It was a glorious sunny day, just right for a concert on the beach….until in true Murphy’s Law style, the wind picked up with frenetic force, turning the venue cold and blustery. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bothered to exfoliate before going out…..some women would have paid a fortune at a spa for the kind of dermabrasion we got down on the beach last night, thanks to the sand whipping around our faces. But the Mr Price Pro concerts are always events not to be missed and last night was no exception.
Bob Evans was the opening artist and got the show off to a good start with his melodic songs and self-deprecating humour. He hails from Australia and has been touring there with our local boy, Farryl Purkiss, who is now returning the favour with some shows on our soils. It’s good to see there’s better comradeship between South African and Australian musicians than between our rugby teams. I felt a little sorry for Mr Evans as it was taking a while for people to filter down onto the sand, and he played to a smattering of people. Think Damien Rice but with an Aussie accent – very pretty and enjoyable.
Next up was Bob’s partner in crime, Durban boy Farryl Purkiss. He has been touted as South Africa’s answer to Jack Johnson and this is certainly a justifiable comparison. His songs are in turns mellow, haunting and catchy, with the occasional hint of blues. This is the kind of music that’s perfect for snuggling under the duvet with a glass of wine or a significant other. Exquisite songs and a superb voice make for an unbeatable combination, and this is an artist definitely worth watching out for. Some little girls next to me were going all swoony over him as well. Cute.
The City Bowl Mizers then took to the stage and cranked the tempo up a couple dozen notches. Suddenly there was a gaggle of youngsters huddled in front of the stage, dancing their hearts out – which I’ll have you know is quite difficult to do in beach sand! This band is the antithesis of emo – they radiate positive energy and pure joy whenever they are on stage. They’re a perfect band for an event linked to a surfing contest, as they are all about sunshine and surf punk rock, and for half an hour we could forget the sandblasting we were receiving, as we joined in the fun they were having up on stage. The audience really responds to them and a few brave souls managed to get a crowd surfing thing going on.
All this positive energy fell to pieces once Laurie Levine sauntered onto stage. Personally, I would have opened the concert with her performance, as I don’t think she had the right sound to follow the Mizers, but perhaps because she travelled from Jo’burg, she outranked the local boys. I didn’t enjoy her breathy, little girl voice and her somewhat folksy songs, and my friend and I decided after a few songs that this would be the time for a dinner break. I don’t think we were alone in that choice.
We came back when Cassette were a few songs into their set. I don’t get this band and I’m not entirely convinced that they deserved the accolade of winning Best English Rock artist at the 2007 SAMAs. However, the crowd seemed to be enchanted by them and we arrived shortly before the singer managed to get most of a now quite large audience to participate in a little bit of a line dance. Sort of like the Macarena. Hmmm. They play standard rock tracks, with one or two catchy songs, but otherwise the only thing that stands out for me is that the singer just seems to be trying way too hard to be eccentric. At least it seemed like the cold weather prevented the drummer from donning his usual spandex unitard. Ugh! But they got one of the better receptions of the show, so I accept that maybe it’s just a matter of personal opinion.
And then it was time for Wonderboom, by far the main attraction as far as I was concerned. This is a band that has been rocking the South African music scene for a decade, and they never fail to put on a fresh and exciting performance. Cito has done a number of stints recently as the lead character in Jesus Christ Superstar and this has added even more depth to this unique vocal talent. After so many years together, the band has a formidable chemistry on stage and perform like a well-oiled machine. Once again the crowd was dancing, jumping and screaming for these legends. The only complaint I have is that the sound engineer seemed to have a penchant for adding effects to the vocals, which was a little distracting, but otherwise it was a sublime performance. I always love it when they play Africa at outdoor events, as there is nothing quite like hearing a large crowd sing along to those lyrics under our picturesque African skies.
For me, Watershed are one of those bands who believe their own hype. They come across as incredibly arrogant on stage and so I had to have a little giggle when they finished their first song and the audience’s response was deathly silence. Awkward moment. But there are obviously some people out there who like them, since 8000 people attended their last show at the Durban Botanical Gardens, and it just took the crowd some time to warm up to them. Again, this is a band who plays pretty much generic, music-by-numbers radio rock, and I guess that’s why they appeal to the average Now/Bump/whatever other compilations there are out there audience. Not my thing at all, and it seemed to me that a large number of people were just hanging around for them to play their latest advert song (some hospital group ad I think) and then there was a bit of a mass exodus. They probably would have been wise to save that song for last.
That wrapped up the first of two nights of bands hosted by the Mr Price Pro. The definite highlights as far as I was concerned were Wonderboom and Farryl Purkiss, who outshone the other performers in terms of lyrical ability and musicianship. Lots more to look forward to tonight, and hopefully the wind will hold off this time. Although I must admit, my skin is feeling just lovely now….
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