Desi Weekend: Indian bloggers; BOB NYC

First, I went and met Indian desi bloggers at the Bay Leaf Restaurant in New York.

It's interesting that no one has blogged about it (though Kerim has posted a Flickr photo set), though I can kind of understand it: sometimes it's better to keep real life socialization separate from what one talks about on one's blog.

Also, some friends were involved with the production of Best of the Best NYC, so we spent Saturday evening watching an intercollegiate dance competition in Tribeca. I've been to these before, and sometimes found them a little tedious to watch. Bhangra Blowout, for instance, is a drag to go to (overblown, if you will), unless you're actually a college student yourself, or you have family involved in the production.

[I was also distressed to find out that someone was killed at the after-party at this year's event, though I think it's basically random.]

BOBNYC was more fun than those shows, mainly because of the inclusion of Garba/Raas teams as well as "fusion" teams. There can be such thing as too much Punjabi culture, and the inclusion of Gujurati dance as well as Bolly/Holly/hip hop hybridity makes things more interesting. All of the dances were quite good. I was impressed by the growing importance of live singing amongst the Punjabi groups; it suggests the genre might be moving towards "Boliyan." It's hyper-authentic: so authentic, you'll never see it in Punjab.

And I'd never seen this much Raas before -- truly impressive. The Raas groups emphasize delicacy, complexity, and nuance. This is in contrast to the Punjabi groups, which are all about enthusiasm.

I also enjoyed Josh, the "special act," from Montreal. I've yet to hear music from them that really knocks my socks off (it's a little simple for my tastes), but they have great stage presence. Judging by the crowd reaction, there might be some potential there.