It’s been an awesome couple of weeks for music lovers in SA. There was Rammstein (my ears are still blocked but my eyebrows are thankfully intact), N*E*R*D, Faithless and of course U2 – all of which proved that South Africans are more than willing to part with their hard-earned cash for an hour or two of live music, pyrotechnics and showmanship.
Tickets for RAMfest, happening next month in Durban, Cape Town and Jozi, are selling like hotcakes, which also goes to show that bands don’t need to be commercial radio favourites to pull the crowds. Like Rammstein, RAMfest’s international acts Funeral for a Friend and Alkaline Trio are relatively underground bands here but have a strong enough fan base that people will be singing along to their tunes, moshing in the pits and head banging to the guitar solos. (As for me, I’m looking forward to cutting a rug to the happily morbid Alkaline Trio.) On the flipside, it’s equally heartwarming that local musos Die Antwoord, Zebra and Giraffe and Van Koke Kartel are successful enough to sell tickets all by themselves.Speaking of local bands worth watching, Saturday evening saw me at Town Hall in Newtown for Dance, You’re on Fire’s launch of their debut album Secret Chiefs. If you haven’t heard their tunes Boxes of Tigers, Little War and Blockade on the radio I can only encourage you to come out from under that rock you’ve been calling home and put on your dancing shoes.
The Jozi foursome has concocted an infectious blend of pop, punk and indie tunes reminiscent of Fall Out Boy. Frontman Tom Manners shows off vocals Patrick Stump would be proud of while embodying the swagger of Pete Wentz (yes, the ladies love him and his very tight skinny jeans).
For every catchy tune, the guys had one that sounded pretty much the same, which made for a nice opportunity to refill our plastic cups and make a break for the bathroom. All in all, it was good night out. Special mention’s got to go to Tht Grl DJ whose excellent taste in tunes got the crowd fired up for the band. (Her alter ego Roxanne Maritz appears in our May Music issue as a trend setter on the music scene so watch out for her.) Brotherly DJ duo Double Adapter also hit the decks after the band for their aggressive electro beats and visual explosions which I would have loved if I was five years younger and three drinks drunker. Unfortunately I was neither so I waved to the metro cops as I made my way home for 2am tea and Chuck on DVD.
