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:

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!

A brief rundown – I’m no expert music critic:
Piet Botha & Jonathan Martin.
The classic “Piet” sound at least as I know it. Some cover versions which seemed unusual.

Chiba Fly
My new “Check this out” band. Sh!tkickin’ & foot stomping rhythms delivered by a single guitar & percussionist. Maybe I’ve been living in a hole, but it beats me how I’ve not heard of these guys before – they rock! See them – buy the album – that’s an order. Apparently they’re on Facebook too.

Octanium
Did the “neverending-soundcheck” thing, which in the end still needed work. Bunch of very young okes, first band with obvious groupies – pity though it was skinny legged long haired boys ;-P. I must however mention that the last song of their set ROCKED. In another league from the previous songs – the difference being that the “manager” took over rythm from the vocalist. Maybe it just that much better a song – I don’t know. The lead guitarists shredded, so I’ll keep an eye open for these guys – they may very well be the next big thing.

Exit Stranger
Good music, well rehearsed solid sound, but not my style. I thought the vocals were quite good.

Wysdiman
This time they had the crowd they deserved, and they rocked. Loved it once again.

Couch Potatoes
I packed up during their set so I did not give it that much attention, but I loved it. Buy the album if you can. Another band I’ll gladly support again.

All the other stuff:
I like the venue – basic but safe & spacious. I loved the firestand, saw some interesting “gig-art” and for the first time I heard of of “Bronks TV”. Some pics below, and do make sure to get out there next time you see any of these bands playing – each one was worth it, I had a ton of fun whatching & listening.