IIIrd Manipur Rock Festival (Revival)

21st & 22nd Oct., 2011

Y.A.C Ground, Imphal

                    The 3rd Manipur Rock Festival was held on the 21st and 22nd Oct. 2011 at YAC Ground, Imphal. With 13 bands battling out in the prelims on 21st only 6 bands make it to the final on 22nd.

                   The event was organized by Global Organization for Nurturing Societies Obsolete Norms (GONSON) with the theme "right to education". Speaking about the event Alvina Gonson (organizer a.w.a local artist) told that this year's Manipur Rock Festival was to make aware the educational right and help guide individuals to the path of educational enlightenment inclusive of those misguided by drugs and circumstances. To create a sense of rehabilitation and give a platform to make a place for themselves in the society was a strong protest from her.

Day 1

                      The 21st of Oct. was a hectic day for the judges as the event lasted till late night. As appealing as an amateur the prelim was. Most bands which played on 21st proved the influence of modern effects in their sound and action. Thanks to the Manipuri Rockers of the 90s for creating a place for the present rock music lovers in the state. From the 13 bands competing for the Best Five six were selected due to a tie between two.

                      Mr. Suresh J. Babu (AIS) as Chief Guest, Mr. Th. Santa Singh (Proprietor Star Mobile) as President and Mr. Hareshwar Goshwami (Social Worker) as Guest of Honor were the dignitaries of the evening. Mr. Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, who is planning to come down as a candidate in the 10th State Legislative Assembly Election, 2012 was the main sponsor of Day 1.

Day 2

                      Though it was drizzling the hype of the event ruled the attention of the crowd pouring in at the YAC Ground on the 22nd of Oct. Every band was given a 5 minute sound check slot on the main stage before any official conduct of the event started. At around 6 pm the final competition of the 3rd Manipur Rock Festival was good to go.

                     Col. Ajay Chowdhry (Public Relation Officer, BRO M-Sector) presided as the President and Brig. Lavove Varma as the Guest of Honour. Mr. Prithvi Raj (Hon'ble MLA)who was scheduled to be the Chief Guest of the evening was unavailability due to a funeral ceremony the organizers added while interviewing.

                    All six bands with their self specialized genre put up a great show to win the tittle but only three bands worth to impress the judges.

                  PSR, a three member acoustic band put up a self composed Manipuri lyrical song as a fill up after the mainstream competition. Cleave, the winner of the 1st Manipur Rock Festival, 2009 did the headlining act after the competition. A representative from the Great Himalayan Rock Fest to be held as a part of the Himalayan Festival announced that the winner of the 3rd Manipur Rock Festival will be opening for the rock fest. The GONSON also felicitated few dignitaries during the Cleave session. It was followed by a on-spot lucky draw sponsored by X-Age Mobiles who is also the main sponsor of the whole event.

                 When the result came it was Chem Weed FM which won the 3rd Manipur Rock Festival title. Chem Weed FM put up a good combination of swift guitar works and drumming. InXhale was the second with melodic bass lines and pitching vocal and Dead Mobster was the third which impressed the crowd with their metal instinct showcasing a perfect coordination of headbanging rolls. GONSON came up with a special prize for Rubicon which has a lone female band member on vocal.

                 GONSON stated that they will continue with the Manipur Rock Festival every year as long as they have sponsors and carry forward the journey of music and its messages to the people of Manipur.

                The 3rd Manipur Rock Festival was a great success on the dark of the ongoing Sadar Hill's issue in the state. Everything went on accordingly and the fans got what they had came for. It would have been more productive to both the artist and the fans if the bands stick to their originals and strict time window for each band competing. This will help them with originality in their style of music and the long unpredictable and disappointing wait of the fans coming to enjoy the event respectively. But though covered the crowd really cheered at The Sound of Truth (As I Lay Dying) and Walk With Me In Hell (Lamb of God).

               Let peace and prosperity favor the State of Manipur as the message of this music festival spreads. The people of Manipur deserves a better and much improved Manipur next year if peace prevails.
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Prelim Bands

3rd Strings
Anti- Social
Chem Weed FM
Dead Mobster
Dark Distortion
Hazel of Darkness
InXhale
Leviatan
Meitrabak
Rebreed
Rubicon
Ragnoroks
The Wishes

Finalist Bands

Rebreed
Inxhale
Chem Weed FM
The Wishes
Rubicon
Dead Mobster

Winners

1st - Chem Weed FM
2nd - InXhale
3rd - Dead Mobster

Best Guitar - Jiban (Chem Weed FM)
Best Bassist - Arnold (InXhale)
Best Drummer - Jackey (Chem Weed FM)
Best Vocal - James (InXhale)
*Special Prize - Rubicon

Organizer : Global Organization for Nurturing Societies Obsolete Norms (GONSON)

Web Link : www.gonson.org

Main Sponsor : X Age Mobiles

Posted in: Review