Music, the Food of Goan Love

 

(This piece was published in My Kolkata on 23.02.2024 Read it here)

A Kolkata Goan, visiting home during Carnaval time in Goa, does a quick round up of the bands and duets he heard.  From small parties to weddings to massive stage shows, Goan musicians have it all in the blood - tune, tempo and emotion.

The pounding of the waves on the Calangute shore was overwhelmed by the pounding of bhangra emanating from the “shacks” on the beach. The continuous boom-boom of disco tracks, indistinguishable from each other, melded into what can loosely be described as a racket - to which local tourists danced in gay abandon, wearing matching coord sets, kurtis, I Love Goa tees and even sarees. The soft Billy Joel from the speakers in the coffee shop in which I attempted a cappuccino was completely drowned by the surge of sound from the beach. “Stay off the beach!”  The advice given by a college friend and established sound engineer couldn’t be more appropriate. And stay off I did except for a couple of karaoke nights at St Anthony’s Bar and Britto’s. Peace descends on the beach at ten o’clock when the law dictates a shut down of all open air music.

That’s when the small, packed, indoor bars come alive, sans the local tourists.  We sang some more karaoke at Bar de Goa at Baga till the wee hours. We visited Guru Bar at Anjuna on a night that my friends Elvis Lobo and Joe Ferrao were playing along with Diesel, Ranjit and the amazing Jan Graveson whose birthday was brought in at midnight. Other musicians, Keith, Steve, Ron took the stage and jammed till the early hours. Spontaneous music, no judgement, just good vibes.  This describes a Goa that has fortunately survived the onslaught of the tourist industry. Another night at Cavala, in Baga, saw a high-powered Tidal Wave take the tiny stage.  Tony Fernandes, the bassist, runs the band and manages the sound mix onstage directly. He has Xavier, Chris and Michael, each a front man in their own right. They share the microphones and the music. Within minutes the standing room only dance floor is packed and everyone is just dancing the night away. Goa bands seem to be blessed with the ability to read the crowd and serve up just what is needed, without a break. As a Kolkatan who regularly attends bar nights with live bands, this was welcome;  no sixty-second breaks between songs while the band discusses what it will do next.  In most of the bands I heard in Goa, the leader called out the next song from the set while finishing the previous song. This made for a joyous wall of sound where dancers found it difficult to leave the floor as they do whenever there’s a break here.

At the Calangute Association local Red & Black Dance, the duo Tavi and Rochelle - a pair of singers, some backing tracks, a keyboard - got the crowd on its feet from the very first piece. Several such duos did the same over the next few programmes I attended. Just dance, and stay away from the beach! 

Cantare is a fairly quiet bar in my village of Saligao. The night we walked in was Jazz Monday - three accomplished musicians and all the standards.  Daniella (Vocals), Jason (Keys & Vocals) and Carlos (Drums) fed my love for jazz with a string of mixed music to which people got up and jived. Maurice, who runs Cantare, pointed out that they are a house band, put together only for his bar - which was packed.

Technical Brilliance and Excellent Music

The Big Shows that I managed to attend on two nights were due to the Carnaval (that’s the Portuguese spelling) over February 10-13, just before the season of Lent. It’s the time when the top musicians and performers in Goa come out in the open and have amazing street programs. I’m going to record my observations at Samba Square, Panjim on February 12th and Vamos Carnaval, Sinquerim Helipad the next day.

What’s common to both events is the extremely high energy.  Not only on stage or off stage in the crowd, but in the powerhouse of apparatus that is on stage in terms of sound equipment and lighting rigs. Goa is no stranger to technical excellence - they run the Sunburn Festival among other major music events. What struck me most, considering my Kolkata upbringing, was the almost total absence of “tuning” and “testing”.  Not once did I hear “Hello, hello, mic testing .. one two three jiro - sixxxx”. Bands came on stage and within seconds went straight into their music, totally in tune, timing and emotion!  I suspect the tuning and testing must have been done earlier but not once did I hear this on stage.

I caught the music of Band Ambassadors, Shine On and Tidal Wave at Samba Square. I missed most of the first band but the last song was an indication of things to come.  The vocalists of Shine On - Sidney Soares and Silvina Lopes - were a delight in high quality singing with equally superfit stage presence. Austin Fernandes (Guitar), Magen Marquis (Bass), Merwyn Fernandes (Keys), Reagan Fernandes (Drums) displayed talent that supported the front folk throughout. 

On the street, Tidal Wave, whom I introduced earlier, was seriously a tsunami. They kept the crowd grooving on the floor.  For those who wanted to hang back a bit, there was a large LED screen and plenty of local food and feni stalls, and a kids play area to entertain the younger ones.  I thought to myself, it doesn’t get better than this.

Then Vamos Carnaval happened! 

After a longish drive up the hill to the Sinquerim Helipad we entered the arena which was literally a carnival of food, drink (the longest bar I saw in Goa) and games for kids at one end, then a huge empty area which was soon converted into a dance floor, and the stage.  I didn’t get the real figures, but there were over 700 separate LED sets, at least 12 large LED screens as a backdrop and several more light, firework and smoke effects dotted around the massive stage. Standing in front of the sub-woofers was nigh impossible and I retreated to a respectful distance after taking a few pictures.  It’s not just bells and whistles - the technicians know how to use all this equipment, sync it to the music and provide an experience that blew my mind - without alcohol. 

There were three major acts that night.  The high-powered band Uzo had Lumira Miranda (Vocal), Reuben Rebelo (Bass), Rohit Nazir (Lead Guitar & vocal), Joshua Fernandes (Keys & vocal), Elton Fernandes (Drums), Axel D’Souza (Vocals & Guitar). An international act Whigfield featuring Sannie Carlson, the lead singer of the band using backing tracks, was a delight to experience as she strutted, chatted, danced and sang across the stage - the crowd loved her. 

The curtain came down on the Carnaval 2024 with True Blue Goa who were joined by the Nightingale of Goa, Lorna, a powerhouse at her age. This band was highly rehearsed as most of the Goa bands are, but in addition they put a lot of local colour into their music with Konkani songs and as a backing for the inimitable Lorna. The band is Zubin da Cruz (Vocals & Guitar), Kris Saldanha (Vocals), Vishu Gaunkar (Drums), Bradley Rodrigues (Bass), Kreutzer Goes (Keys), Royston D'Souza (Lead Guitar).

If I had to sum up my experience of Goa bands it would be hi-tech and well-rehearsed. To explain, even the tiniest of bands know exactly what they are doing at every moment - they have a chemistry which is hard to beat, musical natives. Hours of focused rehearsal can deliver that excellence. The only thing missing from the mix is the almost total lack of original music in their setlists. They pander to the crowd and play covers only, sometimes predictable. But we know there is original music out there, one has to search for it. Coming from Kolkata where most of the bands are obscured by large music stands, I was impressed to see no music stands, hardly a laptop or iPad being peered at and not a single vocalist reading from a mobile screen while singing. They danced, gyrated, leapt in the air and strode across the stage while singing and connecting with the audience. Everyone just had a good time!

Blame it on the Carnaval.  Blame it on Rio!