Sunday, February 24, 2008

[music] Earthsync


I had no clues who Earthsync was or what it was.. till a friend(blog buddy) intro'd me to this group, sent me link and wat nots.. i got curious.. but then it was to happen on 17th Feb, in evening around 7.. now, my friend was getting married on 18th and we had planned couple of stuff to happen from 16th.. so wasnt sure if i can make it.. so let it be

On 17th, after a fun mehndi party, and some chit chatting, got back home exhausted.. ready to die... seriously... and then suddenly like a bolt of lightening remembered Earthsync.. got up,washed my face, freshened up a bit and told gramma " am going for a concert, if i get tickets, i go, else i come back home sulkin...lol"... she said ok...

So, walked it down to harrington road, to lady andal school where the event was happening at Sir M.V.Rao concert hall.. Wow, was blown away by the sheer size and appearance of the hall. and the interiors are no less... no wonder, most concerts are moving from Music academy to here now... anyways... found my seat.. 1st time going for concert alone.. so was a new experience... waited... friend called, chatted with her..spotted a few familiar faces,went n said hi hello.. and finally at 7.30 (fashionably late) it started...

The stage was filled with instruments of all sizes and shapes.... the next hour and half was filled with interesting mix of music..


Carnatic notes
Tibetian monks chanting .... [well, to be honest, i was dead tired n abt ready to sleep, was hoping they would play some lively numbers, and well, they kinda did, a bit later]
Sufi by sufi singers from Nagore ( they sang a song in hindi and then in tamil about Allah..)..was beautiful and soothing...
Anuradha sang ‘Enna Tavam Seidhanai" , wee bit different from what i've heard, but was nice..
bharatnatyam portrayed in an almost Ballet like style...

Padma Shankar on violin,
Ravi Shankar- sitar,
Navin Iyer- flute
Mishkomba- bass
Yoav Bunzel-- drums matching the tunes belted out on the other instruments was sensational..
Mahesh Vinayakram doing the kunnakol (the way they rap out thaka thimi tha.. and go on n on for a while?)
Zohar Fresco hitting the drums was Awesome... he kept the tempo going...
Forgot the name of the 2 men who played the drums used in South indian temples.. that was good, they were using only the top portion of the drums (thavil i think).. and then tried to match the other instruments( but unfortunately their beats were drowning amidst the heavy beat of the drums and tabla)

All in all, was an interesting experience... but they could have incorporated some more from Indian music... there is so much, yes, agreed, it is difficult to bring in western music into this and play them in sync, but there are so many others who've done it... and well, indeed..

Got back home feeling fresh, and was glad i did go for the concert...

For more info about them, chk out their site
http://www.earthsync.com/


Tuesday, February 05, 2008

[Movie] Mad Money


Saw a bit of the trailor for this movie Mad Money day before on TV.. since then been thinking about watching it.. I love Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah... ofcourse, enjoy their movies... so thot why not...

Went online, saw that Satyam had the movies, checkd with mom if she wanted to come along, and booked tickets.. later on sis also joined in...[she bunked college..;)] We walked into Six degrees, a plush theater in Satyam cineplex and waited for the movie to begin... here's a bit about the movie...

Its a comedy about three ordinary women who form an unlikely friendship and decide to do something extraordinary—rob one of the most secure banks in the world.Another tit bit about Mad Money is that it is BASED ON A TRUE STORY.... woww... :)

Starring: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Stephen Root, Christopher McDonald, Adam Rothenberg, Roger Cross

Director: Callie Khouri

Bridget played by Diane Keaton is losing it when she realises they've got no money, and are gonna lose their home.. Her husband Don (Ted Danson) is joblesss n on the couch all day.She tries getting a job, with no luck till her maid offers to hook her up with a co. she knows... Ta da... she gets a job as a cleaning woman for the Federal Bank... eeeks...What would happen if you put a women who has no money in a place filled with money? yep, exactly.. she gets ideas and her brain gets wired... lolz...

She then gets close to Nina (Queen Latifah), a single mom who works in the shredding dept and with Jackie (Katie Holmes), a spunky girl grooving to music all the time who wheels carts loaded with money to the shredding dept... bridget comes up with a brainer, and decides to rob the bank of these worn out notes.... she schemes with the 2 girls and gets the ball rolling... the way they go about the whole operation is mind blowing.... the attn to detail and the way they stuff themselves before heading home... woww, u gotta watch the movie...

After a point, when Don says "enuf", bridget says "why, there is so much more waiting for us, lets continue".. and she decides to go ahead and continue their scam for as long as possible.. the instance where Nina's key falls into the drain and they are left without a key to a lock that they have put in place is kick asss... getting Jackie's bf on the phone, which leads to him gettting fired from his beef packing job... her throwing the gum in the elevator, and the dialogues between are sensational.. they have u in splits...






Do they get busted??? do they rob enuf and pay off all their dues? oh,well, lets just say they get away with it all , alive, and outta jail... phew...

The actresses are filled with charm,yes, the movie is unbelievable at times, but to think this actually happened is amazing...Queen Latifah as always is super smart, sweet when she realises she likes the security guard, and the way they go about their romance is cute... her love for her kids, fear that they will get put behind bars, and practical nature come out vividly... Katie is spunky,chirpy and adorable.. the plot she cooks to blow up the money is wakaooo...

As they say... Money rules.and it can make you do a lot of things you wouldnt do otherwise...
Go on, check out this movie and let me know... :)