WKLU 101.9 Studio, Castleton, IN

Adi and I went to the studio to record my ultimate Top Ten! The show airs Friday, Dec 08, 2006 at 6pm EST and streams live on the station website: www.wklu.net

Roger Waters Live in Noblesville, IN

Okay. So the whole rock'n'roll experience is supposed to be wowing. Once you've seen some big names though, you start to put the next show you see in perspective and this is precisely what happened to me. After seeing Paul McCartney at Denver in 2002, this was my first year of getting back to watching rock concerts live, which was kicked off with Oasis in March this year, then Tom Petty over the summer and now, Roger "Creative Genius of Pink Floyd" Waters. The thing I hate most about watching bands at Verizon Wireless Center is the fact that you need to spend about 8 hours in all, to watch them play, given the horrific traffic conditions pre- and post-concert. But that is not Roger's fault. And there was nothing that anyone could fault Roger Waters and his impressive band with. Hats off, this was an incredible show - way, way better than Tom Petty in all respects. Oasis's choice of venue - the Murat and the fact that we were in the 12th row, still make that show the best overall concert experience I have had, but in terms of production of the show and the performance by the band, this has to be the best concert I have ever seen. The most amazing thing was, that I was blown away even before Roger Waters started Dark Side of the Moon. The first 45 minutes of the show are still the most memorable (I am writing this a month after the show)...Roger's incredible "Leaving Beirut" and the use of cartoons on the backdrop to ensure we got lyrics like "America, America...Don't let ...the Christian right, f**k it all up for you and the rest of the world". Roger playing the acoustic guitar on Mother, the flying pig - it flew!!! Incredible. And all this was before the heartbeats of DSOTM. The band closed things with a few of Wall, but really, the best part had been and gone.

All in all, I admire rockers aged beyond their prime (or have they?) that still want to hit the road...be it the ageless Paul, the ubiquitous Stones, Pink Floyd in all their forms or more recently, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey as "the Who". I wonder also, what will the concert scene be 10 years from now, when most of these rock legends are in their 70s. Who will bear the flag of rock'n'roll? I never did care much for U2 and Dave Matthews are great, but have overdone things in my opinion. Pearl Jam is, in my mind, the most ideally placed to take this responsibility on, in the US anyway. Oasis do a fine job in the UK. But I can't name any other band at the top of my head of the caliber and crowd-engaging capacity of Tom Petty or Roger Waters (...or dare I say, the Who). I find it hard to visualize the Killers playing "Somebody told me" to 25,000 people at Verizon Wireless Center in 2030. But I have been wrong before...only occasionally of course.

As for me, I think I am done with my share of live concerts. The excitement is not there - mostly because I end up watching shows from a distance where the musicians are smaller than my thumbnail. Additionally, more often that not, the material is not new, there is not much to look forward to and the comfort of watching DVDs at home outweighs the 8 hour drive/wait for a concert...Nonetheless, for the powerful memories rock concerts etch and the magic they sometimes create, they remain an undeniable part of the experience that is rock'n'roll.

















Set list:

In The Flesh
Mother
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Have A Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Southampton Rock
The Fletcher Memorial Home
Perfect Sense (pt 1)
Perfect Sense (pt 2)
Leaving Beirut
Sheep (flying pig!)

15 min break

Speak To Me
Breathe
On The Run
Time
The Great Gig In The Sky
Money
Us And Them
Any Colour You Like
Brain Damage
Eclipse

Encore
The Happiest Days Of Our Lives
Another Brick In The Wall (pt 2)
Vera
Bring The Boys Back Home
Comfortably Numb

Savannah, GA

Is this the best beach in the US or what? Well the warmest water I have ever been in outside of the bathroom. Fantastic day, fantastic weather, fantastic people to be around. And we still want to seek God.

Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA

From the Georgia Aquarium website:
Georgia Aquarium opened on November 23rd as the World’s Largest Aquarium. With 8 million gallons of fresh and marine water, and more than 100,000 animals representing 500 species from around the globe, you’re sure to see things you’ve never seen before!

Photo taken by Ashish Ainapure

Indianapolis Zoo, IN

Indianapolis Zoo

17 Mile "Scenic" Drive, Monterey, CA

Experience Index: 1.5/5

Very overrated location. Sure, it is next to the ocean, but so are thousands of miles of coastline. $8.75 to get in here too, which I got the feeling were being spent, in some indirectly convoluted way, to justify keeping off real estate hunters from this area. Indeed, there are several mansions along the drive, punctuating the 18 odd "scenic" locations along the drive. Sample some of them: "Joe", where some Chinese guy used to live alone at land's end and sell trinkets to tourists in the 1800s or the so-called "Ghost Tree"...Eventually, I went from sight to sight finding nothing worth capturing on camera. Save this "Lone Cypress Tree" - just one little tree sitting by itself at the edge of the land. This is also the "Pebble Beach" logo & is copyrighted!

All in all, in my opinion, if you're not a Golf fanatic (the 17 mile drive runs through the Pebble Beach golf course), avoid Monterey & stick to the wonder that is San Francisco!

Pier 39, San Francisco, CA

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Snoqualmie Falls, WA

Mt. Rainier, WA

Experience Index: 3.5/5

Mt. Rainier is the 4th National Park I have visited. The others are the amazing Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Arches, probably 3 of the best of them.

Seattle, WA (Experience Music Project, Pikes Market & More...)

Oliver Winery, Bloomington, IN

Seven Days in LA

Get past the traffic & the high cost of living and LA and its surrounding areas are simply incredible. Imagine living a 10 minute drive (2 hours during rush hour...kidding) away from the beach.

I spent 7 days in LA, 8 if you count the day I landed at the rather dated LAX airport.

USGP 2006 - Qualifying and Race Day!

Experience Index:
Qualifying - 4/5
Race Day - 3.5/5

US Grand Prix Preview Party, Indianapolis, IN

Tom Petty Live at Verizon Wireless Center, Noblesville, IN

LISTEN TO HER HEART
YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS
I WON'T BACK DOWN
FREE FALLIN'
SAVING GRACE
MARY JANE
I'M A MAN
OH WELL
HANDLE WITH CARE
IT'S GOOD TO BE KING (Extended Jam)
LEARNING TO FLY
DON'T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE
REFUGEE
RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM
-----------------------------------
YOU WRECK ME
MYSTIC EYES
AMERICAN GIRL

Philadelphia, PA

Liberty State Park, NJ

Lago di Como, Italy (Apr 23-27)

Hmm. Europe. Hmm indeed.
I do not feel like writing another article on my visit to Como, Italy. So I shall keep it short and down to some of the key things that I noticed in my 5 day trip across the Atlantic.

Why did I go there? A conference. Enough said. Being my first conference, I attended pretty much every session of the 3 day event (overlapping sessions notwithstanding). And my highlights were therefore pretty much defined by what happened at the conference and the surrounding program. But here goes, the 5 things I found most remarkable about Italy:

1. More motorcycles and an incredibly large number of small cars. Not Honda Civic small. Much, much smaller. Which makes sense, given the steep gas prices (approx. $6 per gallon) , the narrow roads and the congestion.



2. Nobody listens to music. Where are the ipods, the walkmans...the headphones, earplugs. Or even music in the bus, cars, restaurants...I heard no music anywhere. Almost. Admittedly, Pavarotti is not exactly bar fare, but surely, Italians must've heard of the Beatles and that whole guitar-bass-drum thing they started? Rock'n'roll, I believe it's called.
3. They eat in courses and end each meal with an espresso! I had 3 lunches and 1 dinner sponsored by the conference committee and every meal had at least 4 courses: typically starting with a pasta, followed by fish or chicken (and then again) and then dessert and then finally, an espresso. Wine (both red and white) was on all tables for the dinner. And every meal had water jugs of course, but also this sparkling, carbonated water. Even in the shops they sell water with "Gas" and "No Gas". Of course, with the 4-course meal comes the fact that you cannot get a second helping, not even on the spinach pudding (ugh).
4. Time is not money (either that or money is not important). I waited for 30 minutes in line for a train ticket. And there were only 6 people ahead of me! There was just one ticket counter and the guy there was so friendly he would ask you all about you, where you were coming from, where you should go...which was fine, but 30 min? And this was at the Milano Centrale. When I was returning to Milan on my last day at Como, I caught the 6:15 am train ticketless. There was no open counter, the "fast ticket" electronic booth did not accept cash and no conductor was on board.
5. Siesta no more. I did not see anyone napping in the afternoon. Shops were open, ferries and buses were plying. This was of course, in the tourist town of Como. One thing I did notice was how early shops closed. 6pm and shutters down. The Cafe next to my hotel seemed open 24 hours though...I even got an espresso there at 5:30 am. For 85 cents.

That was it. It was more of a social experience for me, meeting folks from different countries and sitting at the same dinner table. Italians, French, Spaniards, Germans, Canadians, Americans...made me realize how little of 20th century Europe is represented in the otherwise diverse US social climate (compared to Asia and South America).

Anyway, a few touristy photos follow nonetheless. The first one is of the Swiss Alps, taken from the window seat of the Milan-Amsterdam flight and I am pretty proud it turned out okay (given how fast a plane moves) :-)

Thanks for reading! Watch out for our coming trips, with tons of plans for the coming summer!

OASIS Live at the Murat Theater, Indianapolis, IN

Several things will remain etched in my memories after watching Oasis at the Murat Theater. Firstly, the fact that I got within inches of Noel, Zak, Andy and Gem and feet of Liam and got their (except Liam's) autographs. Secondly, the sheer on-stage professionalism of this band of bad Brit boys in delivering a top quality live performance. Finally, the realization that I was far from being one of their biggest fans, which is what I have always thought myself to be...But first, here's a run through what the afternoon, evening and night of March 23 was like...

I drove from West Lafayette to Indy and reached the Murat around 2 pm. There were about 6 people there before me including 2 guys from Lithuania! The number gradually swelled to about 15: the amazing thing as I got talking with these folks was how passionate they were about Oasis...almost all of them had seen them at least 5 times (this was my first). And there we were, fans in the cold, waiting to catch a glimpse of the Gallaghers and their band mates.


One of the fans there spotted Oasis's guitar tech, Jason Rhoads and walked up to him and asked him when the band was to arrive: "3 to 4 pm" was the answer. So we waited. And sure enough, at around 3:45 pm, a big silver colored bus rolled over to the entrance way where the 15 of us were huddled, cameras and Sharpies in hand. Oasis had arrived!!!

Noel was the first to get down and willingly signed autographs, though he seemed to be doing it like it was a ritual for him (which it must be), barely looking at any of us. He didn't seem to be feeling too good and I read elsewhere that he may have been ill. He certainly wasn't the outrageously funny guy I have seen on DVD so many times. But that was fine: Noel gave us what we were standing there for: an opportunity to see him up close and get him to sign our merchandise: an eternal confirmation of the fact that "I met Noel Gallagher" and perhaps the only thing that he will ever uniquely pass to me from him...And so, after seeing Noel on TV for the first time in 1998 in Pune on MTV India, I had seen him in person. I completely subscribe to the "celebrities are only human" belief and there are very few people and bands I would want to meet this way. Noel and Oasis are one of them.


Next came out Andy, Zak and Gem...Zak and Gem were especially nice, with Gem even posing with some folks for photos. And here was the part I liked: just as Zak stepped out and we surrounded him, a scrawny guy very surreptitiously slid behind Zak and straight into the door. LIAM! He had given us the slip...and though I did not get to meet him or get his autograph, in a strange way, I enjoyed that moment thoroughly!!!



After that it was time to head back home and grab some grub before the gig! Adi and me arrived at Murat at 6:45 pm and parked on the street for free. We were thankfully let into the lobby where we waited a bit. As we were waiting I recognized some folks from the Oasis website forum...that was strange, meeting cloudburst2000 and unionjack8! We introduced ourselves and spoke about a ton of things. unionjack8 has named his son Liam, has an Oasis tattoo and has already seen them more times than you can count on one hand! And hates country music...Ah, rock'n'roll fans! After that we got in, waited some more. Security let us take in cameras incidentally. No problem. Digital, film, disposable whatever...some guy even took in a minidisc camera to make his own movie!!! You gotta give Oasis credit for not insisting on these rules of restriction. Thanks guys!!!

The opening act, the Redwalls, got into things at about 8:10pm with one of their better songs called Falling Down. Overall these guys were intriguing: I know they were a lot better than they came across and have some pretty clever songs. De Nova, their 2nd album has some really good songs in addition to Falling Down: Thank You, the brilliant Front Page and the wonderful harmonies on Hung Up on The Way I'm Feeling, which reminded me of Autumn Shade II by the Vines. But these songs are not exactly the kind of material you can play to an audience wanting to hear Oasis play Supersonic and Acquiesce...and they didn't. As a result they sounded like a bunch of kids with great sound thanks to the fantastic acoustics of the Murat, but little else. In short, these guys are good, they just need to work on their live act: for starters, I think they should drop the keyboard player: when 3 guys are singing, I want to hear their harmonies, not have a keyboard competing with their vocals. Anyway, enough of the opening act. I just like to support the underdogs a lot more than most people.


It took about 15 minutes to get the stage reorganized for THE band of the day. Then, to the recorded track FITB off SOTSOG (non-Oasis fans, please bear with the acronyms for the songs and albums, I am too weary to type them out!), out walked the Gallaghers, Zak, Gem and Andy. There was Oasis, in flesh and blood, on stage. Some 5 years ago I had seen them play Wembley on TV and wondered when I could see them live myself. And this was the day.


What can I say? They played 19 tracks, mostly off their first 2 albums, DM and WTS(MG)? and the latest one: DBTT, which they were promoting in their 2004 and 2005 North American tours. And when you consider that Masterplan and Acquiesce were B-sides for singles that went into these albums, the only song outside these 3 albums that they played was Songbird from HC. Nothing else off BHN, HC or SOTSOG (FITB was a recorded track, they didn't PLAY it) combined. But I guess that's me being picky: a band's catalogue of songs is just a collection of songs. They ended with My Generation. Oasis dig the Beatles and the Who. Little wonder I dig Oasis, eh?

The crowd was loud and singing along to every word...I had no clue there were so many fans of Oasis. Now, the Murat holds 2500 I've been told. That is by no means a large crowd. But I'm willing to bet that by itself separated the true fans from the folks who were wondering what to do on a Thursday evening and found out that the band that wrote Wonderwall was at the Murat. Fantastic crowd, my only crib being that not many folks were pogo-ing, no one around me at all. The guy in front of me did it occasionally and I would pogo with him, but for the most time I was just moving on the spot...Oasis have to be fantastic for pogo-ing. Acquiesce, Supersonic, Cigs and Alcohol, Rock'n'Roll Star are all written for pogo-ing.

Anyway, my final word is this. This was the best show of any kind that I have ever witnessed. I left, my ears ringing, my throat hoarse and this strange mix of elation and sadness. Tonight's show reminded me why I loved Oasis when I first heard them. And why I kept following them loyally as they released albums that were not as good as their first 2. These guys are a no-nonsense rock'n'roll band with a unique chemistry that no band can ever try to achieve since it involves not trying at all. Oasis don't try to make great music, they just do. They don't try to be one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands of all time, they just are. Their songs are in-your-face not because they shove them out there, but because they draw you in.

Rock'n'Roll has for me, as for many more, been more than just a form of music. It has, at varying times and degrees, been a hobby, an obsession, an occupation, a dream. And as we drift through our daily routines and jobs in the quest of finding security one way or another, bands like Oasis Keep The Dream Alive for the rest of us who are less talented or less lucky or most likely of all, less brave. They put it on the line, walk it. They get drunk, get high, tour day in and out for months at a time, living out of buses, hotels and airplanes. They live the rock'n'roll life, and all of us who can't, feel a little less of the need to.


SETLIST (March 23, 2006) at Murat Theater, Indianapolis
Turn Up The Sun
Lyla
Bring It On Down
Morning Glory
Cigs & Alcohol
The Importance of Being Idle
The Masterplan
Songbird
A Bell Will Ring
Acquiesce
Live Forever
Mucky Fingers
Wonderwall
Champagne Supernova
Rock n Roll Star

Encore:
Supersonic
The Meaning of Soul
Don't Look Back In Anger
My Generation

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, IL

Adi and Dhruv visit Lincoln's town! Springfield is like that: the minute you get off the interstate, all you see are signs pointing to Lincoln this and Lincoln that...and why not! It is impressive how Springfield has maintained such an incredible tribute to America's tallest President (6f 4"). We (the two of us and Pune buddy Nagraj, who is working on his PhD at UIUC) drove from Urbana and entered Springfield, parked and got into the Abraham Lincoln Predidential Library and Museum around 2pm. In the next 3 hours or so, we took in two gripping documentaries (Lincoln's Eyes and Ghosts in the Library) that had the best special effects we had ever seen. Holographic 3D tricks-of-light, smoke, fake fire, shaking chairs, screens of varying depths...wow! Imagine all this for a President's museum. And as we walked through the chronlogical recreation of Abe's life from his time as a kid in Pigeon Creek, IN to his assasination at the Ford Theater on Good Friday, 1865 while watching "Our American Cousin" and a recreation of a tomb...fantastic portrayal of an embattled personality.

Two days later, the History Channel premiered it's 3 hour Lincoln documentary focusing on the mental battle he fought at almost every stage of his life. What was remarkable to me was the fact that he did so much at such a late age and was quite a late bloomer in many ways. Granted, it was the 19th century, but I think there's a moral for all of us who think that our directions in life are set and all we have to do is walk down them...Lincoln was almost 40 when he had given up on his political ambitions. But in the next 5 years he would resolve to take it up: slavery gave him an agenda, he did the rest. Inspiring stuff. And oh yes, that's the two of us in front of Abe's Springfield home.

University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

And yes, after returning to Urbana, Nagraj gave us a quick tour of the campus (UIUC). It was dark, cold and windy so better pictures and more meaningful experiences must wait for another day. Till then this crummy picture of the Alma Mater and the two of us should suffice as proof of our visit!

Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

A second visit for a game at Conseco, another blowout. The Pacers routed the Nets last time we went to watch them. This time it was the Sonics. And we were minus J.O. and J.T. As I have always believed, Freddie Jones showed he is capable of a lot more than he normally gets the chance to demonstrate. With more responsibility on his shoulders than usual, he made 26 as the Pacers got 115 points and kept the high scoring Sonics down to 96. The crowd attendance was a lot lower (14000) than normal, but I enjoyed this game a lot more than I did the one against the Nets. $10 may well be worth it for a distant ticket to a game. Adi's mum also managed to grab a freebie: a free Haircut at Great Clips! Go Pacers indeed!