GnK - A Scintillating Experience (13th April 2006)

They were simply brilliant :). A concert from which I returned completely satiated ;). This beat their previous concert that I attended during the seasonfor two main reasons - the percussionist and stage chemistry. The concert did start a little late and was over by close to 10pm. Trust me I was tired with a mild headache (thanks to having sat upfront, and that knocking thavil sound just starts hurting after a few hours).

Four hands seemlessly Deft with the Strings :)

The hearts on and off stage were set on fire. To add a little variety to it Ganesh does sing a few songs, and some in parts. This time he sang 'nee dhayachE rAma', tho it may not sound all too brilliant as seasoned vocal singers it would be a nice surprise to the rasikaas.

Ganesh Singing :-"

One of the best things that I like about these people is the creativity that they add to the whole concert. Musicians may not be very appreciative of their off-beat gimicks on the violin, but I enjoy the effects that thy bring about. And the definite advantage of doing it in a pair, being able to layer sounds leaves you in awe.

Kumaresh & Maestro A.K.Palanivel combo

But unmistakeably the best part of the evening was the percussionist. Maestro AKP pathi sollave veendam ;). He was just pushing the limits this evening. The part where I did see people slip was the Ganesh-Sathish & Kumaresh-AKP combo. The violins took the lead and occasionally the percussinist went amiss to follow up. So much so, there was even once when Ganesh took off before Kumaresh finished his part. But the beauty is of course how seemlessly they cover if up, with just smiles and glares exchanged.

Ganesh & Satishkumar taking the lead

And yes, I cannot close this without mentioning the percussionist's interplay. The volleys were like a long rally in a tennis match, each opponent trying to outwit the other. The math and timing they brought out were so innovative that the wah's and bale's comming from waaay back could be heard distinctly. And what else would follow such an enthralling performance? It was just short of a standing ovation to them, the junta just went on with their applause for over a minute. Thats a rarity in the middle of a concert.

Kumaresh appreciating & enjoing the volleys by the percussionists ;)

Apart from all the usual ingredients of calibre, what made this kutcheri a good one was the stage chemistry. No matter how good the artists on stage are, without the sense of appreciation (glances, smiles, "sabash's" etc) between the artists it looks so unalive :-|. GnK's concert during season was a bit such, tho the duo made it up. But this was brilliant =D>.

Briefly said, their rendition of banTu reeti was amazingly grooovy, 4 stars for it :) from the crowd. And the interplay in pairs for 'kaligiyunTEgadaa' was very enticing, for it kept the crowd rapt all through. And then their own composition called 'Modern English' was very interesting, a delight for the makkal. It sounded more along the grooviness of "English Notes", their rendition of which again is quite unique compared to others. And finally the one played just before the mangalam was resplendent. My favourite of them all I should say, and it left me so happy and content.

A briefing on the songs played (and sung)

1. Varnam (R: kalyAni)
2. rAma Nipai tanaku (R: kEdaaram)
3. banTu reeti kOlu (R: hamsaanandam)
4. nee dhayachE rAma (R: yadukula kaambhOji)
5. (R: poorvi kalyAni)
6. maamava paTTaabhiraama (R: maNirangu)
7. En paLLi koNDeerayyaa (R: mOhanam)
8. kaligiyunTEgadaa (R: keeravaaNi)
9. ??
10. manasa sanchararE (R: shyaamaa)
11. chinnan chiru kiliye
12. kurai Onrum illai
13. Modern English (composed by GnK)
14. ??
15. ?? (I am crazy over this one but no one seems to be able to find it out ... help plz? ... can send a clip of the track)
    
16. mangalam
    

this is SamY, reporting from Sri Rama Samaj, West Mambalam, Chennai (11th April 2006)