Thermal And A Quarter’s Chennai performance promise rock, roll and a local talent

Thermal And A Quarter returns to Chennai after a year with special guests and new music at Bay 146.

While it only takes four hours to get from Bengaluru to Chennai on a superfast train, it has taken almost a year for Thermal And A Quarter to come back for yet another performance to the city. As they say, good things come to those who wait, and the wait has finally ended. 

“This time, we’re coming with a different set. We will be playing a lot of songs from our last album A World Gone Bad, but also some older songs, and we also have some special guests joining us on stage,” says Bruce Lee Mani, founder and guitarist of the band. 

Thermal And A Quarter has been performing in Chennai for years. The upcoming gig will host two of the city’s musicians — Sriram TT from Skrat, and 19-year-old guitarist Amithav Gautam. “Sriram is an old buddy. We’ve been in the same circle for many years, and he shows up at every one of our Chennai gigs. He knows all the words to all our songs, so we thought it would sound nice to have him sing a couple of songs with us as well,” says Mani, adding that their collaboration with Amithav Gautam has been long in the works since the guitarist was not old enough to play in bars with the band so far. “Now he’s actually of age and he can play. It will be interesting to see what he brings. We’re doing one original song with him and then a few more,” 

Speaking of the setlist, Bruce says, “One of the downsides of being a band as long as we have is that we have a great number of songs. Putting down a setlist is a battle sometimes, but we’ve found a balance.” 

Rajeev, the band’s drummer adds that even thought they are known historically to play lengthy sets that extend over two hours, this time they are trying to make it a thematic experience. “This whole approach only started after our last Chennai set, so it will be substantially different from the last time.” 

The gig at Bay 146 on July 26 will also witness the premiere performance of its latest single ‘Raise the Bar’. “I think the surprise is that we still need to figure out that song. We recorded it, did a bunch of other gigs, but we have not practised it at all,” laughs Bruce. The single was recently released on all major streaming platforms and has a retro rock vibe to it. “The surprise is also that it’s not on the setlist yet,” jibes Rajeev. 

“We are in our 30th year of playing and what we’ve constantly tried to do wherever we go, is to help the scene,” says Rajeev. The four-person band has been known to conduct workshops and often collaborate with young and emerging musicians in the city where they perform. “This is our way of helping the overall music scene develop.”