Lets start with last Sunday:
The boulder hunting expedition (“aka Things to do while you’re trying not to worry about whether she likes you or not”)
I had Monday off, thus making myself a nice long weekend (Tuesday was Woman’s day). I heard of some boulders in Pretoria so I decided to go look for it, pretty good fun and I managed to find 1 of the 3 reported sites, see some wild life and just plain have a good walk.

PS: I was invited for videos later

Gautrain. It works!! (Monday)
What fun! The whole Gautrain card system was a bit confusing at the start, but all the staff is super helpful and once you’ve figured it out, it’s quite simple (probably like most thing s in life?) We took a trip to Hatfield, had a very trendy meal at a deli and returned to Centurion. The one thing that stood out for me is that the total waiting time there and back was probably less than 5 minutes.

Josie Field Woman’s day show @ Cafe Culture. (Tuesday)
I can’t really say much more than this is a must-see artist. She has such a strong voice and the setup of her singing, playing and Kevin Vincent Leicher completing the sound with a second guitar and some backing vocals is pretty much perfect.

Planet Joy, Shadow Club & Arno Carstens (Saturday):
Awesome!! It’s been a while since I enjoyed all the bands in one night so much. Perfect venue (except perhaps that they might want consider dampening the stage area a bit to help the sound), good service, fun crowd.

Karen Zoid (Sunday):
The whole Park Acoustics vibe and more. She went to some effort to make it fun for the kids which was nice to watch. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around stopping a party at 5pm, but I guess Sunday will always mean Monday, which means work. eeeeeuuuww!

Other random news:
I’ve sold my curtains – don’t need them now and I was made an offer by someone I loaned them to for a while.

No, it’s not to fund some nasty habit.

I’m having mixed success with “Be kind to Emile’s liver month”. A couple of the mornings in the past week was not so much a success as a reminder of why we’re having the BKTELM, but hey, practice makes perfect.

Following last weekends rather embarrassing excursion to Klitsgras I put on my brave face and headed out there again, this time having made very sure of the date & time…

Tactical retreat
…and I arrived in style only to find that it’s been pouring down leaving the dirt road in a state resembling chocolate mousse. This in itself presents no problem to the BigBadWolf’s superior vehicle & off-road driving skills, but there are other considerations. I arrived fairly early and within the first 5 minutes 2 cars got stuck in the mud already. As the place fills up that road will inevitably get worse and the cars parking on the grassy areas which currently serves as an escape route will leave you almost certainly getting stuck. I really had no intention of playing in the mud that night.

Plan B…again! Except, in retrospect, if there was ever a case of trading up this was it.

Johannes & the French connection
I’ve been hearing of Hotbox a lot lately and tonight there was some sort of a farewell party (later I learned that they were moving and I believe it was pretty much the last gig where Fokofpolisiekar would ever play). The line up was Blk Jks, Not My Dog and then of course Fokofpolisiekar. It was also the launch of the Fokofpolisiekar biography.

It’s my first time there and I hope they move soon as I certainly do not want it to be my last - the place rocked. Blk Jks was ok’ish – strangely quite a few people walked up to me and asked me what I thought – did someone stick a paper on my back stating “Expert on complicated black jazz rock” ???). Will have to check…

Not My Dog was awesome – my first time seeing them live. Very much a SA incarnation of Rage Against The Machine, without leaving me with the impression that they were copy cats. I enjoyed a bit of a mosh session too, but there (as always I guess) were a few class A pricks on the sideline, not brave enough to join in themselves but gladly shoving you around from the side and then pretending to not know who did it. It was just not my scene that night & I retreated to a very nice vantage point at the back.

And an excellent spot it was. I met Johannes who recently moved from the Cape to Pretoria somewhere and we had a nice chat. He had a lady friend there who he says is French, but I could have sworn she spoke with an Irish accent….maybe I’m missing something? I had fun hanging around at the back with them.

Fokofpolisiekar: What can I say? They rocked. It was simply awesome. Your SA rock experience will simply not be complete if you have not seen (or as distant second place, heard) them.

The whole show ended at about 2:30, and what a fitting end to the night:

Whip my dog
On Saturday afternoon / evening it was time for a Wolmer event (“Wolmer Dogfest”: entry fees went to 2 dog charities), these I’ve learned to not miss. The Wolmer shows tend to start slow (sorry Nico, I should have mentioned that) but they always pick up and I always have a blast. The line up included Black Cat Bones, Raoul & Black Fridays, Cortina Whiplash, Not My Dog, Fragmented Children and I forgot the rest.

I was pleasantly surprised by Cortina Whiplash. An all-girl group they certainly sound like they know what they are doing. They lost me a bit in the middle of the set, but the start & especially the last couple of songs will without a doubt have me go see another one of their shows – some really lekker solid rock – well done!

Worth a mention is the girl singing for Fragmented Children. Not my type of music, but beware: do not engage this chick in a shouting match. She has big voice and she’s not afraid to use it. You will lose. Badly. The exorcist sent by the neighbours to rescue you will probably find you in a foetal position covering your ears, whimpering. All in all best to avoid the entire situation

By now everyone that know me probably heard of Black Cat Bones. Best live show in SA, I have no doubt, go see for yourself.

For some reason Not My Dog was just not as good (for me at least) as the previous night. Perhaps it was because I already got my fix for the night during the earlier BCB set, maybe I was just tired, who knows? I slinked away shortly thereafter, I think Nico & Nadine had already done the same. It was already well past 10PM and last night at Hotbox was a rough one already.

And there walked Sue, alone in the dark. Apparently she missed her lift so I gave her a ride home, it’s not a good spot for anyone to be walking alone at night. The next morning I realised she left her glasses in my car and because she used my phone to call her friend the previous night I could get a hold of her again to return it, so back to Zambesi Sunday night.

The randomness of it all somehow seemed a fitting end to the crazy two nights of partying. The things we do for pretty girls… <sigh>

I’ve never kept track of St Patrick’s day and as a result I only realised it was in fact yesterday thanks to the radio station. During the day festive mood rubbed off so by the time I was driving back from the bouldering cave passing all the green people heading to Hatfield square, I was keen to celebrate my first. I’m not really a beer drinker, but come hell or high water I’ll have a Guinness!!

Poor planning
Arriving at the square I realise I should probably have made a day of it, joined in the festivities the afternoon while the Tuks DJ’s were still broadcasting from there. By now the queue to enter the square went as far as the eye could see and obviously the creche forgot the gates open – average age must have been around 17. Plan B, again?! The other water holes are dead by comparison ( strangely not taking any advantage of the green fever ) and I was looking forward to a lively crowd.

Fall back to the trusty old Steak & Ale, only they have no Guinness! Staring at the bar stock, I spot a bottle of Jameson which would be my salvation in my quest to be Irish for a night.  

My luck improves as the band playing turns out quite good. I never bothered to find out the name, but the girl singing had a good voice and looked like she really felt the music. Despite her being solidly English and being visibly nervous with the Afrikaans song she hit the spot with “Mannetjies Roux”, the people loved it.

Coming up
I’m not sure if I have the energy to retry Strings & Skins @ Klitsgras tonight. Maybe. Tomorrow though it’s Wolmer DogFest, the line up includes Raoul & Black Friday, Black Cat Bones, Not My Dog and about 4 other bands – it’s going to be a blast!! Mom’s away on Sunday and (at least for me) an unexpected holiday on Monday. I realised with a shock my holiday is less than a month off, so I’ll probably spend all the time I can spare climbing, cycling or something like that.

Hey! It’s Friday!!!!

….and finally a bit of randomness:

Tonight’s a good Friday night, there’s a few options: Klitsgras – String & Skins Beeg Band. Black Friday (remember the Wolmer Blues Bash?) @ Cafe Barcelona and No Quarter Feat with Wayne Coughlan @ Steak & Ale. Tings sadly does not have an up to date guide online.

Klitsgras it is.
I like the idea of being able to move around there, maybe snack on something small, just relaxing and letting the beats drown out all the shit popping up in my mind.

Halfway there I’m not sure if I want to go anymore, maybe I should go somewhere else? O’Gallito’s serves these luxurious glasses of wine – an ice cold rose with some smoked salmon sushi might just hit the spot. No, I’ve eaten well today, let’s not spoil it, so I push on.

Check the onramp going back – no cops – yes!

A sticky situation, or at least one of them
I’m really thirsty, the sort that a beer does not help for,  so I stop of at the garage for one of those super duper healthy fortified mineral waters. The one I pick is for extra energy, without having any caffeine or sugar in it: +1 for the good eating plan. Thus emboldened I get in my car and drive off, only to have the drink pop out of the cup holder. Look, this thing has a BIG cap, so 7/8 of the contents are out before it even hits the ground.

Faaaaaaaark!!!!

An excellent song of The Narrow starts playing. Fuck it, the car needs a good valet anyways, off we go into the darkness of the far east.

Need to get the car serviced before my April trip – I smell petrol every time I get out of the car

What can I write on my blog, I’m all out of topics, nothing interesting happened today…..Wait, how about ”Since early in the evening I’m experiencing a feeling of emptiness. Not unlike that feeling when you’re trying to quit smoking and you want to do something, keep yourself busy, but you’re not quite sure what it is that will scratch your itch.” HA! Infinite loop created.

Tuks reception starts fading, Klitsgras is really out in the sticks. As I turn off and into the gate I have a not so small o-shit moment. The gate is closed and the place is obviously dead.

Faaaaark!!! #2

Somehow I screwed up the dates in my head. For a moment I consider trying to check Facebook on my phone to confirm, but then the absurdity of doing that struck me – I quickly put the phone away before anyone could see me. Murphy is having a laugh at my expense tonight.

Cut your losses
We’re heading back. Too late for the sushi now. Steak & Ale it is.

On the way back only 2 assholes blind me with their brights – things are starting to look up. I get lost in my thoughts, having the perfect conversations with people living in my head. Able to express myself perfectly, we have the most delightfully efficient arguments & banter in my mind.

*pop*

Steak & Ale
My perfect play is interrupted by reality as I turn of the highway back in Centurion.

I missed the first act, so they let me in at half price. I get my first drink without any of the usual bar-counter hassles (gin & tonic, to compliment my favourite bedtime drink: ice cold soda & a squeeze of lemon juice on the rocks – I’m such a refined mother fucker, aren’t I?) by which time the second act start playing – quite possibly perfect timing.

Put that in your pipe & smoke it Murphy

Wayne Coughlan & friends
3 okes with steelstrings, one on electric. Failed to ever REALLY get it going. Make no mistake, these guys are good, but I felt they were not doing as well as they could. A cover version or two were played, all very well. I got the impression they derive immense pleasure from the little harmonies they created, and that’s all well, but I’m a big fan of thumping steelstring rock / blues rock – good examples are “You’re crazy”, GnR on the Lies album, and “Locomotive Breath” – Jethro Tull. I just think with FOUR guitars, they can get a hell of a shit-kicking heart thumping beat going, and still each just do the solo breakouts they seem to focus on.

The one exception was the title track of their new album called “Machete” – well done! I truly got lost in the song, I may buy the album for that one alone.

All in all not bad, but not great.

No Quarter feat Wayne Coughlan & friends
This proved a much better recipe. Essentially they added a drummer, basist and all switched to electrics. I nearly walked out during the intro of the first song, it looked to be just another merry-go-round of “you play a bit, then me, then the next guy”, but all of a sudden they pulled it together and really got it going. Classic blues and some rock type riffs. A bunch of people started dancing as proof of the pudding.

Satisfied, ready to sleep I bid goodnight to my perfect slice of life. Hope you had a good one too, the best ones are those not planned to the finest details and even if so, rarely work out as planned. Roll with the punches, have a laugh and say “fuck it”.

The downside is it takes some time, so as Murphy would have it I’m without a car on a weekend positively overflowing with cool stuff to do. Lets see: 

Friday night:
Bittereinder album launch @ Hotbox. Really would like to see this, sounds good over here: 

 Where BLUES meets ROCK Festival (Bronkhorstspruit) 

18:00 The Friendly Lemons
19:00 Liezel Marshall Band
20:00 Hoot n Anny
21:00 Klopjag
22:00 Die Tuindwergies
23:00 Van Coke Kartel
00:00 Fake Leather Blues Band + Jam Session 

Black Cat Bones @ Cafe Barcelona.

Saturday:
Exploratio opening party (Tuks climbing club). Free punch, swimming, bouldering, bonfires, etc. etc. etc.

Where BLUES meets ROCK Festival (Bronkhorstspruit) 

Maybe somone will feel sorry for me and give me a lift ……..  Or I’ll just ride the bike!

 

 

 

Your ticket sir?

Here you go my good man!!!

Just one more sleep…..

(PS: Du Hast is a word play on “you have” or “you hate”. Seems like my other heroes Metallica, these guys like to play with words. See the full translation and explanation here)

My souvenir

A somewhat belated post. Thanks to good friends, a bottle of Tanqueray and a bunch of great bands for a great show.

From now on my motto is “Don’t miss a Wolmer event!!”. It’s been a blast every single time, with such a variety of music and one of the best live vibes ever. I just wish the events were a tad more frequent.

The line-up: ( hope I did not mix the bands up – I think the advertised bands and order were changed a bit..think there was one extra to start with)

- First “surprise” band?? ( a bit jazzy - not my style, but the girl can sing!!)
- Soul Shake ( not bad )
- The Spirit Doggin Dirt Machine ( couldn’t hear a word the guy sang, but hell, the fat man can make that guitar sound great!! )
- Raoul & Black Friday ( nice!! )
- The Black Cat Bones ( my heroes )
- The Fake Leather Blues Band ( missed them, damn!! )

Black Cat Bones is without a doubt one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen, make sure to see them at least once!

…..makes Jack a dull boy ( that’s a bad thing, I think ). Sooooo, I finished up my little private job despite some, shall we say, “challenges” wrt to my work environment - tonight it’s me and the boys from Metallica.

My project entailed updating software I wrote some 6 years back called “Problem Solving and Decision Making” for my friend Louis of RDM fame who created the problem solving methodology. Now for anyone not familiar with software life cycles, 6 years is like 175 in software-years – I’m quite proud of this simple but effective little program.

Updating was needed as it was written in (VB) .Net 1 based on an MSDE database engine. MSDE in order to scale to SQL servers of course, no puny Access db’s for the BigBadWolf thank you very much. Seriously though, at the time and to this day most if not all potential clients run Microsoft sites, so there’s no sense in trying to do it in something like MySQL.

Installing it on newer operating systems like Vista and Windows 7 became more and more problematic to the point where I decided an upgrade was in order. Converted it to C# and upgraded it to .Net 3.5, running on SQLExpress 2008.

Ok, that wraps up the consultant-speak section of this post. Back to the important stuff: 

I just came across this clip from the band The Slashdogs :

How are those beards ?!

“From the Silverton Swamps in the Far East of Pretoria comes Black Cat Bone. Born from a Muddy Waters lyric and raised amongst the patriot gators of the SA music industry, BCB plays a fused selection of Deep South Rock and Hoodoo Blues”

and from Channel 24 they “crack open a moonshined cocktail of Deep South Rock and Hoodoo Blues for your pleasure.”

Black Cat Bone is Andre ‘King Snake’ Kriel (vocals, electric axe), Kobus ‘da RAT’ de Kock (vocals, acoustic axe, harmonica), Wim.P ‘Capoeira’ van Vuuren (kit, percussion) and Cobiz ‘Bones’ Gerber (bass).

This is a must see act. I think the smallish venue added to the experience – these guys are large as life and pulls everyone into the show.  You can not help as laugh at the constant banter between band members, audience & staff and the sounds are authentic blues. 

An honorable mention for the opening act “Tot stilstand” who played their very first gig. Good stuff, looking forward to seeing you guys around.