Michael Learns to Rock performing at BYG Brewsky Brewing Company in Bengaluru
MLTR doesn’t believe in new trends. The band members – Jascha Richter, Mikael Lentz, and Kare Wanscher – prefer to stick to what they do best: playing their own brand of slow rock and pop rock. Thirty-four years later, the now three-member band still has a respectable fan following across the globe, and their Back On The Road 2022 tour across India is a testament to that.
At the Byag Brewsky Brewing Company in Bengaluru, where MLTR performed last night, an audience of over 3,000 turned up despite the rain. “The rain played its part beautifully. It was cozy and romantic, and added to the setting,” says Ajay Gowda, owner of Brewsky Hospitality.
It was an evening full of nostalgia as the band, which included Trolls Szerbaek on bass, enthralled the audience with their popular hits like ‘Sleeping Child’, ‘I’m Gonna Be Around’, ‘Paint My Love’ and more. Took on rewind mode. ‘, ‘The Actor’, ’25 Minutes…’
Interestingly, the audience was mainly in the 30-50 age group. Each one is reminiscing the 90s, their first kiss, break-ups, school and college days or even exams. No wonder, “I remember when…” was probably the most common phrase heard in concert.
“I remember when ‘Complicated Dil’ came out. I used to sing it to my then-girlfriend,” said a young man as he pressed on stage to get a video of the cast. Another person said he remembered listening to these songs on his Walkman while walking his first pet, Toto. Anyone else remember listening to MLTR in the car on the way to an exam. “I used to have an audio cassette with songs by all my favorite boy bands, and MLTR was one of them,” says Trina P., who drove almost two hours to reach the venue. “I think what I love about them is the simplicity of the songs and how easy it is to listen to. It fits any mood, any time,” she says. A large number of people had also come from other cities including Chennai.
“A mother brought her 18-year-old son to the concert. It was nice to tell him about the band and how he used to listen to this music on a bad day and feel better,” says Ajay.
Tickets for the opening bid sold out in one day. Ajay also says that the kind of pressure he had to face for this particular concert was enough. “All followers are at some point in their lives where they have status or influence. So, those who missed out on tickets wanted us to accommodate them, whatever the cost. Had to make a lot of effort for it.
The concert lasted one hour and 40 minutes, with ‘Sleeping Child’ being played twice. It was also the most popular song of the night. He said, ‘Last time we played in India was in 2005. It’s been a long time. A catastrophe,” said the band, adding that they are happy to be out of Denmark after two years of the pandemic.