Concert review: The Great Society reunion show in Calcutta

Shillong’s The Great Society didn’t write their way into legacy. They performed their way in. At their long-awaited reunion, they didn’t make a case for their songwriting catalogue so much as they reminded the room that charisma, showmanship, and timing can still stop you in your tracks.

After disbanding in 1992, the band reunited in November 2024 at Shillong’s Cherry Blossom Festival, their first show together in over three decades. That performance reignited their chemistry, and their May 31, 2025, set at the Tollygunge Club in Calcutta proved they still know how to hold a room. Featuring Lou Majaw (vocals/guitar), Rudy Wallang (guitar/vocals), Ferdinand (Ferdy) Dkhar (bass/vocals), Keith Wallang (drums), and ​​Brian Suting (keyboards), the lineup carried the weight of memory but also brought a surprising immediacy to the night.

The core lineup of The Great Society: (L-R) Rudy Wallang, Ferdy Dkhar, Lou Majaw, and the late Sam Shullai. Image credit: Keith Wallang. 

The show opened on a high note with Sea of Sorrow. Lou began it alone–one man, one guitar–and the room tilted. The rest of the band joined in slowly: heartbeat drums, shakers and tambourine from the keyboardist, and then Rudy’s electric solo cutting clean through the hush. Suddenly, you were in the presence of something rare. This wasn’t just the highlight of the night; Sea of Sorrow is possibly the best English-language indie song to come out of India. Great melody. Strong lyrics. A song that doesn’t just perform–it lingers.

“The first song I ever wrote was in Calcutta,” Lou said. “There’s a church at the end of the tram lines near Ripon Street. In its compound, I wrote Sea of Sorrow. My heart was on fire, but my pockets and stomach were empty. What I love about Calcutta is how it sheltered me and shaped me.” Hearing that song in this city again, decades later, felt like a quiet full circle.

The first half continued in acoustic form and was easily the stronger one. It leaned into their original material, offering a glimpse into what their songwriting might have been had they stayed the course. Songs like Paint a Picture, Come Home, and Hey Little Man stood out for their emotional clarity. True True Loving, written on the grounds of St. Edmund’s in Shillong, had a raw tenderness, and Let Me Be worked beautifully with Lou’s still commanding baritone. Covers of Dylan and Mary Hopkin made their way into the set, but it was the originals that did the work of storytelling.

The second half turned the energy dial up, but lost some of the intimacy that made the first half land. It opened with blues-rock covers, including Don’t Be a Hero, and featured a slick bass solo from Ferdy. The momentum turned with Oh Most Beautiful, but after that, the showman took over. Off came the guitar, down went Lou from the stage, and out came the trademark flourishes: chair-shaking, shoulder shimmies, rubbery facial expressions, and the familiar “boy oh boy.” Rudy and Ferdy took on vocal duties for a few numbers, and the band powered through with visible joy.

They’re not a band known for masterful songwriting, and they’ve never pretended otherwise. But in a time when the indie scene is increasingly over-produced and image-first, The Great Society’s return feels like a necessary interruption. Sea of Sorrow proves they have one great song. The rest? Guts, instinct, and charm. And maybe that’s more rock and roll than anything else on the circuit today.

And a reminder: the scene today could use a little less polish and a lot more truth.

---

Written by Manisha Maity | Instagram | Facebook | X | Email

---