Anoushka Shankar at Herbst Theatre, October 18, 2023

SFJAZZ presents Anoushka Shankar
Herbst Theatre
Veterans' Building, San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-4522 USA
7:30 PM, Wednesday, October 18, 2023

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[8:08 PM] {lights down; band out without introduction}
[8:09 PM] {initial drone begins before the band comes onstage; all tunes by AS except where noted below}

1. [8:11 PM] What Will We Remember?
2. [8:23 PM] Boat to Nowhere
3. [8:30 PM] Secret Heart
   [8:42 PM] {Greetings and back- and fore- announcements}
   [8:44 PM] {drop AG & SK; tuning}
4. [8:44 PM] In Her Name
   [8:49 PM] {applause; AG & SK return to the stage}
   [8:50 PM] {more tuning; AS introduces the next pair of tunes}
5. [8:51 PM] [unidentified Carnatic lullaby] (traditional)
6. [8:56 PM] Say Your Prayers
   [9:00 PM] {AS introduces the next tune}
7. [9:01 PM] Traces of You
8. [9:04 PM] Fire Night (Ravi Shankar) » [9:18 PM] {false ending + finale}
   [9:19 PM] {done now! AS back- and fore- announcements}
   [9:20 PM] {tuning}
9. [9:20 PM] Dancing in Madness
   [9:25 PM] {AS introduces the band and then names the final tune of the set}
   [9:26 PM] {tuning}
10. [9:27 PM] Reunion
    [9:41 PM] {applause at end set; bows; all off}
    
    Encore
    [9:42 PM] {AS back onstage alone; “I was waving for more light, not more applause”; introduction of the final work; merch pitch}
11. [9:44 PM] Stolen Moments
    [9:48 PM] {final applause; lights up!}

• Tom Farmer: contrabass;
• Arun Ghosh: clarinet;
• Sarathy Korwar: drums, percussion;
• Anoushka Shankar: sitar or surbarhar;
• Pirashanna Thevarajah: mridangam, kanjira, morsing, glockenspiel.

Tonight's show was super good. There were multiple times where the music swept me away and then dropped me back in my seat wearing a blissed-out grin. It's amazing to realize that I've been following her for nearly 30 years. No wonder I was so confused last night – the last time I got to see where was over six years ago, so my mental image of her was way out of whack!

I was also really impressed with her crack band. Every single one of the guys evidenced virtuoso skill with great elan and truly musical flair. Arun Ghosh played like a wailing dervish throughout the night. Extra special kudos are due to Tom Farmer for his amazing bass playing during Fire Night. And Pirashanna Thevarajah stole my attention any time he was given the solo spotlight, no matter which instrument he was playing. It would be cool for Anoushka to follow up her recent EP release with a full lenth effort featuring this crew: I'd go see them again, for sure!

I'm really glad that the show was in Herbst – I have nothing against Miner Auditorium – but the former venue just seemed more appropriate (because Baroque bric-a-brac wainscotting and 21st century realist/impressionist faux-frescoes go perfectly with Indian classical fusion!), even if the HVAC system in the War Memorial Building wasn't quite up to the task of dealing with the current heat wave. Hanging briefly with friends outside afterwards, we all marvelled that it was after 10 PM, yet there we were, wearing short sleeves and other summer wear in mid-October. Must be Indian summer, yay!

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!