Camouflage revisited

The 1st time I saw these kids perform (sometime last year) I was moved to write a blog on them and my experience.

After much water has flown under the Ganges (read: after seeing them perform hither and tither AND after losing their band leader/keyboardist to the yuppie-corporate world) Camouflage finally get their lucky break and are invited to play @ Someplace Else.

The 9th of September, 2007

The band has improved a lot since when I last saw them perform @ Princeton. The quality of their originals are above average - "Recycled", "Hysterical Blindness" and "Slide" sounded really tight and I enjoyed listening to them. "Revolution", "Hang On" and the other new song (Imposition? or was it Disposition?) sounded nice but the songs mentioned before them are what should take them to greater heights.

As mentioned previously, I could see "U2" written all over their songs - this band seems to be a major influence to Camouflage - as are Coldplay, Oasis and other Brit-pop alternative bands. And that isnt necessarily a bad thing, btw, just an observation.

I do think Avik's keyboards add a lot more depth to the band's sound, so its a pity he hasnt been around to perform @ SPE. But the other band-members have improved a helluva lot and overall the Camouflage sound is a lot more tighter - guitars/bass/drums.

Negatives:
1> The vocals still dont do much for me - and that is the band's weak point. The vocalist does sing with a lot of passion and emotion, but he lacks the killer punch in his delivery.

2> It was very obvious that the band was a bundle of nerves - understandable becoz it is after all SPE. But they need to project more confidence on stage. Sunday evenings (post CASSINI's DIVISION) arent what they used to be @ SPE and its generally not so crowded. I would think that is a blessing in disguise for the band - being this nervous and playing in front of a prime time SPE crowd (@ 9:30 PM) would have been the death for the them.
So a band which has played @ the CRI finals and @ Princeton shouldnt be that nervous. They are a good band after all and have the experience of playing in front of big crowds.

3> The covers sounded cool, but as I've said before, Camouflage sound a lot more convincing when they play originals. Bands like Hip Pocket/Krosswindz have made it big by only doing covers and I certainly hope Camouflage DOES NOT take that route. This band's future lies in their creativity