Fire through the Window & The AK Massive – Vacca Matta, 24.07.07

This gig sort of crept up on me somehow, as these things tend to do in a month when almost everyone I know celebrates their birthdays and the day before payday means it’s seriously end of the month Salticrax time! But fortunately Vacca Matta is kind enough not to charge an entry fee for their Tuesday night gigs, and one way or another, there was no way I was missing what promised to be an interesting evening with two such diverse bands.

Fire through the Window is a relatively new band and this was the first opportunity I had to check them out. Aside from Sinead (vocals), this band is composed of a veritable who’s who of the Durban music industry, with representatives from Nemesis Army (Marc – guitar & vocals), Passenger (Greg – bass), City Bowl Mizers (Adam – drums) and one of the ex-Jones’ from Love Jones, not to mention Squeal and a good few other bands (Peter aka band slut – guitar). So it really came as no surprise that this band was outstanding. From what I hear, they generally play just as an unplugged duo of Sinead and Marc, who wrote all the songs for each other. Which means that the predominant theme is obviously love. There is a huge risk here of being cheesy and clichéd but somehow they manage to avoid this, and instead are one of the best bands I’ve seen in Durban in a while. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very cute on stage, and Sinead has very much got the whole wide-eyed little girl thing going on, but it really works for them, and the fact that her voice is simply beautiful helps a lot. I may be betraying my gender here, but I’m not usually a huge fan of female-led bands, simply because if your voice isn’t really good, it tends to go to that high pitched whiny place, and that’s just not attractive. This, however, is nowhere near the case with this lot. Sinead’s vocals almost have a Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders quality, and this is well balanced by Marc’s grungier style which is used as backing and harmonies, somewhat of a departure for a frontman. Their songs are pretty and catchy, and although I’m a cynical bitch, I couldn’t help but smile at how sweet they are. They also do a really kickass cover of Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares to You, which they have transformed from a melancholy ballad into an upbeat, almost punky, singalong version. They played two rockier songs at the end of their set, which seemed quite good as well, but unfortunately the vocals were overpowered, and in my opinion this should be the focal point of this band, given how exceptional they are. The crowd called for more when they were finished, and this is most certainly a band I will be going to watch again and again.

The AK Massive is a lot of things, but pretty is probably not one of them (no offence boys!), so I was a tad surprised by this combination of bands. But it turned out that there was a common thread, and that was both bands’ ability to have fun on stage and not take themselves or their music too seriously. It made for a great evening. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this band, they have been around for almost 7 years now and have quite a cult following of those in the know. They are one of those bands who seem like they should be more successful than they are, but somehow it appears to elude them. The trials and tribulations of the South African music industry, and fitting in a music career with a day job and all that. And of course when you say fuck as much as they do, it can work against you in terms of radio play! They started out singing mainly about political issues that were affecting people at the time, but over the years have shifted the focus away from this. This is a trio with all the sound and energy of a much bigger band, assisted by the fact that Bruce plays both guitar and bass through some weird amp/cord/thingy configuration which I will never even try to understand. It makes for a solid grunge-rock sound, with tinges of The Pixies, Rage Against the Machine and Bush. Their frontman, another Mark, loves to chat with the audience and tell silly jokes, and there is great interaction between the guys on stage, all of which makes for an intimate atmosphere where you feel as if you’re being invited into their circle. Add to this the fact that they are really talented musicians, and have some seriously great songs, and you have a winning formula. You can’t help but have fun with a band who has a song called Trumpet Punk in which they invite 2 imaginary friends (alter-egos of Mark & Brett – drums) on stage to play trumpet. I’ll leave it to your imagination, but let’s just say there are no actual trumpets involved. I think the first time I heard that song, I may have peed my pants a little. But they are by no means a gimmick band, mixing social conscience with a sense of humour. Some of their new material is simply phenomenal, and hopefully they can get the second album recorded a little quicker than the 5 years it took to provide us with the first one! The crowd seemed to really enjoy their extended set (you know you’re in for a good night when the set list is two pages!) despite the fact that Vacca Matta is one of those tennis clapper venues. This is definitely a band you should make an effort to see if the opportunity comes your way.

There’s no better way to spend an evening than watching two such excellent bands, and last night was made even better by the knowledge that they were both from Durban. The friendly atmosphere both bands projected on stage made for a really fun evening for everyone, and I’m not just talking about the straggling delegates from some earlier conference who were clinging to the bar as if their very lives depended on it…that is, when they weren’t flailing around on the dance floor! Good times… Hope we get to do it all again soon.