On February 26, when The Aristocrats got on stage at Sector V gastro-play-pub Five Mad Men, ear-splitting cheers erupted from the audience. The rock supergroup was in Kolkata as part of their Defrost Tour in Asia and My Kolkata was the digital partner for the event.
Bryan Beller of The Aristocrats
Formed in 2011, the band has been consistently belting out outstanding music and has gathered passionate followers since then — and Kolkata was no different. The instrumental power trio — Guthrie Govan, Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann — were last seen touring India in 2016.
Kicking things off, Bryan Beller, the bassist of the band, said, “We will now be playing a song that’s never been released and is not in any of our albums. It's called Hey, Where's My Drink Package by German drummer Marco Minemann, who wrote the song inspired by his friend, a member of the American heavy metal band, Steeler.”
Marco Minnemann on the drums
As the audience unanimously screamed ‘Hello Marco’, the rockstars got busy exuding magic with their fingers, and stayed true to the crowd that had come to witness the performance.
Arpan Mukherjee, a die-hard Guthrie Govan fan
Arpan Mukherjee, a die-hard Guthrie Govan fan, said, “He is God to my friends. Personally, I think of him as the best improviser among all guitarists.”
Next on The Aristocrats’ playlist was Bad Asteroid, written by Govan.
Guthrie Govan on the guitar
Before performing the song, Govan said, “About, 66 million years ago, an asteroid that landed close to the Gulf of Mexico led to the extinction of dinosaurs. The song is about that”.
Sayak Saha with his wife Somasri Kar
Grooving to the progressive rock band’s tunes — all with experimental twists and turns — Sayak Saha, who came along with his wife Somasri Kar, said, “We missed their performance during their last tour in 2016. So, we are extremely glad to make it this evening.”
Rupsha Sen, a core member of the organisers
Rupsha Sen, a core member of Moonrivers, the organisers responsible for the Kolkata leg of The Defrost Tour, revealed that The Aristocrats were in awe of the city. They felt Kolkata had really changed in a progressive way.
A happy crowd at the Five Mad Men
As the crowd craved for some more trademark Aristocratic musical, they happily obliged with hit numbers like Through the Flower and Ohhhh Noooo, playing each song perfectly, much to everyone’s delight.
