Counting the daisies down...

One festival, two festivals, three festivals, four... That is one festival for each of the months left of the year, starting today as September, then October, November and December! 

And what more does one need to start preparing for summer holiday mode than a festival to truly get that let go feeling, to kick back and kick off the shoes and just learn to be at one with nature and live meal-to-meal, enjoying the sunshine and mostly concerned with which epic band to see next!

Starting with White Mountain Festival from today in KZN, to Rocking the Daisies next weekend for the Capies and those along the west coast, followed by Synergy at the end of November (also for those in Western Cape), and the new one day Drake Festival in KZN on 17 December!




Rocking the Daisies has a stellar line up on Saturday in particular! I think I'll find myself a permanent viewing possie from 2pm onwards:

• SATURDAY
• 10:00 The Brother Moves On
• 11:00 The Rescu
• 12:00 Peachy Keen
• 13:00 IScreamStix
• 14:00 Jeremy Loops
• 15:05 Yoav
• 16:10 Belleruche
• 17:15 Tumi & the Volume
• 18:20 aKING
• 19:45 Prime Circle
• 21:10 Civil Twilight
• 22:55 Band of Skulls
• 00:30 Lark

And yes, that's two UK bands on the Saturday line-up - electronic / soul band Belleruche for the post-lunch chill and then the main alternative rock headliner Band of Skulls who will take us over the midnight threshold!

Even the Sunday line up is worth sticking around for! I recall last year how we stayed til Nibs van der Spuy at the very end, and despite it pissing it down with rain, we were so pleased we stuck it out!


SUNDAY

• 10:00 Hot Water
• 11:00 Jon Savage and the Nomads
• 12:00 Shadowclub
• 13:05 Graeme Watkins Project
• 14:10 Just Jinjer

Rock on counting down the days til Daisies,
x

A- for Ashtray, A++ for aKING...

One of the benefits of living in South Africa is that I get to see SA music nearly every weekend, and sometimes twice in a weekend and even during the week if I'm up to it!

So it was with disappointment that since being back in Cape Town for two and a half months (and going to quite a few gigs), I have had my first 'bad' SA band experience...

But maybe its a good thing. If everything shone brightly, we wouldn't really notice - or appreciate - those who truly stand out! For this reason I give Ashtray Electric's album launch this weekend past an A- and aKING's video launch the weekend before, an A++!

Ashtray Electric have all the elements to be amazing, yet for an album launch it was a massive let down... On opening, Ashtray filled The Assembly with an incredible intro of lights and sound that surrounded you with synthed pre-recorded keyboard sounds. We were in for something good. Or so we thought. And then the opening track lost my interest not even half way through. Followed by a second track which didn't hold my attention at all. They then bantered between themselves a bit, after which they played an old track off their debut album titled Bonjour.

Well, hello and goodbye it is for me and Ashtray alas. We spent more of the night in the bar area, and in fact left the venue earlier than normal because the atmosphere was flat. The Assembly's heightened magic of my past three gigs there had been deflated. And it wasn't only us. The crowds were scarce and scattered, and standing very still. No one was rocking out. Well, besides the one guy behind me, but there is always one! I feel for Ashtray Electric, as part of the recent Bellville scene, its like they are the once-removed second cousins who didn't quite make it to the party.

I couldn't help but feel that their second album name might just be a self-fulfilling prophecy too - 'Measured in Falls'. Hmmm.

As we stopped at the obligatory 'Party Engen' on Orange Street on the way home, we spotted an advert for their album launch. It had been painted onto a wall just opposite the Engen. Painted. How much does one pay for such an advert? Hmmm.

In contrast, the weekend before had blown me away as I've come to expect from gigs at The Assembly. It was aKING's video launch for 'Catch Alight' off their recent third album release, The Red Blooded Years! Watching the video felt like history in the making as a bunch of band members literally just f*cked each other up - punches, hair pulling, proper caught-on-camera-up-close nose breaking as it skewed in slow motion into a shape that noses shouldn't ever experience. It was kind of like Jackass SA style, but made for MK!

It was an excellent gig all round, and the crowds and hands-in-the-air were testament to that!

The only other thing I can say for Saturday past was that luckily I didn't actually pay the steep R60 entry. I had entered a competition on a really cool site called Social Contract and had won a pair of tickets! Social Contract collates all the gig posters for shows going down in that particular week.

And it reminded me just how many different aspects of the music industry there are, including these talented designers who output all manner of artwork for the gig posters we too often only see in postage stamp size on a Facebook event page! 

And this reminded me too of Cape Town's World Design Capital 2014 bid (of which the three shortlisted cities will be announced in the next week or so) - and the fact that design is so very alive in the Mother City!

Social Contract is doing a great service in collating such designs, and creating a platform to increase awareness for SA's talented designers, in an area of art that is way too under-appreciated in SA! I think gig posters might just be the next big collector's item in fact, especially after speaking to Stephan who started the site! People just need to open their eyes to this incredible artwork right in front of them! And who doesn't love a poster eh! This is just the more grown up version of those Pulp Fiction and YOU posters you had on your walls as a kid! Social Contract is a site worth bookmarking...

From the SA music poster emergence to A++ for aKING, SA music was also proudly flying the flag in London this weekend - from DJ Fresh at Egg on Friday to Just Jinjer and Goldfish kicking it on Clapham Common alongside INXS at Southern Sounds!

Rock on SA music that really shines above the rest,
x

A man like me...

This is the title of his album that I got to know so well... A man like me - one of the honey-sweet voices of the SA industry. Plus he is a piano-playing muso, writing beautiful songs of romance, love and appreciation...

James Stewart at Backsberg

He is none other than James Stewart - the brush-cut blonde guy from the 90's band The Usual. These days, his usual hang-outs include wine farms and fire-side restaurants in the Franschoek region which he calls home.

And so, beneath a breezey tree, James entertained us beautifully last Sunday on the gorgeous green lawns of Backsberg wine estate as part of the kykNet Backsberg Picnic Concerts.

"So I thank my lucky stars each night... because they're the only reason I can see, why a woman like her could ever love a man like me..."

Without fail, James dedicates this 'A man like me' song to his lovely wife Lauren, serenading her every time! And as their two blonde TV ad-perfect kids ran around the lawn that afternoon, you can see why James Stewart thanks his lucky stars. He is both talented and blessed with an amazing family, living in the fabulous surrounds of Franschoek and with a dedicated fan following of his piano ballads.

He also does a cover show of The Police on occasion, so we were treated to some such tracks, as well as a few Bob Marley interpretations! James did a few more of his classics, including Gravity, Beautiful Lies, Shine and The Usual's big track, The shape that I'm in.

It was a very chilled picnic vibe and perfect for a Sunday afternoon. It even came complete with imaginary percussion. Alas, Barry van Zyl - James' drummer as well as the dummer for Johnny Clegg - had come through to play the gig, only to find out that the drums had not arrived. Oh well, its always interesting knowing the behind the scenes happenings, but the audience would never have known otherwise!

Chris Tait and I chilling summer picnic style (and Gill's foot!)

I was also told by my fellow picnic'ers (who have worked with James over the years), that not only did James Stewart open for Ronan Keating in South Africa (of which I course remembered the date and location of the gig - 2 January 2005, Kirstenbosch, sad sad sad I know). So I was told by Gill Strawberry, that she had in fact met my Ronan (read 'Some of my favourite boys' to get the full story). And she too confirmed that Ronan wasn't very tall, but again, I've been so close and yet so far...!

I'd also chatted to Mr Backs himself (the man of Backsberg that is) - and asked about the Jax Panik, Goldfish, Locnville, Die Antwoord Sonic Summer Tour that took place at Backsberg on 18 December that I'd missed (and yes, am still kicking myself for!) Apparently it pulled a two and a half thousand crowd and was a fabulous show! Locnville even arrived, and left, in a helicopter one of the waitresses told me!

Now that's how to rock the winelands, perhaps there is a market in helicopter rides to these wine farm summer picnic concerts. Then we could truly enjoy the full wine farm experience and actually indulge in decent amounts of wine, and not just of the quaffing kind!

For more wineland picnic concerts, you can catch Laudo of aKING this Sunday 16 January, followed by Albert Frost, Robin Auld and more in weeks to come! (Karen Zoid, Koos Kombuis and Hot Water have already played!) Alas, I shall be leaving the warm and open surrounds of our Western Cape next week and heading back to London's buzz to see what SA music I can blog about there...

Rock on wine farm summer concerts, and James Stewart's piano ballads,
x

Did you feel the magic?

If you were at The Assembly last night, you certainly did. We were all part of it, surrounded by it.

aKING opened with a spell-binding acoustic set - the stage was certainly set for awesomeness. But what followed was a three-piece band of beautious melodic rock music that took us on a journey much like Carl Cox would create an aural pathway on which to float, taking us towards turns and twists, keeping us in a steady state of awareness until the next subliminal crescendo capped the moment! Enter Civil Twilight!

Lead singer Steven McKellar played a piano in parts, adding a timeless quality to their incredible sound. And with Steven looking strangely similar to the one and only Edward - it seems fitting that they chose a name so aptly aligned to the zeitgiest and the google antics of their demographic!

The sound behind the name is a fusion somewhere between Snow Patrol, Muse and Kings of Leon - and yet it was completely their own Civil Twilight creation - and most definitely of international stadium standards!

In fact, I count myself very lucky to have seen this show - and especially lucky for scoring last minute tickets (hugest thanks to Ant Martin and Julia!) since this gig was super sold out (with a queue of about 150 still trying to get in!)! I put my words firmly in digital ink that - although already based in the States and obviously doing well for themselves - 'Civil Twilight will soon be the global SA rock music flagship band, doing sold-out stadium tours of the States, followed by a sizeable world tour to share the Civil Twilight sound with the world!' They are just that good. But more than good, their music makes you feel something! Its music to listen to in so many situations and circumstances, and with lyrics that can be interpreted and analysed a thousand times over in different life phases.

Steven's brother, Andrew McKellar, also added something incredibly special by playing his guitar with a violin bow - the ethereal effect touched everyone in The Assembly last night!

Their own songs stand seven feet above the ground, each one as head-high, chest-out proud as the next... so when the Massive Attack cover of Teardrop kicked in, I wasn't sure what to expect of a song not their own...! Well, I don't know how long the version went on for - it certainly felt like forever as they stretched it out, slowed it down and isolated each of the instruments before adding them back in one at a time, Civil Twilight style - but I do know that I didn't want the song to stop! As Simon Cowell would say if this was X Factor - 'Civil Twilight made that song 1000% their own!'

WOW! WOW! WOW! I want to go back and do last night all over again! The Assembly was also a marvellous venue, so I shall be back for more of that. And as soon as Civil Twilight play again - London or SA - I certainly won't have to be asked twice! 

Rock on Civil Twilight,
x

PS. And who ever was responsible for the video visuals - a massive well done to you! Those were outstanding!

Civil awesomeness, the true Twilight...

Now this is an easy band to write about - three Cape Town boys who are based abroad, this is SA music making it on an international scale (and they played in London for the first time in June!)

Following a 5,000 strong crowd to see Civil Twilight at Kirstenbosch on Boxing Day and with close on 40,000 facebook fans (38,682 to be exact), these Hout Bay boys are playing their home city of Cape Town at The Assembly tonight. Together with aKING, this is to be one epic show! R60 gets you in, doors open 9pm. 

On the same US label as Seether, Wind Up Records released their album earlier this year and Civil Twilight have had major hits with Letters from the Sky and Anybody Out There!

I also love how they've covered Massive Attack's Teardrop, much like Seether did a George Michael cover of Careless Whisper. It just works!

Cant wait for tonight, rock on,
x

Rocking in the twlight...

For a wealth of info on SA music and SA movies, check out the Oct issue of SA PROMO - very proudly my movie issue which Ive been planning for a long time now! 


From the Top 5 SA films across a few categories as well as an overview of the industry from different view points - the industry film commission dude, the animator and the rookie actress.

Talking about music and movies, I have been impressed lately by the cross-pollination in the Twilight series. A soundtrack as perfect has not been so suited for quite some time. And the soundtrack to the second film, New Moon, out in November in the UK, it will feature The Killers, Radionhead's Thom Yorke and the hauntingly incredible Bon Iver amongst others!

On starting the second book, my second sojourn with Edward, I was uber chuffed to see her acknowledgements upfront about the music she listened to, and which inspired her, while she was writing the books. Wow, this is the stuff Im talking about - a social conscience of recognition and appreciation of what music adds to - and inspires - in our world.

Just the other day I was a bit down and I reminded myself that without music, I would not be the me I am. And if ever faced with that impossible dilemma of choosing over one's sight or hearing - I think Id have to choose hearing, for how can one not live with the sweet sound of music, the whisper of a lover's warm lips on your ear or the internal purr of a cat who knows contentment like no other.

Talking of cats, whenever our family goes out for the evening, my dad leaves the radio on - and one night it was James Stewart playing when we returned - I asked what station it was on and he replied, ' its cat music radio'. Haha - the radio station my cat most enjoys when left alone. And yet strangely, this cat who always sleeps on beds, will sleep in the lounge waiting for someone to return, as if enjoying her solitude and personal station, before she later heads off to curl up on the foot of a comfy bed!

So it is that cats seem to know the pure secrets of life - music, sleep and lots of love, affection and cuddles.

And now back to Twilight, there have been a few songs by artists over time... both Vanessa Carlton and U2 have songs entitled 'Twilight'. And Im sure that SA melodic rockers aKING have a song called 'Into the twilight' - though Ive been listening to the latest album Against All Odds, and I didn't bring the cover with me, so I cant be sure. And on that note, it is now time to bring on the Daaaaaiiisies! Rocking the Daisies to be exact - Cape Town's premier eco-friendly music festival an hour up the West Coast in Darling! aKING is up tonight amongst others, with Goldfish closing the evening at Rocking the Daisies! Wahoooooo!

Rock on daisies in the twilight,
x

Looking back on a fab trip home...

Sitting on the other side of the world, thinking back on the trip to South Africa and wishing it hadnt gone by so fast...

But we did so much - from wine and cheese tasting in Franschoek to sundowners and seafood by the sea, as well as catching the perfect Henry Ate reunion gig at the Brass Bell (extending my stay in Cape Town by a day and paying an extra £1,000 on my ticket to Joburg cos Nationwide decided to go bust that weekend!) But it was all worth it!

Pretoria was also wonderful - as well as going up north to Pilanesberg and Sun City for some game viewing and intense sunshine while running round the Valley of the Waves and going down super tubes in the African bush. We even jet skied and para-sailed. What a lot we did!

Then I went to Look and Listen in Pretoria - and after being bitterly dissappointed by the SA rock selection in Musica - I was wonderfully surprised to not only find en-mass variety of up and coming stuff, but also a uber helpful sales assistant who knew his SA stuff and pulled a few off the shelf for me.

So with a suitcase very full of exciting new South African music, I am now returned to the UK and ready to fully embrace the summer season of music ahead!

Some exciting names were recommended - aKING in particular. Plus The Sick Leaves and a female singer songwriter called Andra. Plus I got all the other recent albums that were missing from my collection due to bands not heading this way yet... I buy the albums in anticipation of their arrivals...

South African artists are once again out of hibernation and heading across this way as teh weather cools down south! Like migratory birds with a song to sing, they are flocking to us!

But more on that in due course. Finishing up on my SA reflections - I was ve chuffed to see Josie Field will be opening for James Blunt on his SA tour... and Flat Stanley , who was nominated for a SAMA, has the honour of opening for Counting Crows!


And today, the 14 May - it is only a month away til Seether will be playing at Download - and with much credibility they shall come as they have just snapped up the SAMA award for Best English Rock Album for 'Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces' - an album written following the death of lead singer Shaun Morgan's brother!

Other SAMA highlights around the rock arena include:
- Best female solo artist: Karen Zoid
- Best Duo / Group: Freshlyground
- Album of the year: Freshlyground - Ma'cheri
- Best Adult Contempary Album: Freshlyground
- Best Engineer: Freshlyground
(Yip, that's 4 awards out of 7 nominations for Freshlyground!)

- Best newcomer: Tasha Baxter
- Best global chart DVD: Harris Tweed
- Best instrumental album: Tony Cox
- Best Afrikaans rock album: Kobus! - Swaarmetaal
- Best pop album: Tasha Baxter - Colour of Me

And my favourite category: Best Sokkie album (only in SA!!!) - Kurt Darren... tho ihn fairness, I have never actually listened to Kurt Darren! Bless!

The SAMAs were held at Sun City on Sat 3 May - a few days before we went there. And to our horror - the petrol station and parking lot outside was covered in broken glass where party goers had 'celebrated' on the night!

Well, another year for artists to ride the (valley of the...) wave with their SAMA scoopings! And another year for more artists to work towards earning their spot...

Rock on South Africa,
x