The Chronic
Blues Circus, from Bangalore, are a blues band (fucking SURPRISE!!).
They're one of the few bands in India who play authentic Blues, going
so far as to featuring a real Harmonica in their music, so you know
they ain't messing around. They've been around for more than 20
years, so they're kind of outside the scope of this blog (considering
I deal in upcoming underground bands), but since they were surprised
when my party shouted for Restless Woman (Exact reaction: "What
did you say?? How do you know that song?!", I think, at least in their mind, they're obscure enough to qualify.
They're a
five-member band, with multi-instrumentalists, and their rhythm
guitarist exchanging instruments with the bassy mid-set, and guest
vocalists coming up in the middle, and the vocalist going off to play
the harmonica in the corner, (when I saw them at Herbs & Spice,
five different people obliged the mic, no kidding, that's two more
than my sexual partners on any given Saturday) So, it's kinda hard to tell
exactly who does what, but the lineup according to Facebook is Miriam
John, Owen Bosen, Abilash and Peter Isaac. This is confirmed by
Reverbnation as well.
Peter Isaac seems like the main bossman here, being in the band since its inception 20 years ago, so instead of having a full band photo (I'm still confused over who exactly is in the band), here is a photo of Mr. Isaac instead.
 |
| Guitars in the foreground, not drumming in the back. Focus. |
It appears
as though they have an album out, but I haven't been able to get my
hands on it, or find any word of it anywhere, except a tiny mention
on their info sections. Also, my knowledge of the Blues is not extensive
enough to do them justice, or to write a great blog entry, but I love
their music, and I want to recommend them all the same, so go ahead
and listen to this. They've uploaded four songs from this album:
1.)
Restless Woman
My absolute
favourite song. We got a German lady to scream out the name of the
song in the middle of their set to ensure they play it, just in case
they ignore the rest of my party (I know, cheap, but no holds barred
when it comes to Blues). Begins Bluesy with the Harmonica and
everything. Vocals beginning at 0:48 completely eargasm you with the
deepness of the voice. Great song. My favourite out of the four.
2.) I
Went To See The Gypsy
Having
described my favourite song, on to preference number two, this song
defines the Blues for me. Not being very knowledgeable about
the Blues, this is what I assume Blues would sound like if it was
played by the offspring of Robert Johnson and Jesus. There's even a
"Howlin'
at the moon" line,
but I don't know if it was meant to reference Howlin' Wolf, one of my
favourite Blues legends, or not, though it is good for the chorus nonetheless,
especially with the sped up drums in the back while the chorus goes
on, and then ceremoniously slowing down, once the verse comes back
around.
3.)
Sweet Nicotine
Starts
with a super Southern/Western (depending on how you look at it)
Harmonica intro. So country, so Blues. Lyrics are great, makes you
feel like it's a song about a girl, then growling "Nicotine",
clarifying that it's actually about what the song title tipped you
off about. Sort of sounds like there's two Harmonicas going off
during the breaks, but I wouldn't know what the truth really is.
4.)
Woman
This is
different from "Restless Woman", don't be confused about
the names. It's more of a ballad, and more Bluesy in terms of lyrical
themes, being about a woman making you feel lonely and blue. Super
feel guitar solo. Kind of dismal, unlike the other songs which were
upbeat from time to time, this one is melancholy.
To
conclude, this is all-in-all a pretty solid Blues band, and after
Soulmate possibly the most important Blues band of the country (I did
some research some time ago, didn't find too many great Blues bands),
and it's absolutely imperative that you check them out, you'd be
doing yourself a favour. It's actually very strange that they're not better known. I assume it's because they don't do much publicity, but I see no reason why they're not as big as they should be. And if you live in Bangalore, they seem to
play in Herbs & Spice on a regular basis, where entry is free,
the steaks are awesome and the desserts are heavenly.
General Links:
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/thechronicbluescircus
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