My First Comedy Set

I had a dream, that one day, I will stand on stage and make people laugh.

Now, I’ve been MC’ing on-and-off for roughly the past 12 years, the last 3 of them professionally. Yet I have never ventured into the sphere of stand-up comedy. Reason for this being that, well, ummm… I actually had no real excuse. My only issue was that I was unsure about my own funniness, and as a (humble brag) really good MC it would have been really shit if I bombed out in comedy.

Arcade Empire (I’ve told you about their food in the past) has recently started the #KAKFunny Comedy Sessions. Every last  thursday of the month, they bring in a few of South Africa’s most awesome comedians, and one or 2 n00bs. On this night, I was the n00b.

For the first time in my life, I was actually nervous about getting on stage to talk to people. This was a weird feeling, considering I’ve had thousands of people in front of me at Oppikoppi and other festivals, I’ve presented events to everyone from old age homes to super-high end business people, and on a weekly basis I deal with a bunch of fun and drunk people who have to make sense of what I’m saying.

All in all, my first set went very well. I will forever be grateful to Nina Hastie (the organiser) for putting me on the bill, as well as the comedians who performed that night for giving me feedback and hi5′s (Jason Goliath, Nick Goliath, Donovan Goliath and Dusty Rich). Also a BIG thanx to Werner Cloete, one of my personal favourite SA comedians who came to support and upon request, crit the shit outta me.
Lastly, thanx to the friends who came to support me, and Henno Kruger for the full video.

Have look at a bit of what I did, drop me a comment to tell me how awesome I am, or if you think I suck. I’m easy.

Arcade Empire: Now TRULY an instagrammer’s heaven

I always knew that Arcade Empire (best live music and party venue in Pretoria, if not the whole of South Africa) had a talent for dishing up some pretty awesome food. Their burgers were amazing and the pizzas top-notch. When they therefore invited me to come taste their latest food-creations, I was quite excited to say the least. (Think about the fat-boy/cake equation)

Now, I’m not a food snob, so to name food and describe its probable secret ingredients while pondering upon the deeper meaning of life as the chef put into the rolling of the pastries is quite frankly beyond me. I am, however, a fan of good food. And that’s what Arcade Empire gave me. There were burny chikeny things and doughy cheesy stuff. Some good ol’ T-Bone steak, pizza’s, calamari and meatball that could just as well have starred in a porno. I must highlight the cheesy awesomeness of the Chicken Cordon Bleu! (That’s how Google spells it). It was like a taste explosion in your mouth, exemplifying the subtle undertones of hand made cheese sauce and… it was freaking yummy, ok?

If you would like a better description of exactly what it was that we ate, take a look at some of my mates’ blogs. They clearly classy-dined more with their parents as kids:

• infinity.co.za (I stole his one pic for this post)
• Chica Papillon
• Running Wolf Rant
• Why-Ed.com

See? They’re good bloggers to follow as well, btw…

So what’s the moral of the story kids? Easy:
If you have never eaten at Arcade Empire, don’t be stupid. Do it! Take your instagram-machine and do the #FoodPic thing. I know you want to…

Check out @ArcadeEmpire on twitter. It’s the awesome thing to do…

 

The diary of a Park Acoustics virgin

Last month, I sent my friend Tyron Long to his first ever Park Acoustics.

Now in a nutshell, Park Acoustics, brought to you by Jack Daniels, is the one time per month where rocker meets hipster meets Voortrekker at well, the Voortrekker Monument. I have  been there quite a few times, so I thought it would be interesting to hear Tyron’s response to this event. Here’s what he had to say…

The diary of a Park Acoustics virgin

Hipsters take over the fort

24 February saw that 1^st time one always remembers.
The beautiful Sunday that will go down as that one luscious, awkwardly mind-blowing 1^st time. The day started out at 10am after a buzzing bus ride. The Voortrekker Monument was already packed, and the greens of the soft grass inside the fort were painted with hipster vibes and picnic blankets. The festival lovers were brimming with great vibes, and their alcohol of choice. Everyone stuck to the one rule that they could remember – “No bad vibes”.

Lise and the some saxcess

The first band up was The Lise Chris Band. This band was a splendid start to the day. The standard for my mind was set pretty high at this point. Lise’s serene voice together with Lyrics of memory and love passed tuned the atmosphere the rest of the soothing sets.

Catlike Thieves were up next and what was resonant to me were the Fender coated notes and their 60’s rock based music. This band was the call for the asses to start shaking and for increased booze-flow. The character and the friendliness of Catlike Thieves is what I enjoyed most. The enthusiasm and the connection with the audience were well needed to wake the Sunday blues feeling everyone shared.

BraaiBoy and Borries

The bands and the vibes were wonderful to enjoy while cracking some good wine and food from our picnic basket. It was a great pleasure to see so many familiar faces and enjoy all offerings produced for the day. The food stalls were plentiful, with offerings from Lucky Rodrigo, wrap stalls, Borries Bornman’s smoked pork on his Gravy Train smoker (@boerbque on Twitter) and a good friend of mine, Braaiboy (@Braaiboy).

Matthew Mole, the Joburg sweet surprise was the next to take my mind on a musical high. I had heard very little about Matthew Mole before Park Acoustics, at most a view of a YouTube interview. I was extremely intrigued to see this brilliant loop artist make his mark on me. The crowd at first was chilled, and embracing the day’s calm.

Matthew Mole seducing the crowd

After the first song, Matthew Mole had crowds in a frenzy to hear more. Matthew’s sublime voice had the ladies in a drooling trance and begging for more. Everyone was in awe at the multi-tasking arrangement of drums, prepared loops, guitar and seductive lyrics. My favourite song was “Autumn”. Matthew’s music is largely based on how he lives life, and moments that have a profound effect on him. Matthew’s recognition has grown rapidly, with appearances in New York and England with one highlight in his fresh career in getting to perform at the famous 100’s Club.

The fine Wrestlerish crew killing it

Next to rock my noob Park Acoustics virginity was Wrestlerish. This is one of my favourite South African bands and the crowd was in the perfect state for this band’s humble grooves. The only description I can give to this band is one of thanks. The professionalism and top produced music of Wrestlerish were just an added bliss to my experience of taken-a-back and amped up emotions.

Yoav rocking Park Acoustics

The 2^nd last musical act for the day was a wash of excitement and ecstasy for me. I was dying to see this act live for my first time and have always found his music to have a profound impact on my musical desires. Yoav, the one band super army came kicking down the doors with his forceful music. Everyone was standing at attention and after some delay in the sound checks, a single guitar strum brought roars of happiness.  After every song the crowd screamed for more and the encore ended in 3 extra songs as the crowd refused to let Yoav leave. The brilliance I had come to know of Yoav, was only further embedded in my mind with one of the most brilliant live performances I have seen to date.

The day was brought to a close with great live comedy. Hannes Brummer was responsible for crowd vibes as MC and introduced the most eccentric characters at Park Acoustics namely Melt Sieberhagen, Monique Nortje, Werner Cloete and Francois van As. The comedians managed to keep the energy of the booze fatigued crowd going with their controversial and satirically directed sets. My personal favourite was Monique Nortje who delivered a set that was a shocking, crass and brilliantly designed delight that had the crowd rolling with laughter.

Park Acoustics and Jack Daniel’s, thank you for spreading my… mind and bringing such a smoothly operated, well designed and wonderfully organised event to the world. Park Acoustics is one event you can schedule on your calendar as high priority. Catch the next one on 24 Mach 2013, and enjoy the likes of Gazelle, The December Streets, Ryno Velvet, Moving House, Shaun Jocobs and more. Get your tickets now through Ticketbreak

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Thanx so much for your review Tyron! I trust that I will be seeing you at more Park Acoustic Events. We’ll share some Jack

Remember to follow this awesome landmark festival on twitter: @parkacoustics