Despite coinciding with the Carnival weekend, where a large number of people head off to Goa or for those  who can afford it, Rio (De Janeiro), the eighth edition of the Mahindra Blues saw an ample number of devotees and new disciples on both Saturday 10th February  as well as Sunday 11th February at the iconic Mehboob Studios, Bandra, on which volumes of Bollywood filmlore can be written and a place that has remained the venue of choice right from the first edition of the Mahindra Blues Festival.

This DVD is a music aficionado’s must have collection of nine gems from both the days. The beauty of live concerts is that each time the band performs their tracks there are variations from the previous performances unlike the studio versions.

The first evening kicked off with powerhouse performer Layla Zoe, an internationally recognized blues singer/songwriter from Vancouver, British Columbia. Often compared to the legendary Janis Joplin, her sassy, engaging style and powerful voice was a great opening act to get the audience into the right Blues mood.

The first track on the DVD Highway of Tears is a  slow, angst ridden song where she expresses the full repertoire of her voice interspersed with subtle guitar licks to create that smoky, nightclub effect. Work Horse displayed her ability to shift tempos with ease to a raunchy, pepped-up number with some scatting thrown in.

A change of artist came with I Want It All Back by Coco Montoya, a  former member of the Albert Collins band as well as John Mayall and the BluesBreakers. Montoya has a  clean guitar sound with smooth tasty licks played left-handed but with a right-handed neck (i.e. strings upside down).

The next evening saw Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington , an American singer and guitarist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States brought a bit of variety on his two tracks Nobody’s Fault But Mine  and You Got Me Worried. While his roots are in blues music, he blends in the essence of funk and R&B to create his own unique take. With his big band sound, a flamboyant mini brass section, consisting of a trumpet player and a saxophonist, he transports you to New Orleans, home of great American musicians. His trademark howl is guaranteed to bring a smile to a true blues fan.

The big draw of the Festival and the headlining act , John Mayall,the legendary English blues singer, guitarist, organist and songwriter performs Room to Move and Moving Out & Moving On. Mayall is the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band which has counted among its members some of the most famous blues and blues rock musicians. They include Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Walter Trout and Coco Montoya amongst others. A spry 84 years in age, he enthralls any audience, switching easily between the organ, guitar and with some thrilling trills and runs on the harmonica. His mesmeric vocal scatting brings out another facet of this master.

To close out the night of the Festival and also on the DVD, the Allstar jam comprising John Mayall, Coco Montoya , Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington, Layla Zoe and Warren Mendonsa performed We Got The Blues and Checking On My Baby, each of them contributing to create a tantalizing, musical climax.

Rating: ****

Reviewd by Savio Miranda