'DESIGNER CONCERTS' FOR THE TRENDY!

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Going by the emerging trends, days may not be far when ‘designer concerts/events’ of these sorts take place under tie-up with business houses. The sponsors would justify them with the ‘need of the hour’ to attract the Genext to carnatic music!!

Multi-star concerts
If you could roughly divide the concert into three parts, the first artist will render a varnam, a few kriti-s and the so called ‘sub-main’; the key vidwan will handle the core segment i.e., the main piece. The third artist will go merry with the tukkada section. An RTP expert will chip in, if needed, between the core and tukkada segments.

Multi-pitch concerts
For ‘medium-sthayi’ oriented pieces (for example, the Todi swarajati Raave himagirikumari or Naadatanumanisam in Chittaranjanai) the artist will happily choose a bright pitch (higher sruti). He/she will select a low pitch for kriti-s like Ksheera sagara, where hitting the upper panchama at ‘Taraka nama’ is mandatory. Needless to say multi-pitch concerts will be a boon for artists who do not have a ‘sweeping range’. Of course you have to put up with the interludes for change of sruti /instruments between songs.

Double-Duos
In other words, two ‘duo sets’ on the same stage! This can promote healthy competition but requires enough space on the platform. Mixed doubles (brother duos & sister duos) could be hugely attractive and the so-called ‘stage presence’ guaranteed!

‘Virtual Vaggeyakara’ concerts
Here the artist will dress up like the composer of the kriti. As considerable time may be needed for change-overs, two or more artists may participate and take turns. Apart from the trinity composers, a male artist dressed up as Poet Bharatiyaar shall appear for a patriotic song. Lady artists may be interested for the roles of Aandaal or Ambujam Krishna.
Brainteasers
A group of well rehearsed artists sit together. Songs won’t start at the pallavi. Singers take turn to sing sahitya passages at random to make meaningful formations to elicit audience admiration and finally arrive at the kriti. These could be preceded by raga alapana with rare pidi-s leaving the listeners guessing the raga name. The exact ragaroopa will emerge later. A perfect game for amateurs!
The event can be improvised into a quiz programme with audience participation.

Camaraderie kutcheri-s
The raga will be rendered by one team, the kriti by another, the niraval-swaraprastara by yet another and so on. The full bench Tani will have one member from each team. The events could be ‘Logistically challenging’ but entertainment guaranteed!

Sing along bash
If you are a great fan of a particular singer, you can fulfill your dream of singing along your choice kriti sitting beside him/her on the stage. Mind you, the cost can be high or even exorbitant. Highly recommended for fund raising.

The 'Walk-in celebrity'
The event promoters (say, an Idli-dosa dough / masala powder maker) bring a celebrity to your doorstep quite unexpectedly on a Sunday. How well you receive and treat them to instant snacks with the ingredients provided by the sponsor, will be the test. The reward will be in the form of a song of your choice rendered by the guest artist. Telecast of the event will come in as a bonus!

Just for laughs!
The unsuspecting rasika walking into the sabha to listen to his favourite star will be cornered by a team and asked to buy a ticket (even though the event is advertised ‘all are welcome’ - meaning free). How he/she reacts and the consequent embarrassment/milieu will fetch the hapless rasika a gift hamper from the sponsor!

In another format, a stranger accosts you while you are hurrying your way to a concert, opens a talk, hums a raga with several mistakes and insists you agree with him. Finally when you go mad, the sponsor crew appear from nowhere with the video camera to expose you and gift a T shirt!!


Any more ideas, friends?

[PUNARVASU]

You walk into the auditorium and are accosted by the organisers. They say that you have been selected for giving the concert that day and they forcibly lead you to the stage! Scary!

[Sivaramakrishnan]

You walk into the auditorium and are accosted by the organisers. They say that you have been selected for giving the concert that day and they forcibly lead you to the stage! Scary!

..it doesn't stop there; they give you a list of songs you must render!

[aaaaabbbbb]

The members attending the programme,

can be offered face masks of their favorite

business and IT heads.It is mandatory that those masks should be worn.

[Of course, the respective houses will sponsor them]

They have to be returned after the programme.

[Nick H]

Great idea! They sponsor the musicians, why not the audience too? We have an insatiable demand for free concerts, lets take it to the next step, and expect not only to get the concerts for free, but be paid to attend.

I am eagerly awaiting offers to have trade marks emblazoned on my vesti...

)

[Nick H]

The title of the thread sets a tune in motion in my head. Origin, Pink Floyd. Many here have much wider musical horizons than mine and will recognise the source...

We don't need no;
Trendy concerts;

[Nick H]

We don't need no Trendy concerts;

But wait! Maybe we do!

I never really got into the possibilities of digital tv, with all it's red buttons and yellow buttons and all, I seem to remember that, on Sky TV, sports watchers have the possibility of selecting different camera angles, having action replays to order, and many other wondrous things. Dramas have been broadcast where the audience chooses that is going to happen next!

So... every seat has its handset, and with your handset you can pick any replay, perhaps mute an artist, or select the sound level for you. Perhaps, when an artist gives a choice of raga, he can tell which button to press, and those who pressed one button will hear that raga, those who pressed another button will hear a different one.

Yes! Perhaps we do want trendy concerts, and, perhaps (assuming we can get over the small problem of an artist performing several different things at the same time) the technological possibilities are endless.

Bring the comfort of your home into the concert hall!

Of course, the handsets will allow you also to select snacks and drinks, delivered to your seat. Share a pizza with your family while enjoying live music! Hmm... Maybe the artists might take to eating pizza while performing the music. Never mind, nothing is perfect in life.

) )

[braindrain]

Double-Duos
In other words, two ‘duo sets’ on the same stage! This can promote healthy competition but requires enough space on the platform. Mixed doubles (brother duos & sister duos) could be hugely attractive and the so-called ‘stage presence’ guaranteed!

I think this is already tried.. Mysore Nagaraj& Manjunath and Ganesh-Kumaresh pairs did come together for a concert at Vishesha Fine Arts last year in Bangalore. Also, Gundecha Brothers - Malladi Brothers had a joint jugalbandi concert. ( http://vimeo.com/60751362 )

[Nick H]

two ‘duo sets’ on the same stage!

Get the sports fans into the audience too. Have the duos play tennis while they sing. Violin duos have to use specially strengthened violins as they obviously cannot hold separate rackets.

Put a group of soloists on stage, and decide the current performer by some sort of ongoing tag match?

[arasi]

My, my! I'm already on the moon, having been propelled by all your outer galactic musings (I mean, in their unbelievable content:) All very amusing too!

As fantastic as they sound, I will settle for concerts in regular halls. By regular, I mean a good hall where music follows a pattern (an advantage, in my view) as against a haphazard order of the pieces.

Where the sound system is sound (not all sound...er, noise).

Where you have surprises about what's going to be sung after an AlApana rather than when the varNam is going to be sung, or be in suspense as to who's going to perform the most--the vocalist or the accompanists--when it starts to sound like a violin concert and the vocalist is like an accompanist, where the main singer becomes a conductor in prompting accompanists to play away, fill in the blanks...

I'm sure all the above would have been as fantastic as your musings a number of years ago.
So, the days when your dreams get fulfilled are not far off

Some of which, I hope not!
Sorry folks for bringing you all to the ground

[arasi]

Deleted on realizing that it's a repeat post of mine...

[arasi]

Braindrain,
That had slipped my mind. So many super talents on stage, and I couldn't stay till the end because it was all a bit too much for me

[parivadini]

The title of the thread sets a tune in motion in my head. Origin, Pink Floyd. Many here have much wider musical horizons than mine and will recognise the source...

We don't need no;
Trendy concerts;

Also the Brain Damage will make many, Comfortably numb!

Venkat

[rshankar]

Venkat, before I read your post, I thought your message would be "and Parivadini will be happy to webcast these designer concerts if there are no ownerships issues"! :p

[uday_shankar]

"These were hidden fires, indeed!" - Dr. Watson, Hound of the Baskervilles (Death on the Moor)

Sivaramakrishnan, who would have imagined that an apparently "saadhu" and soft-spoken gentleman from Kerala is capable of such delightful mischief ! Hope the evolution of this thread does justice to your original post. "chetta's" chettai .

Nick, thanks for reminding of my favorite band. When Syd Barrett died in 2006, I emailed a friend "the lunatic's finally under the grass" .

[Nick H]

I thought your message would be "and Parivadini will be happy to webcast these designer concerts

They are already looking at the remote-order pizza franchise!

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Uday,
There's a usage in Tamil: 'Saadhu mirandaal'.
The saadhu here is 'mirandufied' at the emerging trends!

[arasi]

kADu koLLavillai!

sAdhu miraNDAl kADu koLLAdu! (When a docile animal gets agitated, all the jungle cannot contain it!).

[arasi]

Nick,
Serving the logo-emblazoned vEshTi kurtA man!

But purists may object to the aroma of that oregano-seasoned italian peasant food--unless they come in vaTRal kuzhambu or avial flavor! Mind you, you may not be able to shake that lot off in your fantasy concert halls!

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Arasi,
Which is the Tamil equivalent for 'animal' in 'saadhu mirandaal'?!

[arasi]

SRK,
Since the setting is a jungle (kADu), one is led to assume that it's a sAdhu (gentle, docile) creature living there (a deer, perhaps?). We apply it to a human situation, of course (in the human jungle!) as you have. The whole jungle will not be able to contain its rage. When an otherwise docile elephant goes amok, a jungle simply can't hold him and he may attack the villagers living nearby.

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Thank you, arasi of compassion and patience!

[mahavishnu]

Brilliant thread... Shine on, Sivaramakrishnan

[Nick H]

But purists may object to the aroma of that oregano-seasoned italian peasant food--unless they come in vaTRal kuzhambu or avial flavor! Mind you, you may not be able to shake that lot off in your fantasy concert halls!

I cannot believe that pizza-at-the-seat is not just the thing to get a young, trendy woman, such as yourself, to attend more concerts. It is the perfect compliment to young and trendy developments on-stage.

B-) B-) B-)

[Sivaramakrishnan]

CHARTER A CONCERT:

Though not uncommon, this is a costly venture where a group of affluent rasikas or a Corporate house charters an artist for a concert consisting songs of their choice. It is possible that accompanists could also be named by the sponsors. The musician must be willing to render 'Kurai onrum illai' as the second item to honour an executive leaving by an early evening flight and once again for a dignitary walking in late! The assignment may not be tough for the artist because Vatapi ganapatim, Nagumomu, Krishna nee beganey, Brahma mokate etc. invariably find a place in the list. Instrumentalists naturally have an edge over vocalists for such events but should be prepared to play folksy/filmy tunes too.

Not recommended for Senior artists even though highly remunerative.

[SrinathK]

@Sivaramakrishnan, How about the ultimate one where every item is from a different genre of music?

Or the distant future, where a concert is webcast from the moon. More realistically, the first Carnatic concert onboard the ISS?

[Sivaramakrishnan]

Srinath,
1. Each item from a different genre : Quite possible
2. Webcast from moon: I am unable to visualise the trends of a 'very very distant future'!

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

Sivaramakrishnan: KUDOS to your imagination!!Ofcourse I am like ARASI--content with the "hackneyed,boring" stuff!!!
LOGO BINNA RUCHIHI!!!

[parivadini]

Can hear a Mylapore mama look at the lunar suggestion and say 'ennada ambi -thaniyavarthanam podhu onnuku polam,renduku polam,moonuku pogalamo? "
Crazy thread! each post outdoing the other! Choked Laughing so much that the morekozhambu sadam attempted to come out of my nose!
Oh thygaraja! Wish you were here!
To see this post!
V

[PUNARVASU]

Parivadini, !

[Rsachi]

Guys
Great ideas. I think you have obvious inspirations for Trendy Souped-up CM:
IPL- teams of 3 ensembles each side (vocal, instrument, fusion), big money, betting, cheer leaders, and short format (45 min each side for all three ensembles) That way attendance will skyrocket.
ARNAB roundtable - a weekly scream shootout with tutu meinmein mud throwing between banis and branded musicians who can score on popularity points which will be folded back into their TSCM (trendy souped up CM) promos before the next TSCM season.
We can name this the TSCM September League and kick up a lot of dust and noise as a stimulus for the boring mega mela called Margazhi test matches where performers and family exceed in number the audiences.

[ramamantra]

sivaramakrishnan: your imagination looks like the product of an idle mind. I wish people stopped floating such 'mental' ideas around!

[Sivaramakrishnan]

ramamantra,
That's an excellent compliment to the 'threadbeginner' as well as the 'threadbearers'!

[sukumar]

i feel that each 'concept' mentioned above is already happening... u need to identify them
i heard a concert recently where the artist is singing not just raga malika but also 'shruthi malika'... without touching that electronic box which is giving out frequencies not know to the singer.. a maami sitting next to me is humming in her own raaga the krithi in almost the same language! walk-in and walk-out by organisezrs, other rasikas, celebrities and Dharmawaram clad lady ( that evenings' compere ) who wants us to give 'standing innovation' to the 'artist', is more frequent than a beautiful phrase ever tried by him on stage.

[Nick H]

I was mentioning the possibilities of "remote control" as per TV controllers. I suppose I left behind the right to the accolade "techie," long ago, and I am now hopelessly out of date --- of course, now, it would be an APP. Probably just for the iPhone; no need to let us Android proles in on the act!

As a variety of SRK's chartered-concert theme, we could have sponsors and VIPs controlling the concert from their iPhone Apps.

There are a couple of other commercial possibilities here:

Apps could be used to decide the next song, on a chargeable basis. This could be charged to Google Wallet. Where is contention, bidding could take place, with the song decided by the highest bidder.

Why limit this to those at the concert? It could include those watching the webcast all over the planet.

Where a top-name hall-filling artist has a choice of wildly popular songs this could earn substantial amounts for the artist and the sabbha.

Here's a dark thought... Why stop at money? Give new meaning to that ridiculous euphemism for ticket, Donor Pass.

"Did you get your favourite songs at the concert?"

"Yes, but it cost me an arm and a leg. And a kidney."

[CRama]

My two cents.
The concert can have songs in which pallavi, anupallavi and charanam are taken from different songs by different composers, but on the same God. That will show the handling of the same theme by different composers.
Secondly, a concert will consist of ragams in madhyamasruti, nishadanthyam ragas etc.
Third, alapana can be of one ragam, violin can play another ragam, thanam in another ragam, pallavi in another ragam, neraval in ragamalikas, swaras in ragamaliks. A medley of toooo many ragams.
I hope TMK will not read this thread

[Rsachi]

CRama
TMK may sue you for violating copyright.