It was with a heavy heart that I realised I would have to miss Splashy Fen for the second year in a row. I do love that one weekend a year where I get to roll around in the muck and be all outdoorsy. But nothing on Splashy’s line-up came even remotely close to the lure of Muse and Chris Cornell, despite my passion for the local bands.
Lonehill Estate started off the day, and I won’t lie to you…we missed them on purpose. I find them a bit of a yawn, though they do have one prettyish song on the radio. We probably could have watched most of Crash Car Burn but we had to trek about 1 km from the car and then we were too busy mustering the troops to pay them much attention. We’ve heard it all before anyway, when Tweak were around back in the day. Its not that I dislike Crash Car Burn, they are very skilled little punk popsters, but their songs start to sound a bit samey after a while. Very catchy though, I’ll give them that.
It pretty much goes without saying that Wonderboom was the local highlight for me. Those boys really know how to own a big stage and were full of energy as usual. The sound was a bit iffy from time to time, but it didn’t detract from yet another stellar performance. In fact, I’d be prepared to go out on a limb and say they had a lot more charisma on stage than some of the international acts – like Good Charlotte, who just looked pissed. More on that later.
The final local act was Prime Circle. I actually love this band and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen them that they just didn’t hold my attention. Not their fault though – the sound was abysmal. You’d think that at an event of this calibre they could get it right, even for the local acts who traditionally get half lights half sound. Apparently not. So I don’t judge Ross and the gang for a seemingly lacklustre show. I will say though, that I don’t really see the need for the recent inclusion of a keyboardist in the band. That’s just a matter of personal preference though.
Horror of horrors, but the sound problems continued throughout 30 Seconds to Mars’ set. I have heard that the sound was fine in the golden circle, but I do think concert organisers need to ensure sound quality is optimum for all the people who have forked out to come to the show. We may have paid R200 less but there were lots more of us! Anyway, this was definitely one of the draw card bands for many people – a friend of mine only bought her ticket when they were announced. I think they’re very good, and from what I could hear of them, they put on a great performance. I am a bit anti the whole emo thing though. Its all been done to death. But they are without doubt one of the best emo bands on offer and I did enjoy them. I think Jared Leto gave the security some palpitations by mixing with the great unwashed in the audience, and then by climbing the rig like a little chimpanzee. Loads of energy, loads of passion…unfortunately loads of guyliner. Sigh. You were so pretty before Jared!
Next up were the Kaiser Chiefs. What an incredible band. I may have been Ruby Ruby Ruby-ed to death by various radio stations but these guys are infectious indie rock at its finest. I did notice though that many people around us did not seem to be enjoying them as much as we were and didn’t seem too familiar with even the biggest of their hits. Maybe the Jo’burgers don’t do indie. Whatever – our little Durban enclave was hopping around like kernels in a popcorn machine. The Kaiser Chiefs were down to earth in true Brit style and seemed genuinely thrilled to be playing in the homeland of their namesakes. I loved their bouncy performance and they were definitely the surprise hit of the show for me. And happily enough the sound miraculously recovered just in time for them.
Good Charlotte strolled on next and basically looked pissed off their heads. Complimentary drinks at the Hilton anyone? Maybe they just look like that all the time though, what do I know. I enjoyed their show and they have some very sing-along-able songs but they didn’t have the same enthusiasm that the Kaiser Chiefs displayed. The highlight of their set was definitely their cover of The Cure’s Love Song, which they more than did justice to. Had to have a little giggle at the kids around us looking blankly at the band when they said it was a cover. Clearly not Cure fans.
Chris Cornell is just one of those musicians that makes me glad to have been around for the birth of grunge. His inclusion on the bill was probably what swayed me in terms of booking the flight and buying the ticket. Some of my friends were nervous that he was going to appear sans backing band and start doing his solo songs with the mere assistance of an acoustic guitar. But I had faith and it was justified. Chris came out rocking and didn’t stop for an hour. He played songs from all his musical projects, but it was the Soundgarden songs that really blew me away. I never thought I would have the opportunity to see Spoonman or Black Hole Sun performed live. The absolute highlight of the entire concert for me was when Chris was chatting into the mic and just casually said ‘Feel the rhythm with your hands’ – cue much screaming from me – and then broke into Spoonman. I get goosebumps every time I think about it. Apologies to the friends who were deafened by my wild screaming and who have video footage with nothing but me yelling on it. Whoops.
While Spoonman was the highlight of the day for me, Muse was far and away the best band of the day. There is a reason they have won numerous best live act awards and we were privileged to witness their magic. To be honest, I knew I liked Muse and I knew I really wanted to see them…but I had no idea how amazing it was going to be. I should have paid more attention to my friend who saw them in London and rates them as the best live band she’s ever seen. I might have to agree now. As I was watching them I found myself wondering ‘is it natural for one person to be so phenomenally talented???’ Matt Bellamy is awe-inspiring. He is all over the stage, singing, playing numerous instruments including guitar and classical piano, and generally just taking the breath of his audience away. If I wasn’t so busy singing along and jumping up and down, I would have been standing there with my mouth hanging open in wonderment and adoration. More goosebumps.
The last act of the very long day was Korn. I’m not really a fan of angry ‘my parents were mean to me’ music, but Korn are probably the best of the genre. We only got to see a couple of songs as the lift club leader was even less of a fan than me and practically dragged us out by the hair in abject disgust. They seemed to get a great reception from the crowd though and I’ve heard rave reviews from those who stuck around to watch. I will say this though, despite fear of being kicked in the head – it is kind of wanky the way Korn fans wear kilts just because Jonathan Davis does. Seriously guys.
And that was the end of that. In general, it was a very well organised event, with the exception of the initial sound problems and the power cutting during 30 Seconds to Mars. Its great to see such high profile bands making their way to our shores, and a pity the media paid more attention to Paris Hilton being in the country than they did to the bands. Can’t wait to see who we get next year…
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