Category: music

Dragonfly

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Yesterday was a great family day, with a rip to feed the ducks at the Arderne Gardens in Claremont, followed by an afternoon of drinking, swimming and braai’ing, none of which allowed any time to blog or play with any photos or watch any footy.
Today will also be a great family day and after an early start – because the kids woke us up early – we headed out to Hout Bay Market, which is very similar to the Christmas markets of Baveria and Austria, except that it’s 36°C at this one. This afternoon, some grandparental babysitting will be partaken of as Mrs 6000 and I nip over to Val de Vie to watch The Killers reverse supporting Zebra and Giraffe.

After the photos of the mayhem on Long Street and the views of the city, I thought that something a little smaller would be appropriate for a quota photo.

This little fellow stayed still just long enough for me to catch him (digitally) yesterday. Despite his diminutive stature, he’ll quite adequately bridge the gap between Saturday and Monday, when (I would imagine) a review of today’s concert will be available here.

In My Eyes

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As I sit in the lab, pitching various antibiotics into battle against my TB while hiding behind negative pressure, an N95 particulate mask and several layers of protective gear, there’s nothing I like more than some loud music on Snoopy Too, my iPod.

Today’s offering is Zebra & Giraffe: local favourites and official support act for The Killers SA tour next month.

This is the brilliant video for In My Eyes, frontman Greg Carlin goes driving around the city at night in a hastily-modified Mercedes-Benz while trying to shake the memory of his girlie. It’s worth watching right through to the end, believe me.
You didn’t see that one coming, now did you?

I think I’m almost looking forward to seeing Z&G as much as Brandon et al on December 6th.

Bring it.

More blogging for me

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Because my most important reader is me, I’m blogging this. It’s old news in SA now, but not all my readers are South African and I’m pretty sure it’s something that I will always enjoy coming back to, like Nhlanhla Nene falling off his chair, mid-interview.
I know a lot of people are going to click that link and relive that 23 second clip again. Quality impromptu slapstick comedy by the head of the Finance Portfolio Committee.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ras Dumisani and his rendition of the South African national anthem before the France v SA rugby match in Toulouse last Friday:

(* note inverted SA flag at 0:42. That’s because SA expats don’t know much about the SA flag.)

But tuneful, it ain’t. The jokes have been doing the rounds about the amount of weed Dumisani had smoked before he sang etc etc. But there’s a serious side to it all. Ex-bok Supersport rugby guru Naas Botha blamed the poor Bok performance (they lost 20-13) on the poor Dumisani performance.

“It was sad that we lost the game,” said Botha. “But after that absolute disaster of a national anthem, everything went wrong. It was shocking and definitely didn’t assist in creating a calm atmosphere for the team, as it should have. Someone has to be taken to task for this disaster. The government should assist in getting to the bottom of this.”

Yes. Bring the Government in. That will help. Jacob Zuma can hop into his time machine and go back to urge Ras Dumisani to practice a bit more. Or at all. Whatever.  Or maybe he could pop a wig on and take Dumisani’s place.
Jacob has got a bald head, but he’s got a lovely singing voice. We’ve all heard him doing Umshini Wami. It’s inspiring stuff.
And Botha is probably right about it being the sole cause of the Bok defeat, as well. I know that when I’ve been listening to Sicky Dion, I get all my line-out calls wrong, forget how to tackle and commit far too few players to the breakdown. So that’s probably what happened.

It was bad though. So bad, in fact, that Julius Malema hasn’t even blamed the fuss on racism.

Yet.

Saturday Evening 101

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I’ve spent so long drinking red wine and watching VH1’s Final Countdown: One Hit Wonders that it seems that I have left no time at all for a blog post. Bugger.

The top three (as chosen by VH1) were:

3. Tasmin Archer’s 1992 hit Sleeping Satellite – she blames you for the moonlit sky. And the dream that died. Steady on, love.
2. Deep Blue Something with Breakfast At Tiffany’s – in which a ginger bloke tries to convince a chick that because they both like a film from the early 1960’s, he’s a good bet to go on a second date with, despite his hair. Ja right.
1. Never Met A Girl Like You Before by Edwyn Collins. I hate this song.

What were they thinking?

I also uploaded my 2,500th item onto my flickr photostream – some surprisingly remarkable trolleys at Canal Walk – a big shopping mall in Cape Town:

Surprisingly remarkable not just because of their number and structural conformity, but because they are all still where they should be and aren’t being pushed along the N1 with some bergie’s life in them.

And now I have to go and prepare for tomorrow morning’s school outing to the beach by train.
More on that little adventure tomorrow. Possibly.

Zebra & Giraffe will support The Killers

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And you heard it where first?

Z&G broke the news on their Facebook page this morning:

SA’s hottest new rock act Zebra & Giraffe have been chosen by The KILLERS to be the support act on their South African tour, which commences with two nights at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg (Thursday 3rd December and Friday 4th December 2009) and then moves to Cape Town with one performance on Sunday 6th December at Val De Vie Wine and Polo Estate, in the scenic Paarl/Franschhoek Valley.

But sometime last month, someone had already got the scoop and tweeted it loud and clear:

1:49 PM Oct 31st
Have you heard? @zebraandgiraffe opening for #TheKillers SA gigs…

Yep. That would have been little old me.

So – next time you want the news first on the biggest events of the year, you know where to come, right? Lest we forget, we were the first to tell you that The Killers were coming, as well.

Aside from blowing my own trumpet (and let’s not beat around the bush here, if you could blow your own trumpet, you would), this has just added to my already mounting anticipation of a great concert. I like Zebra & Giraffe – and they have proven Winelands experience with their amazing performance at CokeZeroFest at Lourensford:

Widely tipped to be the next “big” SA band, they blew me away with their New Order vs The Cure, mildly melancholic electronica. It amazes me that there are some bands that are still able to find a niche in the music market which no-one has previously exploited. While others are producing decent, enjoyable but somewhat “samey” tracks, Z&G are novel, refreshing and exciting. And eminently listenable. The performance was tight and professional, the audience interaction not too full-on, but enough to let us know they knew we were there. Very impressive and definitely the best SA band of the day.

So, roll on December 6th. Just 30 sleeps away – or if, like me, you have small children – probably nearer 15.