Concert!

It was her maiden concert! Thermal and a Quarter live at Palace Grounds. Everyone were raving about this band! The front man Bruce Lee Mani on guitars and vocals, Rajeev on drums, Leslie on bass and Tony on a guitars. Her boyfriend knew every one!  She tagged along, it was his favourite band. She never really listened to this band or indie music, grew up listening to the South Indian film music that her dad played on a Sony tape recorder. She felt a little out of place. She would’ve preferred a good Ilayaraja or Rahman number.

As the band started playing, the distorted guitar and drums gave her a headache! She looked around to see everyone grooving to the music. She tapped her feet and nodded along to fit in, catching the boyfriend’s eye. He smiled at her, mouthing the song Bruce was belting; “Paper puli” nudging her to sing the hook. She smiled, looking at him enjoying the show. 

She was now getting tired, hungry and her legs were giving up. She whispered in his ear, “Let’s go get something to eat”. They went to the food stands, that served expensive fast food. He ordered a couple of beers and one chicken noodles! He kissed her cheek and said, “I love you”, pressing a beer can into her hands. She smiled. 

The band was now singing MEDs. “You make me sick, I make Music” was the chorus, she watched her boy sip beer,  singing along to the distant band sound. She loved his idiosyncratic behaviors like this one.  One more song later, they had the noodles wiped! She couldn’t think about going back near the stage and the headache was suddenly not missed. She thought for a moment, then without hesitation, downed the beer in one chug, chucked the can into the trash bin, held his hands and walked towards the stage. 

The music sounded better now. “It must’ve been the beer” she thought. She looked into his eyes and she knew that he knew what was going on. He lit a cigarette, took a puff and passed it to her.