Someplace Else

Kolkata in the Eastern part of India is home to Tagore, Amartya Sen,  Mother Teresa, Satyajit Ray and old school romance. Nostalgia is the best sauce to feed your imagination. Ask anyone who has seen Park Street in its heydays in the late ’60s and ’70s. Christmas and New Years eve meant dancing on Park Street, I am told. The greats of Rock, Jazz and Blues all performed live in the various restaurants and nightclubs of Park Street during those golden years. The Victoria Memorial, Soccer fever and Utpal Dutt’s theatre all happened here. The long adda sessions at Coffee House is a thing of the past.

Arthur Gracias played at Magnolia’s, Joe Perreira at Blue Fox, Delailah at Moulin Rouge. Blue Fox boasted of Pam Crain on the vocals and Louis Banks on the keyboard, Saxophonist Braz Gonsalves was the cult band called The Louis Banks Brotherhood. Usha Uthup nee Iyer sang California Dreaming as the connoiseurs slipped in requests on scraps of paper. Food, alcohol and music made for a heady combo that lasted two decades to make Park Street in Kolkta, the most happening address for any musician to test their mettle.

Then came Act II when the patronage dried up. the clubs began to be frequented by the nouveau riche leaving the connoiseurs to live on nostalgia alone.Fourteen years back when Someplace Else opened as a discotheque but was essentially a pub at heart. The drummer Nondon Bagchi (who played for Great Bear) is credited with having partnered with Abhijit Bose the then Food & Bev Manager at The Park to allow a live band to play there. The band that first played there was Hip Pocket. Wednesday Nights of Classic rock encouraged other musicians to follow suit. Nondon Bagchi is not only an amazing drummer but is a foodie. So the ambience of Someplace Else is a byproduct of both those passions. Anyone who is a name you recognize in the Indian music scene has performed there – from Remo to Lou Majaw (the Dylan singer from North East) to Ayub from Bangladesh, Jal from Pakistan have all been on that tiny stage. So you never know who is playing there tonight. Check out their blog for nice pictures (http://speforever.blogspot.com/)I heard Orient Express with its extremely talented lot of nine performers led by Monojit Dutta (aka Kochu-da to old timers from Kolkata) play Latin Jazz and some eternal favorites of theirs like Lara’s Theme, Parfida etc. The solitary female member of the band played some cool stuff on the piano accordion before settling into into percussion and vocals. It was an enchanted evening. Friends and music make a heavy combo. If you are in Kolkata and are looking to hear some good live music – stop by at Someplace Else. Checkout their page on Youtube to get a first hand feel of the music.