The Aayushi Karnik Trio at Blue Frog, B'lore

The Aayushi Karnik Trio was in town this weekend and I finally managed to catch the gig after missing the last few owing to work-related travel. Playing at the Blue Frog, (not one of my favourite venues in town), the band started just a little before 9 pm. Kicking off with a Beatles cover of Across the Universe, the band powered through a relatively mellow yet tight set. Aayushi Karnik is one of those musicians whose sheer talent and ease of playing her music more than makes up for her comparatively shy and quiet demeanor on stage. And that results in a no-nonsense, no-banter straight up clean blues gig. If you can't figure out what I'm saying, check her playing Voodoo Child. Legsang Sherpa on bass was meticulous, and I rather enjoyed his work on an impromptu jazz piece the band played. I wasn't particularly thrilled with his vocal contribution though.  Sudhakar Prabhu on drums was in charge of keeping things tight and define the boundaries with which Aayushi is allowed to do her thing. I was hoping for a drums solo bit.

All the seats in the house were full and everyone enthusiastically cheered the band on. It was refreshing to see a simple stripped down blues gig after quite some time. That being said, I think the band needs to look at a slightly bigger sound, maybe the introduce a horns or harmonica section that augments the current sound.

PS - We had Luke Kenny in the house who was probably the most vocal in cheering the band on and screaming out for an encore.