Gig review/ The Name's Bond - English film

By Narendra Kusnur

Concert: The Name's Bond
Artistes: Auxilia Sequeira, Khooshmin Mirza, Michelle Naidu, Shriya Rao. Directed by Cyrus Dastur
Genre: Hollywood, nostalgia
Details: Royal.Opera House, August 11
Rating: ****

As one entered Girgaum’s Royal Opera House on Sunday evening, the famous James Bond movie signature tune enveloped the air. A few minutes later, singer Auxilia Sequeira began her rendition of ‘The World Is Not Enough’, originally sung by the band Garbage.

Directed by Cyrus Dastur, co-produced by Shreya Valecha and co-hosted by Shreyas Pardiwala, The Name's Bond was a unique theme concert based on music from the popular Hollywood franchise.

It was nostalgic, no doubt, featuring songs right from ‘Underneath The Mango Tree’ from the 1962 release Dr No to Sam Smith's ‘Writing On The Wall’ from the 24th Bond film Spectre. Added to that were the doses of trivia and interactive quizzes monitored by the hosts. For instance, did you know that writer Roald Dahl did the screenplay for You Only Live Twice and that Adele had initially refused the offer to sing ‘Skyfall’?

Most important, it was a fabulous showcase of the city’s young talent. Shriya Rao, all of 13, wowed the audience with her sheer smoothness and supreme confidence on ‘Licence To Kill’, ‘Nobody Does It Better’ from The Spy Who Loved Me  and ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’. Teenage students of 88 – The Piano Academy, run by Shivani Patel and her brother Vivek – played a series of short solos.

The main singers were Sequeira (who was also voice coach), Khooshmin Mirza and Michelle Naidu. Against back tracks, multi-colour lighting and great film scenes on screen, they covered songs from Nancy Sinatra’s ‘You Only Live Twice’ and Sheryl Crow’s ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ to Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ and Chris Cornell’s ‘You Know My Name’ from Casino Royale. A medley was used towards the finale.

The show had many highs, specially for James Bond fans. Some areas needed finetuning. While drawing the curtains to rearrange the stage, some time elapsed before the house lights came on. The gap before the finale was too long and empty. Though saxophonist Ronnie Mirza did a few smooth numbers, that part could have been shorter or maybe spread over two parts. One also longed for a complete rendition of Shirley Bassey’s iconic ‘Goldfinger’. Also, there could have been one male singer - for Matt Monro''s 'From Russia With Love'.

The heartening thing, besides the young talent, was the mere choice of theme. Dastur had earlier done the show Strangers In The Night based on the music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others. With Bond, he again chose nostalgia, and yet managed to attract the younger generation.

Producers Shamiana plan a repeat on September 28 at St Andrew's, Bandra. The drink code – shaken, not stirred. It’s up to you to choose between a Martini and a Mazaa.