On the evening of July 13, Kolkata-based rock band The Urban Monkz performed at Someplace Else Mumbai — the sister pub to Kolkata’s music hub on Park Street. “Even though it was a regular pub night, there was an added vigour and enthusiasm because a Kolkata-based band was playing for the first time,” says Bucha, the band’s lead singer
All images courtesy Someplace Else Mumbai and The Urban Monkz.Someplace Else opened its doors in Mumbai at the beginning of 2022 at the Jio World Drive Mall, BKC — carrying forward its tradition of giving up-and-coming bands a platform to perform
The Urban Monkz performed a two-hour set, with songs across genres — from classic rock to pop. The rock band comprises Somodeep ‘Bucha’ Sengupta on vocals, Rajdeep Basu on bass, Nikhil Sen and Vishal Iyer on guitar and Jay Bhattacharya on drums
The band, known and loved by Kolkatans for their English rock tunes, geared up for a night of classic English rock, but much to their surprise, Mumbaikars demanded Bengali tunes. “We were pleasantly surprised to see that classic Bengali songs were appreciated and celebrated. The crowd in Mumbai was singing and dancing to Bangali gaan!” share the Monkz
Anjan Dutt's songs were the most requested! “Given the fact that a Kolkata-based band was in town, most requests were from people who are originally from Kolkata and wanted to hear songs which remind them of home,” says Bucha
The night saw a healthy mix of Bengali and English numbers. ‘Shundori Komola’ and ‘Raanjhanaa’ brought the house down — drawing revellers to the dance floor
“This was the first of hopefully many more shows in Mumbai and it was nothing short of amazing! We are more than excited to head back to the City of Dreams soon,” signs off the band