Boney M played the Palace Grounds in Bangalore on Saturday evening, proving yet again that this is the city where C-list artistes can still eke out an existence.
If the European live music scene is the equivalent of, let's say, "Mama Mia" or "Miss Saigon" on the West End stage, then Bangalore's live music scene is Little and Large on Great Yarmouth Pier - on a windswept night in February. If European live music is lobster thermidore, then Bangalore's music scene is a plate of whelks. You get the occasional lobster in Bangalore, (Aerosmith for instance) but even then they're generally a little past their best and either on a farewell or best of tour.
I disliked Boney M's music in the Seventies and as far as I'm concerned it hasn't matured with age. And yet very many people in Bangalore obviously like the music a lot; how else to explain the fact that their hits are still played regularly in many of the pubs here. Whilst the clubs of Europe and North Amercia are belting out the latest Hip Hop and Rap, in Bangalore it's Ra Ra Rasputin.
And it doesn't seem to matter either than Boney M is not the Boney M of Ma Baker and Brown Girl in the Ring. Gone (presumably into retirement), is the lithe and energetic front-man with the big Afro, and the three skinny girls have morphed into one, somewhat larger, original band member, and two newcomers.
The concert, by all accounts, went down a storm and an incredible 20,000 people actually turned up. I was given two tickets on Friday night and spent a good deal of Saturday morning trying to get rid of them. In the end they went into the bin.
Megadeth and Machine Head are here this Friday - better than Boney M by a long shot but not exactly the new kids on the block either. Then again, if these old stagers anxious to resurrect their careers or profit from back catalogue sales didn't come to Bangalore, I'd have nothing to moan about would I?
Originally published on Blogger on 10th March 2008
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