Ever since Bengaluru's music scene slowed down, taking his music to the rest of the country was on musician Abhi Tambe’s mind. “I woke up one morning and had the crazy idea to do a tour on my bike,” shares the musician who used be the frontman of city-based outfit Lounge Piranha. So in November last year, armed with his guitar and trusty steed — a Royal Enfield Bullet called Mosquito, the 44-year-old took off to perform in 15 cities across the country. This weekend, after 21 shows and 6,000 kilometres, the Bengaluru-based artiste wraps it all up with a gig at Fandom.
After small modifications that involved attaching a carrier to the bike and getting a tailor-made rainproof guitar case, Abhi was ready to hit the road. He performed in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and smaller cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Udaipur, Gwalior and Hubli. When asked about the response in smaller cities, Abhi divulges that there were a few shows with a very small audience, but they were very receptive.
“On the tour, I have been playing songs that I have written over the last 3-4 years. Some of them are old, some are new. In the first half of the tour there was more personal compositions,” says Abhi. The artiste confides that he felt a little lost by the middle of the tour. But his stop at Delhi, which coincided with the onset of the CAA protests, seemed to be a turning point, both literally and metaphorically. “I wrote a song there that kind of encapsulates my experience of going out to protest,” he adds.
At the gig in Bengaluru, Abhi will be performing with The Fireworks, along with city-based bands Black Letters and Gauley Bhai. “Next on my agenda is to record an album,” he signs off.
Rs. 798. Feb 2, 8 pm. At Fandom, Koramangala
anagha@newindianexpress.com @anaghzzz