Sid Sriram at Shastri Hall

Review the latest concerts you have listened to.
Post Reply
shriram.krishnan72
Posts: 52
Joined: 14 May 2017, 13:28

Sid Sriram at Shastri Hall

Post by shriram.krishnan72 »

Shreya Devanath - Violin
Praveen Sparsh - Mridangam

My woes of terrible auditoriums and acoustics this summer continued with Shastri Hall. I have heard many concerts in the past here but with an apparent renovation and rewiring it seems to have only got worse. More about that later.

Highlights:

Sid Sriram has a good voice that has the right measure of volume and is pleasant on the ears. Maybe not the most ideal for this music but can be moulded well to suit

His swarams for Shubapanthuvarali were interesting and his ability was evident in the short sketch of Atana before singing Chede Buddhi

He sang Mokshamu Galada and it had a good impact with the audience though the ragam outline was innacurate and sounded like many other ragams until he started the song

With self confidence and belief he comes across as a strong personality through his body language

There were surprisingly many younger listeners who kept walking in and out who also seemed quite clueless about the music. Nice that there are people trickling in to listen to Carnatic from those who are fans of his film music. Maybe this will kindle their interest and lead to them listening to other artists and concerts too.

Negatives:

His music reminded me a lot of Aruna Sairam. From the song selection and mannerism and body movements to even his modulations he seems to be trying to apply her success formula. I found his artificial crooning unnecessary and out of place

In a 2 hour concert he sang almost 7 thukkadas which were a few too many for my liking

He has a strong accent in his pronunciation of the lyrics and swarams. His music was also very modern and flat. Maybe his light music shades overlap with this but I did not leave with the satisfaction of having listened to a good solid CM concert.

Shreya Devanath on the violin exhibited her strong foundation in the Lalgudi bani but she was very lethargic on stage. She failed to make an impact and did not impress. Needs more experience

Praveen Sparsh was the saving grace and made sure the concert was a success. He has been in the concert circuit for many years and is playing many senior artists of late. I came across a concert where he beautifully accompanies TM Krishna on Youtube. He was a different mridangist on this day and catered to this concert. His playing was sensitive and at the same time assertive. A youngster to look at carefully in becoming a big name in the future.

Other:

The microphone system was so bad that there was a constant electric buzz throughout almost like a bee hovering near your ear. When Sid Sriram held the mic to change position the sound became less and he was forced to hold the mic in one hand and sing ragam until the audio engineer fiddled around with new cables and mics. Such a horrible sight. I was pretty sure the AC was turned off too

There is another notable habit among audience. In many places when Thyagaraja or Guru Guha came in the compositions many were seen praying and folding their hands. Has this been always or is this more recent?

Overall the concert was hot and cold. The singer has a lot of positives with his voice and attitude and all the other cosmetic requirements. His music however has a long way to go. He tends to get very monotonous. Hopefully he gets proper guidance and improves before he gets branded.

- SK72

Vocalist
Posts: 1030
Joined: 19 Feb 2006, 18:53

Re: Sid Sriram at Shastri Hall

Post by Vocalist »

Yes, this review sums up my sentiments about his music, though I found fewer positives. Is it me or is the folding of hands following MSS in her gestures during her time? Anyway, thanks again for another lovely review.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9907
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Sid Sriram at Shastri Hall

Post by rajeshnat »

shriram.krishnan72 wrote: 18 May 2017, 19:13 When Sid Sriram held the mic to change position the sound became less and he was forced to hold the mic in one hand and sing ragam until the audio engineer fiddled around with new cables and mics. Such a horrible sight.
He holding the mic in one hand - his film music and concerts of that type would have helped

shriram.krishnan,
saramati,subhapantuvarali ,atana and a string of tukkadas . By any chance did you miss pointing out the main song

srikant1987
Posts: 2246
Joined: 10 Jun 2007, 12:23

Re: Sid Sriram at Shastri Hall

Post by srikant1987 »

Thank you, shriram.krishnan72, for your informative review.

shriram.krishnan72
Posts: 52
Joined: 14 May 2017, 13:28

Re: Sid Sriram at Shastri Hall

Post by shriram.krishnan72 »

@Vocalist and @srikanth1987 Thank you for your kind words
@rajeshnat Main song was Karaharapriya but just did not see positives so did not comment on it

Post Reply