Three bands added a bit more to Bradby weekend on August 5 at the Floor by O! (FBO), doing what they do best; making folks dance.
Local had the first go and ran through some of their punky essentials Janaki, Tharukey and Sunakaya while injecting their new number and a cover. Despite the heckling and horseplay, Harsha retained his composure and warmed up the audience with all seriousness.
The crowd was a mix of rockers, hippies and rugby fans packed intimately like sardines on the FBO’s small dance floor.
Amila Sandaruwan took a traditional route with his Southern-exorcist inspired rock ‘n’ roll with chutzpah to boot. Sandaruwan is setting a new standard for the scene and this has been copied by others with little success. The reason being here is formula; what Sandaruwan does by combining folk elements and rock cannot be faked and requires a dedication to the traditions to pull off properly. The harmonium was definitely a nice addition, although the limited space at the FBO drowned out the good parts.
Orange Mango came out really well with much more hysterical laughter and creeping sound-scapes folding into ‘Yaluwo Maluwo’ and they are is definitely not corrupting the younger generation with their warm, fuzzy psychedelic raincloud issuing noisy, experimental rock thunder. Sarani and Riyal’s dueling bass guitars got really funky at some points and synergised well with Sithijaya’s drumming. The hysterics magnified into the night with the crowd joining in the crazy. There is a point in every Orange Mango concert where you stop for a split second and wonder why you are dancing like a maniac, but that is only for a split second. Before you know it, the music is dragging you kicking and screaming to the asylum.