Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts: GoldFish Live

While most people spent Sunday stomping and head banging at Ramfest, I decided to go for a more subtle approach to end off my spectacularly relaxed weekend, jamming to the awesome beats of Goldfish. The Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts are held every year, it is a great opportunity for old and young, families and friends to come together and watch their favourite South African artists perform. I’ve been to a summer concert once before where I watched The Dirty Skirts perform. Live music with a superb backdrop of mountain and trees accompanied with your own wine and snacks, a lovely way to spend your Sunday evening.

I have always been a fishie fan but my mom however, takes the cake. Whenever I’m playing one of their tracks at home I can be sure that my mom will run into my room waving her arms and moving her hips singing along to their songs. Not a pleasant site for any child to see. So when news broke that Goldfish was indeed part of the 2012 summer concert line up, I made sure I purchased tickets well in advanced just so that my mom could hear them live and hopefully not pester me with any more of her ‘I wana see GoldFish live’ grunts.

 

The long ass line:

I’ve seen GoldFish a couple of times, and my favourite performance of theirs was at Rezonance NYE fest back in 2010. I haven’t seen them perform in a while, so seeing them again yesterday was a lovely treat. Tickets for the show sold out fast, when we got there the line was long and it was a scorcher of a day but as they say ‘We come together, no matter the weather’. Once inside we found a lovely spot where we set out our blanket and started to nibble on our snacks while awaiting Goldfish. Their performance was amazing as always, everyone got up to dance to their killer tunes. They have a whole lot of new remixes and there is nothing quite like new music.

The thing that I enjoy most about GoldFish is that they play their own classical instruments and mix it with the music, which is different to any other electronic DJ. It allows them to engage with the crowd on a higher level. During the instrumental bits of their songs, goosebumps covered my flesh and I believe that only great music is hair razing. The best part of the concert was when the GoldFish mascot graced us with his presence and awesome dance moves! Yes, GoldFish is definitely one of South Africa’s best exports. It’s because of local artists like them that I am Proudly Capetonian.

GoldFish Live:

Dancing Goldfish:

If you haven’t heard their music before (which I’m sure you all have) check out their website:

http://goldfishlive.com/

5 Gum S.A. presents: Two Door Cinema Club

When we look at the power of social media marketing, one brand has really stood out above the rest in South Africa and that is 5 Gum SA. They have created some truly memorable experiences for people and have generated a buzz online through their competitions and marketing campaigns. Last year 5 Gum brought us a first ever user generated 3D mapping projection project whereby people entered in their own ideas and the best were selected and revealed at the launch of the brand in South Africa. To refresh your memory I have added a clip of their promotion:

This year 5 Gum truly outdid themselves. On the 8^th of February 2012, 5 Gum announced that they were bringing an Irish band called Two Door Cinema Club (TDCC) to South Africa for two exclusive shows in Cape Town and Jozi. A limited amount of tickets for the show could be won by entering online, there were no ticket sales available for the concert. News of this event spread in a matter of seconds across all the social networks. I honestly never knew that TDCC had such a great following in South Africa. As I am a fan, I decided to enter online too. Everyone anxiously waited for the announcement of the winners and when my SMS didn’t arrive I thought it was all over. I was quite relieved when bloggers across S.A. were giving fans a second chance to win tickets to the show. With a glimpse of hope in sight, I decided to enter once more, my plan was to enter every blogger’s competition but half way through my efforts my friend messaged me saying ‘How much do you love me?’ she was kind enough to give me her plus one ticket and I couldn’t have been happier. People did almost anything to win tickets, I saw some crazy entries and I’m glad that I didn’t have to compete for it because I would’ve most definitely lost.

On Saturday evening a large group of us headed to the event. We were instructed to park the car by the airport where we were then all taken to a secret location on a double-decker PEP stores bus. It felt like I was going on a school outing again. The secret location was an abandoned warehouse in the middle of Nyanga. I was literally speechless when I saw the brilliant set up of the event, I pulled out my camera faster than a gun in a duel. The lights, projections and layout on the outside resembled a mini outdoor music festival. When we took the corner into the stage area, I was blown away at the sheer awesomeness of the stage and the building’s interior itself. The crowd, concert and 5 Gum logo was projected onto the walls rather than a large white screen in the front, quite original and cost effective. The floor was covered in small wood carvings which prevented the accumulation of dust in the vicinity. The sound and lighting on stage was of the highest quality and performances by the bands went off without a glitch.

My friends and I managed to grab front row once again and we were determined not to lose our spot until the very end of the concert. The Plastics opened and I must say they have improved tremendously since the last time I saw them, I truly believe that South African bands are right up there with the best. Next up was Ashtray Electric, it was the first time I had the opportunity of listening to them live, not really my type of music but they were pretty good.

After Ashtray Electric there was a short break before the headlining act TDCC took the stage, while people cleared for bathroom breaks and refills we moved our way closer to the centre of the stage. Constant chants of I Can Talk’s “Uh Oh Uh Uh Oh” could be heard by the crowd while the stage team was setting up. The lights dimmed and the sweet sound of Cigarettes in the Theatre filled the stage. The band played all their songs including Undercover Martyn which is by far my favourite song of theirs, as well as songs from their up and coming album. They seemed overjoyed to be in South Africa and I feel us Cape Tonians impressed them with our enthusiasm as everyone sang along to all their songs. They were brilliant live and I would have gladly paid to see them, but as they say the best things in life are free.

It terms of marketing, 5 Gum promoters were walking around handing out their new flavour gums, I tried almost all their flavours and I’m sure everyone else did too. The organisers also encouraged the people to tweet, facebook, etc. about the event using the #5GumExperience hash tag as a means of forming an online community and to promote their brand. For those of you who were not there or would simply like to relive the moment, I have added some videos I took on the night. (Please excuse the rather poor quality)

Cigarettes in the Theatre:

Undercover Martyn:

Something Good Can Work:

What You Know:

I Can Talk:

Eat That Up, It's Good For You:
(I Love the lighting at the end of this clip)

I left the concert with gum on my shoes, deaf ears and a sore throat, but it was all part of the wonderful #5GumExperience.

Paul van Dyk Gatecrasher Summer Festival

Music Festivals is one of the things I always look forward to when summer arrives and this festival was no different. There wasn't much advertising done around this event but news of it spread like wild fire. The line-up was mouth watering and anyone who knows good music would have definitely tried to get their hands on a ticket. From the likes of Haezer to Niskerone and the headlining act, Paul van Dyk (PvD), one would have thought that this was going to be the event of the year! The ticket price was reasonable considering the line-up, but being me who likes to save, I thought I should try my hand at entering a competition. My friend told me about a competition that Review Me was running, I won double tickets to the event and decided to take her with me. None of the other girls wanted to join so it ended up being a 3 man mission as her boyfriend joined us too.

We left for the event late Saturday evening, but things were off to a less than perfect start, we missed the turn off into the site as they didn't have any markings to show where the turn off was so we had to continue straight until we found a safe place to make a U-turn. When we got to the site we had to wait for about 40 minutes to get into the actual event. The parking was also poorly set out and no one was there to allocate parking spots to the cars, so we ended up parking right at the top of the field. 

As with most parties alcohol always plays an important role. Alcohol was not allowed into the event so we decided to car bar before we went in. The security was more worried about people bringing alcohol in than anything else. The drinks at the bar were over priced and the bar closed at around 1:30 am. Water couldn't even be order from the bar. I thought that was absurd as the party carried on until the next morning. The food stalls were just as disappointing, there were like 5 different food stalls and they were all ridiculously overpriced, at the one store I bought a falafal shwarma. It was filled with just two falafal balls and topped with salad for R40, I couldn't believe it! The venue wasn't very pleasant either, it was sandy and there was loads of dust which was made worse by everyone who was stomping to the music.

Other things that annoyed me was how freaking dirty it was there, there were none or very little cleaners, the toilets were a mess, and there were papers and cups everywhere on the floor. It looked like a junk yard in the morning. There was only one section of toilets at the entire venue and they were the dirtiest toilets I have ever used! I feel there should have been some toilets by the main stage as it would have been more convenient.

The visuals at the main stage looked as if it was a windows '97 screen saver, I could speak louder than the music and while we are on the topic of sound the speakers at the electro stage blew just before Vava was about to play. Instead of trying to resolve the issue, they cut the music. The situation was handled very poorly by the organizers. Apparently the music also cut out during Niskerone's performance earlier on in the night.

With big events like this medical staff should always be on hand. My friend had an asthma attack during the night due to all the dust. When I rushed her to what seemed to be a medical tent it was vacant, no tables, no beds, no nothing. There was only one medic present and she was sitting in her camping tent, when I asked her to help my friend, she was reluctant and told my friend she should have brought her pump. She eventually helped her out after we caused a scene. 

The design of promotional elements were also very poor, take a look at the banner they had on the side of the stage, rather boring hey?

If it wasn't for the awesomeness that is Paul van Dyk, I feel the event would have possibly been one of the worst outdoor party experiences I have ever had. With great friends comes a great party, so besides the poor organisation by the Soundscape team I still had an awesome time. Next time international artists should rather perform at our well known festivals with good reputations. Not festivals that have never been heard of and that are filled with people who have never experienced a proper outdoor festival. Soundscape should be ashamed and I feel they should send out a public apology to all of those who spent money on an event that was nothing short of an epic FAIL! Thank goodness I got my tickets for free!

Rezonance NYE festival

The expectation for New Years to be the best party of the year has always been a let-down in the past. My New Year’s used to involve last minute trips to Langebaan where we spent most of the night sitting in the car waiting for something interesting to happen and then eventually settling for a below average evening at Flamingos. House parties were also always on the agenda for New Years and jumping in the pool with my clothes on was possibly the most exciting part of the entire evening. This all came to an abrupt halt when I was introduced to the fascinating world of outdoor music festivals. I went to some amazing festivals in 2010 but Rezonance was the best by a long shot, I’m not sure if it’s because it had the NYE advantage but I do know that partying with thousands of people is way better than partying with a couple handful.

I decided to embark on the Rezonance adventure this year again, with my very best of friends it promised to be just as amazing as the previous year. One of the best things about Rezonance is that it is literally an 8 minute drive from home, which allowed for shower and sleep during the day while we waited for the nights to arrive. We decided to give Friday night a skip as we needed all our energy to go full out on NYE and Sunday night. We arrived Saturday afternoon and the parking was already full. There must have been several thousand people there already. After a quick trip to my friend’s tent to load off our stuff we headed to the dance floor. The layout of the stalls and stages were exactly the same as the previous year. We spent most of the evening at the Technodubfest Arena as we all have a great love for the electro music scene.

The beauty of the Prizm Stage however gets me every time and the amount of people who were dancing there always left me in awe. The lighting and set up of both stages was stunning as always. When the clock struck 12 pm all my close friends were at the electro stage, while some cried, I ended up hugging everyone thinking we might not have this moment again if the Mayans have anything to do with it. Towards 4 am I was left wondering Rezonance on my lonesome I lost most of my friends as they all decided to fade so I decided to party by the front left speaker at the Prizm stage till the sun rose. I don’t remember much but I do know I had one hell of a time. The Nutella Crepe was the icing on top of a perfect night.

After a good rest and refresh at my friends home we headed back to Rez for Niskerone and friends. We were all so tired but stuck it through thanks to our dear friend Red Bull, the rain started pouring down so everyone huddled under the Electro Tent. The music was better the Sunday night and I literally didn’t stop dancing until we left for home. I am now waiting anxiously for NYE to arrive once more!

I am truly blessed to have some of the craziest friends in town; after all it is not where you are but who you with that truly makes any experience worthwhile. 

Deadmau5 Cape Town

Deadmau5 live in South Africa, this was definitely one of the most anticipated concerts of the year, the hype was crazy before his arrival. Deadmau5 was not only a recurring trend on twitter but the tickets for Cape Town sold out before you could say cheeeeese. This forced Computicket to change the venue from Ratanga Junction to the CTICC. I purchased my ticket on the day of release, it's not often that such acclaimed electro artists come and visit us. I was quite bummed that the concert got moved though, as Ratanga would have allowed the concert to be more intimate, but in the end money speaks and 9000+ people were able to get tickets to watch Deadmau5 at the CTICC. 

Electro is my favorite genre of music so I was definitely more than excited to see him. I've seen many of his performances on YouTube and I listen to his music more often than not on an online music site called Groove Shark (http://www.grooveshark.com/). When Deadmau5 arrived in Cape Town, I followed his tweets and Facebook status updates like a bonafide stalker, hoping that he was enjoying our beautiful city. Yes, I am sure that you all did the same. I think he was as excited to be here as we were having him here.

I didn't get much work done on the day of his concert, I made sure I got to leave early, after a couple of pre-drinks we left to the concert. There were hundreds of people sporting mau5 heads, mau5 ears and Deadmau5 shirts, all proud to be part of his following. One fan even shaved a Deadmau5 design onto his head, very original.

The indoor venue was huge and allowed for a lot of space to move and breathe. The wait for Deadmau5 went faster than I thought, I guess the Olmeca Chocolate Tequila shots was to thank for that. The lines for the toilets were ridiculously long though, that was probably my only complaint for the evening.

When the curtains dropped and Deadmau5 appreared there was a huge uproar from the crowd everyone stampeded to the front. Even people without VIP arm bands had a shot of being in the front row. My friend Darryn and I wriggled our way to the center of the stage, we had about five rows in front of us but we couldn't move any further ahead as it was jamm packed. Goosebumps continued to fill my flesh until the end of the first song. I had many sweaty giraffes in front of me so I literally had to dance on my tippy-toes to even try catch a glimpse of him. Darryn decided to lift me on his shoulders so that I could see him clearly, it was amazing, I had a view of the overly large crowd and direct eye contact with Deadmau5 himself. 

Apparently I was on the big screen for long lengths of time, but I was so consumed with his perfectly executed music that I didn't even take note. His music cut out due to technical issues, to be honest I was happy this happened as it allowed him to connect with the crowd for a bit. After that the show went on without a hitch. The start of his set was a bit slow but after he played Raise Your Weapon it truly picked up! I moved to the back half way through as breathing is a difficulty in such large crowds, however as soon as Strobe came on I sprinted to the front, alone might I add, but there was no way I was going to dance at the back for that one. It was the perfect song to end off the evening. His light show was phenomenal and I couldn't keep my eyes off the stage, this really helped to give his performance that extra lift. 

I got some amazing shots on my camera but unfortunately my memory card stop functioning and I lost everything! I had to rely on my friend Bianca for some photos. Deadmau5 blew my brain away, and the next day I had his beats continuously zinging in my head, apparently the Joburg and Durban concerts were just as epic. I think he had a great time performing in our country as he had this to say: "THANK YOU SA! now THATS what I call a tour! CPT, DUR and JHB totally melted my face! you couldn't have convinced me anymore. 100% coming back again next year! I'll be taking the SA pride home with me to share with the rest of the world. <3"

Always great to see international artists who appreciate our fine country! Deadmau5 is genius no matter what the critics say. I appreciate the effort he puts into making his music original and originality after all is one of the greatest traits to have.

Synergy Live

Synergy has come and gone once again. There was great anticipation for this years festival, blogs, radio stations, street lamps and social networks were flooded with the news of Synergy Live. Synergy is one of the biggest outdoor music festivals of the year, electrolites and rock heads come together to experience a weekend of epic madness and this years festival was bigger and better than ever before.

I went to Synergy last year, but this years' festival was definitely one for the books. We arrive at the site Friday evening the camping site was pretty packed already so we managed too squeeze our tent into a small section. Once we all settled in and our drinks were poured we headed to the dance area. The layout was a bit different from last year but I felt it was better to have the stages and the food separate. One of the biggest dilemmas I had for the day was trying to decide weather to watch Zebra and Giraffe or Shadow Club because I enjoy both of their music. At the end I decided to do 30min at both stages. I really do wish Shadow Club got a spot on the main stage rather than at the LMG stage, I think it would have been better. They were both amazing but I think Shadow Club won the battle in the end.

After Shadow Club we headed back to the main stage for some Good Luck, it was the first time I saw them live and they were exceptional. We spent most of the rest of the night owning the electro tent, jumping, stomping and throw the occasional yet unexpected fist pump. I discovered a new DJ which I really enjoyed called George Daniel. We danced until the end of the final set, I was determined to max out this weekend, who needs sleep anyways?

Just over two hours of sleep later, the sun rose and turned our tent into a sweat-lodge. We thought we would start our day off with some slushie so we waited in queue and as soon as we got to the front the guy told us we had to wait 20 min for the mixture to ice up. My cousin, Nikita, was persistent on getting that slush-puppie not knowing that our 20min wait would turn into a 45min wait. It was worth it though.

The day proceeded with much effort. Heat and sleep deprivation is not a good combination. I was lucky enough to catch some of the comedic performances as well. One of the funniest jokes I heard was when the guy said "What is up with those porty-potties, I went in there and it's like playing dance dance revolution when you want to flush the toilet and wash your hands" hahaha that's a classic one.

After a nice shower and change of clothes we were ready for round two, vodka in hand we headed to the dance floor. I was quite upset because I missed many of the bands I wanted to see like Tumi & The Volume, aKING, Hog Hoggidy Hog and Crash Car Burn as my friends prefer electro to rock so most of the festival was spent by the Red Bull stage. I did however catch Desmond and the Tutus who I really wanted to see live, and they were pretty entertaining especially with the lead singers spastic hand movements.

Jax Panik was by far the best act of the festival, he is like the David Guetta of South Africa. I jumped, and screamed for their entire set. It was truly incredible.We were between stages most of the night, from main to electro and back again. I got to see two of the headlining acts, BRMC (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) weren't as great as I expected them to be but Dirty Loud definitely made up for that. We jammed at the electro tent until the very end again. 

Although I didn't get to see all the acts I would have liked to see, I did have an incredible weekend over all. The best music, the best venue, the best spur burgers and the friendliest people can only be found at one place and that's Synergy Live. I also love their logo and website design. Check it out http://www.synergylive.co.za/ .

Now I am left with no voice, zinging ears, and a body that feels like its been hit by a truck but it is all worth it as the memories I acquired over the weekend can never be replaced! See you next year Synergy!