Like flies to the Fokof dancefloor...

Anyone's who's been to an Afrikaans South African concert in London knows that whether you speak the language or not, the second you walk through that door and get stamped, you become Afrikaans!

Paul Walsh, UK-based South African music lover, sound engineer and guitar player, headed down to the Clapham Grand on Friday 27 May to catch Fokofpolisiekar live in London...

It seems only fitting tonight for the first time in five years, that the band responsible for making Afrikaans 'cool' again, as well as opening the door to a storm of fresh Afrikaans talent, Fokofpolisiekar is back in London! But this time round they've brought friends.

First to hit the stage is London-based cross-over band, The Spindle Sect. They came on a bit earlier than expected, so the venue hadn't quite filled up, but they managed to keep the crowd entertained whilst warming everyone up for the night ahead!

Since Fokof's last outing to London, they've been on a hiatus, formed a couple of side projects, reformed again, released an EP and also released a documentary. One of the more successful of the side projects, Francois Van Coke and Wynand Myburgh's Van Coke Kartel, have accompanied Fokof on their London / Amsterdam leg. Whilst the remaining members of Fokof are flying home after the Amsterdam show, VCK will be staying for an additional week and supporting the Springbok Nude Girls on their 'last tour ever'! If you missed them, be sure to catch them and witness a piece of history (see gig guide for London SNG dates!)

Van Coke jumped onto the stage with enough energy to make you think "How the hell is he going to be able to pull this off for the next two hours!?" But he and the rest of the Kartel managed to keep it consistent! They opened their set with a brilliant rendition of 'Ondier kom', whizzed through old classics such as 'Verdoof vergiftig verskoon my' and 'Voor ons stof word' and generally rocked the house.

Ironically, the song that turned the crowd into one voice was the English cover that they did of Michael Sembello's 'Maniac'. Unfortunately the set went past very quickly, but that could only mean one thing: It was time for the main event!

Fokofpolisiekar took to the stage, and the crowd took to the floor like flies to the light! Francois substituted his guitar for a simple mic that allowed him to explore every inch of the stage, and boy, did him and Wynand make the most of that stage! 

Opening with 'Prioritiseer', not one of their most well known songs, it seemed to be the right song to get the evening started. Very surprisingly, they threw out their most well known song, 'Hemel op die platteland', way too early. Nevertheless, these guys know what they're doing and played hit after hit, making it clear that the Clapham Grand belonged to them!

Generally, Fokofpolisiekar isn't a band that I would associate with moshpits, but with the atmosphere that was emanating from the middle of the pit, even I couldn't resist throwing myself into the action, and it wasn't long until Francois followed suit, microphone and all! The band played a very successful set, and after they left the stage, there were chants for an encore, but unfortunately that was all for the evening! They came to entertain, and they did a damn good job of it!

On behalf of ZAmmm!, many thanks to Paul Walsh for the photos and great review!

Rock on SA music showing London how its done,
x