Alisha Batth – Live at Hardrock Cafe

Solo artists aren’t quite the rage at restaurants and lounges with few owners willing to compromise on their clientèle in order to promote musicians. But I figured it’s a completely different story at the Cafe, with the artist management team focusing on quality music, raw talent and performances, they assure, that will blow your mind away.

And there she was, clad in black from head to toe with a whacked out hairdo that spelled PUNK. Alisha Batth – not one of your normal, everyday night-club loving, pinky-swearing, wanna-be socialite teenagers. She is a performer, exuding spunk and vibrance the moment one talks to her. It was her debut performance and an excited Alisha said, “I can’t wait to get up there”.

So, she got up on stage and kick-started the evening with ‘Like The Way I Do’ by Melissa Etheridge. Folk and classic punk aren’t popular genres in this part of the world and Alisha was risking it by doing numbers that were alien to the audience. But then, on the up-side, it was a welcome change from the everyday ‘It’s My Life’ and ‘Highway Star’. Other covers included Joplin’s famous ‘Me and Bobby McGee’, Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ and a couple of underground numbers like ‘Fuel’ and ‘Both Hands’. Adding to the energy were a bunch of teens singing along to Fiona Apple’s ‘If We Kissed’, ‘Grey or Blue’, ‘Street Lights’, ‘Drive’ and once again, Etheridge’s ‘Bring Me Some Water’. Picking songs that suited her husky yet, on a shallower note, sexy voice was a smart move on Alisha’s part considering her music preferences don’t quite cater to the masses. Also,the acoustic guitar work ranks high in my estimation although she did hit a few wrong notes every now and then.

Completing her set, yet again with Etheridge’s ‘I’m The Only One’ amidst applauses, Alisha Batth is one musician to watch out for in the future with Alisha promising that her performances will only get better!