Worth the wait...

With a giggle I discovered that the very Julia whose 'Julia plus one' had gotten us into Civil Twilight weeks before, was in fact the same Julia Jakobsen who would be playing at The Waiting Room on Tuesday night in town...

Introduced to her by Chris Tait - both on that amazing night at The Assembly and now knowing that she was playing a little acoustic set before The Brothers Streep - and I was delighted to see someone new!

Julia is in fact Danish by birth, and has lived the world over - and most recently in mid 2010, was building popularity in her birth home with her band The Fireflies as they did superbly well on Denmark's X Factor! But cue Cape Town, where Jules has lived from 14 to age 22 - and where she considers home she says! We are totally digging that!

Beneath a thick fringe, she morphs her pouty red lips into many shapes as she babbles on between songs with stories and jokes that make you want to take her home and put her in a jar, and label it 'Fabulous friend - open when in need of laughs, giggles and good times!' She's natural and cute, and there's something a little awkward and hugely endearing about her. Oh, and the girl can sing. Boy, can she sing. And as she babbles on about too, she can also sing a lot about boys. Good stories in her songs. Good times.

One song with the line, 'You had me at hello and goodbye...' a heavy heart comes through in her creations, yet beautiful acoustic expression sets these lyrical bombs to light.

Then there are The Brothers Streep - of which Dylan with the dark hair and pink swoosh of a fringe had played money collector moments earlier. My friend Drew requested more than a dot on his hand - he wanted a zebra. Next up, I felt an Octopus was what I needed. To which our money collector drew an arrow to the octopus and wrote 'Paul'. I thought maybe he was tagging his work, much like any graffiti artist would, so when I asked him if his name was Paul, he just looked at me funny and said, 'I thought you'd get it...'

So I thought about it a second or three longer, and it dawned on me - oh yes, Paul the Octopus. Of course. To which I lifted my hand to my mouth and asked Paul who was to be the best band of the night. I listened, and waited... (we were in The Waiting Room afterall)

And Paul say, 'Something Streep'. So I told the dark-haired guy with the pink fringe, and at first he didn't get it. So I looked at him strangely, saying, 'I thought you'd get that...' He thought for a second or three and he got it.

So that was how the night began with interactions of The Brothers Streep. And it didn't get any less weird. 

If you come expecting music, you will get so much more from a Brothers Streep experience. And the fact that The Waiting Room have couches, instantly turned it into some sort of comedy show at best, or perhaps just like a live lounge act - in the comfort of a friend's really large living room, and with a serviced bar and good lighting.

I can't recall the first song. But they had me at the second song. Any band who can immortalise Steri Stumpie - or a song about 'flavoured milk' as they call it - gets my vote. 

In fact, I think I did a slightly over-zealous 'Yeah', when they announced that they had a song about flavoured milk. As a Nesquick chocolate milk girl of note, I just understand the passion. Plus Steri Stumpie in all its rainbow of flavours is just so incredible - I mean where else can you get bubblegum, creme soda, toffee caramel or banana milk at such convenience. Its not like you want to keep a permanent stash of creme soda Nesquick - but for that odd occasional craving, what better than a creme soda Steri Stumpie. (In fact, my new year's day 2011 started that way - firstly with a much-needed chocolate one, and topped with creme soda! I was creating a new version of the much needed 'groen ambulans'... the 'groen melk ambulans'!)

But back to their song. With lines like, 'How can we feel down when strawberry milk is still around?' and 'How can we feel glum when banana milk is filled with so much fun!' and the chorus which just captures the essence of any true flavoured milk lover... 'When the road is bumpy, drink a Steri Stumpie!'

Besides milk-inspired outputs, there was an Afrikaans song, a cover of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (hey Brad... Yes Janet...), a pirate song, a song about Disney princesses (why not?) and the immortalising of another South African institution... They did an ode to Joshua Doore (your uncle in the furniture business and all). Singing 'Joshua Doore, supplier of bathmats and hope for us all!'

Simon van Wyk and Dylan Hichens of The Brothers Streep

I think my favourite must have been the shopping song, a song about logic and arithmetic as they explain. '10 means 10 and less means less. 11 or 12 just wont do. So take your 27 items and get out of the express queue!'

I want to bottle them too and label them 'Fun times, laugh a minute. Good for road trips and around braai fires.' I mean really, who thinks of this stuff..?

Well, Simon van Wyk and Dylan Hichens I guess. And since taking their show to the Edinburgh Fringe last year its definitely got an international flair to it despite all the fab localisms. And then there was when they were live (on Skype) on the Graham Norton show last year some time too I think. Graham's team was interviewing Anna Pacquin on the show - and in their remit of bizarre research, they came across a little band in Cape Town who had done a song in honour of Anna. And 'APS' was its name - Anna Pacquin Syndrome. So their moment of bizarre international TV fame began that day. But it won't end at 15 minutes for these chaps. And if you wanna find out what APS is all about, you'll just have to get down to a live show yourself. 

As we drove home from town last night, curving down Hospital Bend - of which Julia had a song by that very name - I was sipping on my Steri Stumpie from the Orange Street Engen, an institution for late night stops on the way home (except as Drew pointed out, it was exceedingly quiet at midnight in comparison to 3am!) So, I was sipping my Steri Stumpie with a sense of ownership and pride in honour of the flavoured milk song that inspired my purchase. (Subliminal marketing perhaps? Do The Brothers Streep own shares in Steri Stumpie I wondered..?) 

And I was most chuffed to have discovered a new flavour on the Engen fridge shelf last night. Coffee my friends. Yes, Coffee. I'm surprised Steri Stumpie hadn't latched onto this clever flavour before!  Well, I do feel that The Brothers Streep need to add a new verse to their song in honour of Coffee (And I think its only fitting that they dedicate it to me, and especially since 'coffeee' rhymes so effortlessly with 'Sooosi' - I'll be following up on this!)

(Although I did ask Paul when I got home, and he says that Chocolate is always the ultimate winner!)

Its soon time to part with Paul as I wash away Dylan's delightful drawings and with it, the memories of the fabulous night before. (Oh, and I forgot to mention that I went back and requested a jellyfish too!) So both Paul and my elongated jellyfish will soon be at one with the water of life again.

This was my first full Brothers Streep show since seeing them play a few songs before Roland Albertson in London last year. And worth the wait! But apparently their full set is much longer. So I can't wait to experience more whacky wonderfulness in the future. And I def want to see Julia Jakobsen again - delightful!

Rock on weird and wonderful musical creations combined with comedy and flavoured milk,

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