As I write this, the situation in India is more or less normal. Live gigs have commenced in limited capacity from last year December. After almost a year of sitting at home in front of the computer, I realise again what a Live concert means to all of us. Digital gigs cannot and will never replace flesh and bones.

First concert of 2021 and it went crash, boom, bang. Bodhi & The Omega Force presented a note-perfect tribute concert of all Pink Floyd classics at the sold out venue.

The show started with a flawless rendition of Shine on you Crazy Diamond followed by a mean take on Syd Barrett era classic Astronomy Domine. Set 1 focused mainly on ‘The Wall’ suite. John Paul showed some great vocal chops in High Hopes. Set 1 ended with a brilliant rendition of Echoes in entirety featuring some killer guitar solos by Bodhisattwa.

Set 2 featured performance of almost entire ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ followed by another Barrett classic, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. The set ended with crowd favorites Wish You Were Here and Comfortably Numb. The show finally concluded with a raging rendition of Run Like Hell.

The band featured all top notch musicians of India. While Bodhi was in blistering form with his guitars, a special mention about the rock solid rhythm section of Gaboo on drums and Bumpy on bass is worth. John Paul on guitar and keys and Nabarun on keyboards and effects were just brilliant. The female vocals of Rupsa and Sheshtha played a very important role in the gig. The vocal duty was shared by all band members and the guest vocalist, Abhishu who gave some superb renditions which were tight and flawless. Bodhi set the stage on fire with his killer guitar solos in Comfortably Numb and The Wall Part II.

I was truly humbled by the mastery of each artist and producers who made Pink Floyd the phenomenon it is. And I must say, Roger Waters is one of the baddest. Stepping into his shoes is extremely enlightening and at the same time terrifying because his notes are literally etched in time.Last night was overwhelming. They nailed everything espeically Echoes. Had you closed your eyes during the show, you would have felt that you were indeed listening to a record of Pink Floyd greatest hits.

The sound and audio-visuals were excellent. The highlights of the show were Shine on you Crazy Diamond, Astronomy Domine, High Hopes, Echoes, Time, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun and of course, Comfortably Numb.

This was a concert which will be etched in one's memory for a long time. Quite a gig to kick off 2021. What a band!!!

Concert Rating: 4.5/5

Band: Bodhi and The Omega Force

Place: Live at TopCat CCU, Calcutta,

Date: 20.02.2021

Reviewed by Aveek Chatterjee

Aveek Chatterjee is a Calcutta-based corporate professional and a passionate fan of classic rock, prog and blues of ‘60s-‘70s. He’s an amateur musician and stills finds time to intermittently play drums while jamming with his son on guitar. He’s an avid collector of LPs, CDs and DVDs, all from the classic era of music. However, his Audio Technica turntable and the collection of 1000 odd vinyl LPs featuring many rare and hard-to-find albums are his prized possessions.