My first concert was Iron Maiden at Bangalore in 2009. I remember almost losing my shoe and getting up on my friend’s shoulder for Fear of the Dark. Fast forward 9 years, and many concerts later, I’ve realised the energy at Indian concerts is significantly higher than US concerts.

As an Indian who grew up listening to a lot of Classic Rock, getting a chance to see many of my favourite bands in concert cured me of some of my fomo!

Guns N Roses (with Slash) - Really good show but Axl’s voice was better in Bangalore and nothing could beat being in the 2nd row in Bangalore.

Coldplay - Great music complemented with a great light display.

Queen + Adam Lambert - I think this was the best concert I’ve been to from a music standpoint. Adam Lambert voiced out my feelings exactly - “Is this real life, or this just fantasy?” Nobody can really be like Freddie Mercury but I’m so glad that they had the concert anyway.

Roger Waters (Us & Them tour) - It was like a dream to actually be in a Pink Floyd concert. I knew around 70% of the songs played that night but everything was still very enjoyable. The show brought out their renowned lavish visual experience that included a giant Factory, a giant Pig and a slew of political messages.

The Classic East (Eagles, Steely Dan) - Steely Dan wasn’t what I expected. Maybe I didn’t know enough of their songs to appreciate the music but they played only a few of the ones I knew which were just average.

The Eagles were amazing! So many songs were more enjoyable than expected. Big fan of their live performance.

Hans Zimmer - Inspirational movie soundtracks had me in goosebumps many times that night. The Pirates of the Caribbean piece was exquisite. The title track needs no reference but this was from one of the newer movies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeK4HMak-q0. Hair-raising!

Iggy Azalea - Good morning America’s free concerts had me up at 7 AM to get Iggy Azalea’s concert in Central Park. It was ‘Fancy’ to say the least.

Blink 182 - My 2nd GMA concert was a lot more crowded and I was part of my first mosh pit here. It was fun being occasionally crashed into by a pumped-up American goon.

Galantis - I had heard 4 or 5 songs of their and assumed thats all they’d play. But instead a I realised a live EDM concert is fairly different from their studio produced songs. Tried to make the most of enjoying in an environment designed for 18 year olds with extra money.

Metallica - The energy levels at Bangalore was insane. I joined the horde of metal-heads to head-bang to everything from Master of Puppets to Fuel. The line to enter the stadium literally went down the main road for around a kilometre and into a field where people were using a corner of the field to relieve themselves before the long evening of musical mayhem that lay ahead.

Cover bands and live shows

Appetite for Destruction & Rocket Queens - This 2 band show cranked out really good GnR magic.

Fleetwood Macked - Good cover band covering one of my favourite bands of all time!

Cafe Wha’s House band had some really great sounding covers when I went. Hopefully I catch more live music there!

I’m sure I’ve missed a couple of small shows here but I’m so glad I got to see these awesome bands!