MASUM plays with the Ocean (contd...) - the Finale

This WAS a BIG day for us....there were lots of things yet to do. We had to meet the Indian Ocean band members, talk to them about how we could arrange our stage plan so that their setup wouldn't be disturbed much...we had to talk to Biju, the guy handling the sound system about our instruments, cables, monitors, etc.

Things got a little delayed in the beginning...had me worried quite a bit...but going by how friendly, down-to-earth and adaptive the Indian Ocean guys were (Aseem, Sushmit, Rahul and Amit) - things worked out pretty well. We would have liked some more time for our sound check though...but am grateful for whatever few minutes we got! (The Indian Ocean guys sound-checked first and actually apologized for taking time for setup....that was real sweet considering it was THEIR show!!!)

The show was scheduled to start at 5.30pm...it started at 6pm...our lead guitarist Pavel entered from the rear of the auditorium playing a solo piece walking his way to the stage....Mudi and I followed after a while....and once all 6 of us were on stage we started with Tumhari Yaadein...my friends tell me i looked nervous in the beginning...which i WAS...i need to work on getting into the moment when needed! Mudi was his usual cheerful excited self...and that sure helped!

We kept going from song to song...and we kept getting a good response from the crowd! By our second number "jab se dekha use" i started feeling comfortable and got into the groove myself...Each one of us seemed to be in their elements....Looking back, feels like the whole segment was more like 5 minutes instead of the actual 25 that we spent on that stage...it got over so fast! Going by the applause and response we got, seemed like we'd surely done a good job, if not great...

Indian Ocean came up later and rocked the audience. This was their second concert I attended in the last 4 months, and they sound so damn good in their live concerts...just like they sound in their recordings! of course, with a lot more energy and enthusiasm and fascinating trickery!

We later got a chance to interact even more with the band, and it was very pleasing to see them encourage MASUM, especially for the fact that we do our own compositions.

This show has indeed inspired us to keep going stronger and to never give up. We're aware of our shortcomings, but at the same time, we're a young band with lots more to learn and experience. And knowing each one of us - all will surely work towards the goal. I'm so glad and thankful to be part of this band of young enthusiastic and talented musicians! Thanks yo'all ! Next up on our agenda is to take a smallish break from shows and record a couple of our songs to put up on local radio stations and on our website (masumtheband.net)

And yes...I've been waiting to get to the end to mention the most important part. We're so happy and fortunate to have so many friends and family to support us and our music. To see some of them fly in or drive down from different parts of the US (as far as NJ, VA and FL) for us, was just too heart-warming to say the least! Thanks ALL :)

Also, thanks to Vye and the entire IMACS team for their trust and support....to Biju for great work on the sound...to our friends who help us with our website and other ideas (Rajat, Priyavadan, Anu, etc.)....to Moni for selflessly coming for our looong practice sessions whenever she could to help us out with stuff...and everyone else who've been a part of this beginning of ours! (If I've missed someone on my or the band's behalf, please remember it's not deliberate :)


PS: This picture is © Amin Gilani. I'll be posting other pictures/links soon