The first thing I need to state here should be that I don't like music. I only ever listen to ghazals by Ghulam Ali but not much else.. So when some friends insisted I accompany them to the Mahindra Blues Sunday Brunch, I was not too keen. I was looking forward to a relaxing sunday at home after an exhausting week. I wanted to curl up with a book or watch television.. In the end, however, their excitement and enthusiasm caught on and I decided to go for the event.
The tickets were booked late Saturday night for the event which was scheduled for 1-3 p.m. at Mehboob Studios. In the morning, however, just a couple of hours before the event, we got a call from 'bookmyshow' saying that one of the two groups which was to perform, has cancelled out and an Indian band will perform in the first half, while the second half will continue as per schedule. We thought this was bit strange as just on band was to play as per the schedule which was Michael Messer & The Second Mind Band.
Anyhow, we went to the venue, collected the tickets and settled down at our table. The event was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and since it was supposed to be a brunch, one expected the food to be served a bit earlier than that if not at 1. Neither happened at 1.
First some very amateur local bad called 'Sky Rabbits' turned up on stage around 12:30 and continued to test the equipment, sound, etc till 1:30 p.m.! Then they disappeared from stage to get drinks and finally, I think the first full song they sang emerged only at 1:45p.m. or so! After which, they took another break while some CDs were played in the background (which was actually a relief as the band was awful!)..
Apart from the good company, there was nothing commendable about the afternoon..
Terrible Music, extremely poor sound systems, bad acoustics and really bad food, all put together made for an afternoon where we were all wishing that we'd stayed home n caught up on some sleep instead!
This is what the Blues festival claimed but what we got was something diametrically opposite. A couple sitting one table behind us was extremely irritated by it all and demanded a refund.. (which they discreetly got) We had started eating coz we were really hungry by then and felt a little bad about asking for a refund after that. In hindsight, however, I wish we had asked for it. The organisers owed it to us for wasting an entire Sunday when we could have been doing just about anything else.
I wish they had just cancelled the show. In the first place, I do not understand why they accepted bookings even at 1 a.m. for the show under the original schedule when, surely, they must've known by then that the band was not going to show up. It is unethical for them to have done that.
They ruined our Sunday and reaffirmed my belief that these festivals and live shows are a waste of time and money. It also makes me want to stick to my Ghulam Ali CDs and not venture out n try to attend these music festivals. I'm sure none of the 50 odd people who had turned up this afternoon, will ever go back for the Blues festival again.
This not only impacts my trust in the festival but also in the Mahindra brand. Such poor showing tells me they don't really care about their patrons.. which is just unfortunate..
It really would have been better if they had just cancelled the show instead of wasting everyone's time and money.. What would have been even better? If they had informed the patrons of the change in schedule, refunded the money and conducted the show with the Indian band anyway.. It would not have cost much, but would have left people feeling much better about the experience of the festival as well as brand Mahindra..
The tickets were booked late Saturday night for the event which was scheduled for 1-3 p.m. at Mehboob Studios. In the morning, however, just a couple of hours before the event, we got a call from 'bookmyshow' saying that one of the two groups which was to perform, has cancelled out and an Indian band will perform in the first half, while the second half will continue as per schedule. We thought this was bit strange as just on band was to play as per the schedule which was Michael Messer & The Second Mind Band.
Anyhow, we went to the venue, collected the tickets and settled down at our table. The event was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and since it was supposed to be a brunch, one expected the food to be served a bit earlier than that if not at 1. Neither happened at 1.
First some very amateur local bad called 'Sky Rabbits' turned up on stage around 12:30 and continued to test the equipment, sound, etc till 1:30 p.m.! Then they disappeared from stage to get drinks and finally, I think the first full song they sang emerged only at 1:45p.m. or so! After which, they took another break while some CDs were played in the background (which was actually a relief as the band was awful!)..
Apart from the good company, there was nothing commendable about the afternoon..
Terrible Music, extremely poor sound systems, bad acoustics and really bad food, all put together made for an afternoon where we were all wishing that we'd stayed home n caught up on some sleep instead!
This is what the Blues festival claimed but what we got was something diametrically opposite. A couple sitting one table behind us was extremely irritated by it all and demanded a refund.. (which they discreetly got) We had started eating coz we were really hungry by then and felt a little bad about asking for a refund after that. In hindsight, however, I wish we had asked for it. The organisers owed it to us for wasting an entire Sunday when we could have been doing just about anything else.
I wish they had just cancelled the show. In the first place, I do not understand why they accepted bookings even at 1 a.m. for the show under the original schedule when, surely, they must've known by then that the band was not going to show up. It is unethical for them to have done that.
They ruined our Sunday and reaffirmed my belief that these festivals and live shows are a waste of time and money. It also makes me want to stick to my Ghulam Ali CDs and not venture out n try to attend these music festivals. I'm sure none of the 50 odd people who had turned up this afternoon, will ever go back for the Blues festival again.
This not only impacts my trust in the festival but also in the Mahindra brand. Such poor showing tells me they don't really care about their patrons.. which is just unfortunate..
It really would have been better if they had just cancelled the show instead of wasting everyone's time and money.. What would have been even better? If they had informed the patrons of the change in schedule, refunded the money and conducted the show with the Indian band anyway.. It would not have cost much, but would have left people feeling much better about the experience of the festival as well as brand Mahindra..
