
reflections of my warped mind staring back at me
Cos in my dreams it’s always there the evil face that twists my mind
and brings me to despair.

And then the inhuman scream that tears every mortal soul. Bruce Dickinson at 49, pierces through every fucking metalhead’s heart with as much ease as he could always.And if you thought you’d get some time to settle down, behold, coz Run to the Hills was next, and for those who missed the United Chorus of MMRDA’s rendition of Run to the Hills, you’ve missed D-Moment.Talking about the showmanship stunts, Bruce rules with his costume changes, dry Brit humor, and his jumps which would put any athletic teenager to shame. Steve Harris and his stunts with the Bass have always been popular, and he doesn’t disappoint us. Adrian Smith – the most sober, the most calm guitarist ever and makes his job look so easy , even while executing some of Metal’s most complicated guitaring. The next three tracks that followed were- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Powerslave , Heaven Can Wait and Can I play with Madness ( never expected them to play that). Some unexpected additions to the playlist, and the crowd grew more and more impatient to listen to the most awaited song –Fear of the Dark, and as the silence ambience resonated to the four hits by Nicko on the Hi-Hat, the guitars lead the path to the crowd’s hum. The most recognized crowd song comes alive, and Bruce says: Fear of the Dark, You…Fear of the Dark. And then, the British Wave washed us down, and I jumped high with my glass of PEPSI. Spilled it on some bloody mindfuck who pushed me. Neither did I, nor he gave a fuck about it, and as the song rose to a crescendo, all of us sang along the O-o-O-o-O, and my head refused to go along, but the headbanging was inevitable and uncontrollable. I knew I had to save some for Hallowed.

This was the time when I actually so wanted to hear to Phantom of the Opera , or may be Bring your Daughter, which Maiden, surprisingly skipped. But then, how much can you ask for. Dickinson says Good Night, Thank You Mumbai, and we aren’t surprised. Because we all know, NO MAIDEN concert is complete without Hallowed, and so before even the most ignorant Maiden Maniac started screaming “Maiden ..Maiden”, we all knew that the Band is gonna come back for their encore. And yes they were.Track 13: Iron Maiden: Eddie is brought back to life, as the 12 feet cyborg Eddie walks around in his “Somewhere in Time” avatar with his muscular system showing and his gun in hand. Mr.Harris lets his bass rest against Eddie’s gun (see below). Now that’s Diabolic.

Moonchild and Clairvoyant play next, and all I can NOT feel now is my legs. Bruce Dickinson continues to go Higher and Higher and run and jump around. GOD, what does he eat (or rather DRINK)? And then…. the final nail in the coffin, the last blow, the Bazooka… as the Bell Rings and Darkness prevails, there comes a blue light, and an image singing to ME-

I’m waiting in my cold cell when the bell begins to chime, Reflecting on my past life and it doesn’t have much time.

And as Dickinson goes from running Looooowwwwwwww to Hiiiiigh…the song ascends to a level which cannot be experienced anywhere else but a Maiden concert.

I stay numb, helpless, not understanding what to do, and awestruck by the sheer power of Metal that can make so many lonely souls, who have been complaining about their mundane daily routines of 9 to 6 jobs, come together and exhale the same emotion and experience the same state of mind, simultaneously. Hallowed Be Thy Name marked the end of the first concert of the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, but the Metal was far from over. As I walked out of the venue, I see around smiles, angry faces and happy faces and well, T-Shirts soaked in sweat and dirt all emoting “Hell Yeah! I JUST FUCKING SAW MAIDEN LIVE”. If you weren’t there, where the fuck were you? Dream realized! End of Story. Peace!

Coming Up Next: The Story in Pictures.

500 feet above ground! And I am not talking about any altitude. See 500 feet above ground, jumping to a song called “Opportunity Denied”, and think no further. Just let yourself react to the Metal of Brute Force. I thought of writing this article for a Wikipedia page. But then, thinking of the number of times of the appearance of words such as fuck and fucking awesome, and… you know the words, I realized this article wouldn’t make it to wikipedia anyway. So I had to settle down for my own small blog, again. And well, also for the fact that I really don’t have much hard facts about Brute Force either, coz I don’t know them personally, neither do I have a written track record(I don’t believe you actually need to meet the guys to know their music). But I have been a witness to the growth of a band which has stepped out of that norm of covering the yesteryears’ Metal anthems and adopted such a monstrous form of their own, which can only be expressed best by the euphoria that you get to see when Brute Force takes centre stage.

I wouldn’t exactly say, I have seen the band from their nappy days, but yeah, pretty much during the early days. My first experience of Brute Force live was Western Zone Finals Campus Rock Idols, 2005 in Pyramid Lawns, KP. There comes this short haired guitarist with eyes that can barely open (as mine) and with fingers that can just create Mayhem. Yeah!!! That guy on the drums, I had seen him scream out “Master Master” for Nemesis in the previous Campus Rock concert, when Prestorika won the finals. Don’t remember the set they played then, but yeah the self-titled original wasn’t out yet. And the results, runners up: Medusa from Bombay, and winners: Nemesis. The judges say-“It was a close call between Brute Force and Nemesis. And why didn’t they come second then?The journey from that Campus Rock Idols concert in 2005 to headlining this year’s Western Zone Campus Rock Idols 2007, has been quite long, but sure LOUD as hell. Of course, when a band has a lead vocalist with long hair, a lead guitarist with short hair, and a drummer with power arms and thunder thighs (I had to steal this phrase from an article on Sameera Reddy), and yeah a bassist who makes your ear drums go bum bum bum, what else would you expect.

Anand on the rhythm guitars and lead vocals not only takes control of the crowd, but also sings his songs, plays the riffs. I mean, yeah, you have that showmanship and all going. But what point does it make if you forget your lines and mess up with your guitars, which is not the case here. The frontman knows his music, and well does his stuff too. The weakest link or rather I’d say, the one who lags in the entire band relatively, is the bassist Aniket, the new bassist in Brute Force, according to me is just an “also exists” kinda scenario, purely because the other members just excel. So personally, I’d like the bass to be a bit louder, and a bit more prominent in the tracks, but yeah, not at the cost of just making it loud just for the sake of it. The entire song has to sound good as well. Akshay on the drums really knows the endurance limit of the drum kit and puts it to the test every time. Just see him drilling hard on the double bass, and you feel like a 100 bullets being shot at you at once. But yeah, drumming skills aren’t measured on the double bass criteria only. The main thing is, how tight they can pull the act together, and all the rolls and bangs on the cymbals with all the off beats plus the backing vocals, all have to perfectly align with each other. And it does SO. Hear them cover Dread and the Fugitive Mind, and you instantly feel how organized this band is, when it comes to timing.Wayne, hmm….talking about you is of no use. You all have seen him play live and you know what he is capable of doing with those six strings. So it makes no fucking sense in adding up those big adjectives here. Just one thing though. Wayne, no matter what they shout out at Pune concerts, Hakka noodles and all that bloody racist comments shit, you kick ASS..bigtime.

The Brute Force original composition list as of now (to my latest information) stands as the following.
Rise, Force Fed, Axis, Recipe for Disaster, Opportunity Denied and the most popular of them- Brute Force. I remember the first time I heard their first single. Man it blew me over. It sounded like some unreleased track from Kill ‘em All with the ghostly blessings of Cliff Burton. The riff starts and your head just cannot manage to hold itself straight. Its going up and down rampantly and there comes the double bass for the Kill, and then we have a Sixer…Nataraj phir Champion. Fuck, I got carried away. It was like Hit the Lights reincarnated, and in no way this sounded like any of those “We wanna be Metallica” shit. This was so Fucking Awesome. I tried to get hold of all the possible video sources of their live performance of Brute Force, and my favorite is their performance at Livewire, IIT Bombay. The sound is much better, and I can hear Wayne do his thing. Haven’t really listened to any of their other songs in the studio version, except for Opportunity Denied (I’ve only heard their other songs live). O.D. just grows on you with the intro solo, and when the distortion kicks in, you should see the crowd. It just looks like MADNESS.
Fan following, you ask. Come to any given concert where Brute Force is playing in Pune. And it certainly looks like they own it. They have a strong fan following here in Pune, and weirdly though, any concert which doesn’t play Brute Force in Pune, seems empty. As in “Janta nahi Aatee”. Is that just a coincidence, or a myth or what? Just think about it. There’s some weird connection.

To conclude, I’d say, Brute Force is the band to have come at the right time (when there were probably no bands playing original stuff) with the right kind of sound, which the fans accepted with open arms. From those utterly dark, smoky underground gigs, and the Battle of Bands at Pune Central to winning Independence Rock and many other accolades, I just hope that the journey is far from over. In my own twisted words stolen from Robert Frost,

The woods are lovely dark and deep, but Metal is what you got and Metal is what we need, and You got miles to smoke that Weed, and you got miles to smoke that weed…

\m/ . May the (brute) FORCE be with you!! Peace.

Also published at Wordsutra.com