Dear Cape Town, do yourself a favour…

Hi Cape Town

Firstly, let me apologise for not visiting more. I do still love you, it’s just that I am busy and well, you know… Trust me, it’s not you, it’s me. I promise to visit as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I have some good news for you!

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A few weeks ago, I attended Blood Brothers up here in the Corrupted States of Gauteng. Man, what an awesome experience. Seriously, if I tell you that it was one of the most amazing, most magical musical experiences I have ever had, I would not be exaggerating. Everything was awesome. From the tequila we had on the bus going to the show, straight through to the reminiscence on the way home. The exquisite selection of world class musicians was complimented by a professionally managed event that looked great. The stage was not just a functional platform, built for the upliftment of the featured entertainment. It was PART of the show. It moved, it grooved and it looked damn sexy.

The songs. Oh, the songs my dear Cape Town… You have no idea how awesome the songs were. Reading the set-list will only serve to let you know what songs were played. Nothing, however, can prepare a mere mortal for the audio-visual brilliance that is Blood Brothers.

After the show I had 3 wishes:

1. My bed. I was broken. Was it the headbanging? The copious amounts of Jose Cuervo’s golden goodness? The sheer emotional exhaustion after beign taken on a musical journey so profound, that even now I can’t explain it? Well, yes. Also, I was tired.
2. I wished to see the show again. Sadly, this does not seem to be possible, for me at least. So, moving along swiftly…
3. I really wished that more people could see the show. And guess what… my wish came true! YOU can see it, right there in the town with the flat mountain on the 23rd of September 2015. You lucky bastards…

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Check it out:

• If you’re wondering what this whole uproar is about my dear Cape Town, simply see the previous post I made about Blood Brothers.
• You can buy your Blood Brothers tickets at by clicking here, on Webtickets
• Follow @BloodBrothersSA on twitter, or visit Blood Brothers on Facebook
• Seeing as I can’t make it, you’ll have to start a #Cuervolucion with Jose Cuervo on my behalf…

So my dear Cape Town, do yourself a favour, and make sure you send all your citizens to watch this life changing show…

Aweh

Why I like Passenger

Let’s get this out of the way to start off with: I never really listened to Passenger more than what I happened to hear on radio. So that’s basically 2 songs.

When I heard that the man was scheduled to come to South Africa, I did a bit of homework by watching some of his videos. this taught me 2 things:
1. He likes going places. Seriously, have you seen in how many music videos he is walking somewhere?
2. I kinda like his tunes.

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Now, to fast forward from there to the show, I have to include my friend Jose Cuervo. He invited me to have some tequilas and go check out the Passenger gig at Zoo Lake in Joburg. I said yes, because Tequila. (You won’t easily hear me saying no to anything that involves some Cuervo). I arrived at Zoo Lake with my lovely friend Jaxy. She was just too amped for the show, seeing as she is a die hard Passenger fan. I had to calm her down a bit, so we headed straight for the Cuervo container. Yes, container. It’s a bar, built into a shipping container, with a deck on top and awesome people all around. A few shots later, opening acts playing and new friends made,  we found some shade and chilled a bit. It was hot, and the icy Cuervo margaritas were flowing rapidly.

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Then Passenger took to the stage.

His first little joke was aimed right at me. Something about people expecting a band and then one dude rocks up on stage with just a guitar and tight jeans. I ignored the tight jeans part, but proceeded to pre-judge an international act for touring with just a guitar and a stomp box. How dare he. Why should people have to pay to see one man when he could very easily have had a band? How is he ever going to fill up the massive stage and… and… “wait a minute. This guy is kinda good”.
Yup, from the moment he strummed the first cords and started singing poetry, I felt the urge to apologise to him for my previous train of thought.

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Passenger was absolutely brilliant. The man is an entertaining, profound lyricist with an awesome sense of humour. He knows just how to engage a crowd 100% of the time. Some story telling between songs, but not too much. A joke here and there, but not wannabe stand-up, and the perfect songs for the vibe of the day.

I love the man’s social commentary on things like racism, the entertainment industry and even relationships.
I always say that if you walk out of a show a bigger fan than you walked in, it was a good show. By this logic, the Passenger show was one helluva epic gig! My only wish would be that radio stations would start playing more than just two of his songs.

Thanks for a delightful day Jose! You guys are legends. And Jaxy, thank you for showing me how much a true music lover can still enjoy a live gig. You echoed Passenger’s sentiment perfectly by immersing yourself into the event, and not into a little screen.

**BONUS**

Here’s a video that Passenger made while in South Africa

Thoughts on Sounds Wild, The Lumineers and tequila

Ask anyone that has ever partied with me at least once, and they will confirm: I love tequila.
My personal preference being Jose Cuervo.
I also love music, people and awesome events.

For this reason, I was extremely elated to be present at not one, but two events sponsored by Jose Cuervo.
The parties went down like, well, shots of tequila. Very lekker.

At Sounds Wild festival, I sadly had to arrive a bit late (tip to event organisers: Organising an awesome event that starts at 13:00 on a Friday, is not really a good idea). It’s not that I am bitching, I just feel that the quality of entertainment would have drawn a much bigger crowd if things kicked off a bit later. The bit that I did catch, was an awesome amalgamation of musical vibes, sexy females and shots with strangers and friends alike… Jeremy Loops was my highlight on stage. Man, this guy CAN put on a show. He had the crowd by the balls… in a very good way.

Bombay Bicycle Club headlined the event. They were good, but in my mind -even with their musical intricacies- they did not match up to the local talent that was on offer.
I loved the fact that there was a dedicated shot-bar that also sold margaritas. So often it happens that you simply want a few tequilas, and then you have to stand in the queue behind Frikkie ordering 24 beers, that has to be poured into cups first…

 

This was also a great bonus at The Lumineers‘ show, although the super bar made it easy to get drinks otherwise as well.
While everyone was giddy for the visiting band, I was actually more stoked to see some of the other acts.
Alice Phoebe Lou was amazing. I saw her TEDxBerlin performance that she did a while back, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that she was on the line-up for this Cuervo party. Her musical innocence was countered by her super deep and meaningful lyrics that speak of a worldly wisdom beyond her years.

I have to shamefully admit that, up until this concert, I have never even heard of Majozi, so feel free to label this act as my awesome surprise of the day. What a well rounded, quality musical experience. I would certainly suggest that you make a plan to see Nhlanhla Majozi. You can thank me later.

What praise can be sung about Dear Reader that has not been sung already? Brilliant vocals, stunning music and -not to use the term loosely at all- perfect.

The Lumineers put on a great, crowd pleasing show. Personally, I was more impressed (once again) with the local acts, but fans are still raving about the performance of this Denver based band. Just to make sure you are not getting the wrong idea, I am not saying there was anything wrong with the visitors. They were, in fact, incredibly flawless. Just not 100% my vibe, but hey ho, that’s OK. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist). Fun was had by all!

 

What make events like these even more noteworthy for me, is the fact that it is steadily setting the precedent for current industry leading bands to visit South Africa. It gives me hope to see bands like The Black Keys and such here in the near future. Who knows, thanks to sponsors like Jose Cuervo and the others who buy into our music culture, we might just see more of our favourite acts while their music is topping the charts.

Did you go to to one of these shows? How was it for you?
Who would you like to see in in South Africa next?
Feel free to express yourself in a comment below…

 

 

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