By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The air is expectantly musical and the mood impatient as the countdown begins for Gen-X to rock to the music of the Hoobastank, an American rock band, best known for their hit “The Reason”, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004. They formed in 1994 in California with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. Their sixth studio album, Fight or Flight, was released on September 11, 2012. They have sold 10 million albums worldwide. The Hoobastank have a date with Shillong on June 29.
Musical Meghalaya had a series of western bands performing in the city, but the list was confined to the bands of yester years and the trend of having international bands went on pause mode for a few years. Hoobastank is perhaps the first ever young American band to perform in the city after this gap.
The momentum has picked up as music lovers blast their songs in their vehicles while placards and hoardings are emblazoned across the city..
There is a sense of expectancy for an international band playing in the city of music again. The young are excited and already planning their outfit for the day.
“I just want the day to arrive” said an impatient Andy Kharkongor adding that he is planning to put on a black t-shirt and jeans on the day of the gig.
“This performance is dedicated to our readers, well-wishers and friends for their love and support towards the magazine,” member of the organising team and managing editor of the magazine, The Northeast Today (TNT) Rajoo Sharma said, adding that this show is meant for the fans and is a mark of appreciation for them on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of TNT.
Pulling all the stops to give music lovers of Shillong the time of their life, organizers of the event are flying the 8-member sound team all the way from America. “We do not want to compromise on anything and definitely not sound,” said Sharma.
Informing that 15,000 tickets were printed out of which the ones circulated in Guwahati (3000 tickets) were already sold out, Sharma urged the people to avail the tickets as early as possible and not wait for the final day as the demand for the tickets is growing.
When asked why Hoobastank in particular from an array of other bands, Sharma observed that the city had witnessed bands from yester years so far and it is their endeavour to try and give music buffs of Shillong something new and in sync with the present generation.
He also informed that bands of the like of Shine down, Atreyu, Hinder, are also on the anvil. “The option to choose this band is to change the trend. Rather than going for old bands, it is better to bring in a fresh band which will cater to the young fans of the region,” Sharma added.
The organisers informed that the band was excited about coming to Shillong after knowing that this city is the rock and roll capital of India. “They will only be performing only in Shillong and no-where else in the country,” he said adding that this will be their maiden visit to India.
“They will arrive on June 27 and will be leaving on July 1 as they intend to know the place more, feel the environment, the culture rather than just performing,” Sharma said.
When asked whether the venue has adequate capacity to hold 15,000 people, Sharma said, “We don’t want to take the JN stadium as we don’t want to spoil the turf for a one-day event. As a matter of fact, football is gaining ground at the national level and music and football should go side by side and not compete with each other,” he added. The eventwill be held at the fifth ground of Polo.