Performance of Thermal & A Quarter | Photo Credit: Ritwik AR

While it takes only four hours to reach Chennai from Bengaluru by superfast train, it took almost a year for Thermal & A Quarter to return to the city for another performance. As they say, good things come to those who wait, and the wait is finally over.

“This time we are coming with a different set. We will play many songs from our previous album a bad world“We’ll be playing a lot of our old songs together, but we’ll also be doing some new songs and we’ll have some special guests join us on stage,” says band founder and guitarist Bruce Lee Mani.

Thermal and a Quarter has been performing in Chennai for many years. The upcoming show will feature two musicians from the city – Sriram TT from Skrat and 19-year-old guitarist Amitav Gautam. “Sriram is an old friend of ours. We have been in the same circle for many years and he appears at all our shows in Chennai. He knows the lyrics to all our songs, so we thought it would be great if he sang a few songs with us,” says Mani, adding that his collaboration with Amitav Gautam has been in the works for a long time since the guitarist wasn’t old enough to play in bars with the band. “Now he’s really grown up and can play. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with. We are working on an original song with him and then a few more songs,”

Speaking about the setlist, Bruce says, “One of the drawbacks since we became a band is having too many songs. Making a setlist is sometimes a battle, but we’ve found a balance.”

The band’s drummer Rajeev says that though they are historically known for playing sets that are more than two hours long, this time they are trying to make it a themed experience. “This whole approach started after our last Chennai set, so it will be quite different from last time.”

Performance of Thermal & A Quarter | Photo Credit: Ritwik AR

The July 26 event at Bay 146 will also feature the premiere performance of its latest single ‘Raise The Bar’. “I think the surprising thing is that we still need to figure out that song. We recorded it, did a lot of other shows, but we haven’t practised it at all,” laughs Bruce. The single was recently released on all major streaming platforms and has a retro rock vibe. “What’s also surprising is that it’s not on the setlist yet,” Rajeev jokes.

“We are in our 30th year of playing and wherever we go, we always try to help the region,” says Rajeev. The four-member band is known for conducting workshops and often collaborates with young and emerging musicians in the city they perform in. “This is our way of helping develop the overall music scene.”

Thermal and a Quarter will perform at Bay 146, The Severa Hotel on July 26 at 9pm. See insider.in for tickets.