Hilt, Majaw and Sen, with Bagchi on the drums at Somplace Else on Saturday. Picture by Rashebehari Das

It takes a quality songwriter to pay tribute to a legendary songsmith like Bob Dylan. So, Lou Majaw, who many consider to be among the finest songwriters in the country, best known for his ballads like Sea of Sorrow and scorching rock tunes like Paint a Picture, would be anybody’s choice.

Known as the ‘Dylan of the Northeast’, Lou has been paying respect to his guru by holding Dylan concerts on the occasion of his birthday every year in home town Shillong.

“I’ve learned a lot from Dylan. His writings have guided me in every sphere of life and opened many doors for me, be it in music or love. He is no god, but for a man, he has given so much to the world… This is the only way I can pay respect to him,” said Lou, in town for a Dylan concert on Saturday night, prior to the actual event in Shillong on May 24.

A huge cut-out of the 63-year-old living legend beckoned music lovers into the smoky environs of Someplace Else, while the trio of Lou, Arjun Sen and Lew Hilt accompanied by Nondon Bagchi on drums played out a comprehensive song list that chronicled Dylan’s long and eventful career.

Anthems like Ballad of a Thin Man, License to Kill, Blowing in the Wind, Forever Young, Buckets of Rain, Tambourine Man kept the tiny pub packed till wee hours as the crowd just wouldn’t stop asking for encores. It was no surprise that there was barely standing space till early Sunday morning.

“Calcutta is the only place in the country apart from Shillong where people know and appreciate Dylan. It was extremely heartening as a devotee of Dylan when Tambourine Man was included in the new English syllabus of Jadavpur University last year,” said Lou, still “awe-struck by the vivid imagery” of the song. “Wish I was a painter to be able to do justice to it,” he gushed.

Lou is already planning an exhibition of sketches based on Dylan’s songs in Shillong. “I’ve requested Lew (who is also a painter) to contribute to the exhibition,” said Lou, who feels this is another way of bringing Dylan closer to the common man.

“It’s my motto to spread Dylan’s songs as far as I can, as I strongly feel more people should know about him,” said the musician, who finds the fact that not too many people in India are familiar with Dylan’s songs “very embarrassing”.

He has taken to changing this with missionary zeal. “Next month, I’m planning to take a one-man Dylan show to south India, where I want to experiment with the idea on lean Friday nights,” Lou revealed.

In the city of music lovers, Lou’s presence was reason enough for a packed Saturday night, with the crowd rocking as usual to that slightly tipsy signature singing style, reminiscent of Dylan himself. Exuding powerful energy, he was ably accompanied by Hilt, Sen and Bagchi.

Even if there is no special event, the music comes alive at Someplace Else. The regular Friday night crowd came out in numbers, with the rain and storm doing nothing to keep the loyalists at bay.

“The Monkey Song, we want The Monkey Song…” the screams from one end of the pub did reach musician Nondon Bagchi, but the celebrated drummer was in no mood to take a trip down memory lane on Friday evening and play a hit number which he played in the late 70s as part of the band High.

Some came in drenched, the luckier ones escaped the summer shower, but they all came.

It was the usual dose of Pink Floyd, Beatles and Def Leppard that Hip Pocket laid out. The favourites flowed from the band one after the other even as spirits soared and the beer bottles tinkered. As always, as soon as the guitarist strummed hard heralding Summer of ’69 into the pub, the bathroom singers from among the crowd matched scales with the musicians. Floyd’s Where Were You heightened the ecstasy as lighted match sticks popped up in the smoky air, a typically Someplace Else gesture of appreciation. Comfortably Numb, the eternal favourite with the regulars, also made its way onto the song list.

Members of Lakkhichhara at a roadshow outside the Victoria Memorial on Sunday. Picture by Amit Datta

Street beat

Rock is all around in Calcutta, and the reason is plain to see. Popular Bangla rock bands including Chandrabindoo, Fossils, Lakkhichhara, Parashpathar and Ujjan have taken to the streets of Calcutta, armed with their music and the support of their fans.

On Saturday evening even as the Celsius soared, a 200-strong crowd gathered outside the Salt Lake swimming pool waiting patiently to hear their rock icons sing.

The event was the first of the many gigs to be held across the city as part of the roadshow series organised by Coca Cola. The company’s summer campaign will also tap into and encourage local singing talent as part of the five-day agenda.

But the music maniacs of the township couldn’t care half as much if or not they got a chance to display their singing skills. The announcer, trying his best to hold the crowd’s interest with interactive games, stood the risk of being shooed away unless he yielded ground to the real attraction. All the crowd wanted was hard rock from its favourite stars.

Posters screaming names of favoured musicians popped up as soon as the bands were announced and bandanas fluttered high in the air.

Bangla rock stars no more than arms’ length away with no barricade to separate them was more than the young fans had asked for. The bands belted out popular tracks and it was clear that nothing could get hotter than Fossils lead singer Rupam working the crowd with a mike, asking audience members to hum with him.

“I’m a crazy Fossils fan, I can’t believe that I’m seeing them in my own para,” said an excited Rohit, jumping throughout the half-hour performance.

Rohit and the others in the Fossils fan brigade had more than the music of the moment to get them excited. “We will not do too many shows in the next month or two as we will be concentrating on our next album, which we will be recording from June,” said Fossils manager Parikshit.

After Fossils’ opened the show, Lakkhichhara, Sohor and Ek Poshla Bristi took the evening ahead. Lakkhichhara, who also performed in Howrah on Sunday as a continuation of the roadshow, got the rock ring right with the favourite track Telephone.