3 Bands, One Night...In Cape Town

Oh yes, the joys of staying in Cape Town with its beautiful weather, laid-back lifestyle and the incredible raw local music. But the one thing we don't have is Oppikoppi. Sadly. Now, you can buy a ticket and travel all the way there by plane or train or...bus. But ain't no one got money for that. So the awesome guys at Hilltop Live brought us one night to get a teeny, tiny taste of the dusty festival in the bush. Without the bush. And called it One Night in Cape Town.



So we got the tickets and missioned to Grandwest for three international bands. Not incredibly well-known in South Africa, but good enough that you were willing to give up your public holiday for a proper babbelas.



I probably never heard Manchester Orchestra before Thursday (shame on me). I have a thing for bands that use classical instruments combined with electric, 'rock' instruments. They have a mature sound that time and time again wants to break into that "ah yes this is it" kind of music (what ever that music is). I don't know if they have a full-blown International hit, but they seem a bit like 'unfulfilled potential'. I would love to see these guys play something like Smashing Pumpkins Tonight Tonight, breaking through the "safe" sound into something blowing away your mind.








I immediately liked Yellowcard. They seem like genuine, energetic artists. I appreciated the fact that they gave their all for a really small (half of the golden circle) audience. A bit poppy, maybe a bit too pop-punk, but definitely something a little more refreshing than the season of rock I saw the last couple of months at live venues around Cape Town. Yes rock comes first. Always. But we also grew up with this Yellowcard sound - the pop-punk-pop-rockers that actually takes the scene a little more lightly than the heavier rockers we later on grew up to adore.



The queues at the bar were not long at all and it moved quick. So, in between songs and bands it was easy to grab a few beers. But on the one hand, this bothered me a little. Let's face it: The venue is huge and it could be difficult to fill it with any given band. So what happens if an event does not sell out their tickets, plus 80% of the fans are smokers and spend basically the first part of the concert outside, not bothered by the opening acts? You are left with an embarrassingly empty venue for the first part of the show.



On the other hand. This is Deftones. And as I observed, Deftones fans are a specific group of people. Not easily amused by pop or punk or anyone playing prior to their heroes.



No doubt they have some hardcore fans. I saw some 30- and even 40-somethings walking around with old-school tattoos and bleached out Deftones t-shirts. Yes, that sentiment of holding on to White Pony after all these years, dreaming of one day seeing them live. Probably a generation or two grew up with Deftones playing somewhere at a house-party, a friend's candle-lit room or a live venue or two.



The anticipation was definitely high. As I spoke to some of the people outside, I realised they were not there to see anyone else (not even opening their minds that two other bands were playing). They were there and they paid money to be there and holly shit, it's Deftones!



Although, to me, Chino Moreno looks more like a middle-aged dad than a rockstar, he demands respect from the crowd, spitting lyrics out into the greedy crowd.  He grips the audience with his energy, getting right up on the barriers, screaming in the fans faces with sweat dripping on appreciative groupies. I was impressed. They were loud and even a bit aggressive. It is clear that Moreno pushes to the edge of his vocal range time and time again, yet he still goes a step further here and there.









Now, I have to ask; Is it really fair to name Deftones as metal's softies or alt-metallers? I don't really know where to place them and frankly I really don't see the need to. They impressed me, that's all. For someone who only ever heard them in my childhood home, through the walls of my older sister's mysterious room, I was seriously in awe of the legends in front of me.






My favourite moment of the night was when they played Changed and the crowd just screamed the lyrics with to the band almost to the point that I couldn't hear the music anymore. A beautiful picture. There's something so inspiring and real about a crowd uniting and singing along to a band as if there is not a judgement in this world of a day old.



Eventually Moreno came out with the SA flag around his neck. This is now the image etched in most concert-goers minds - one of their heroes acknowledging them through this gesture. For one night only, many a hard-core Deftones fan dream came true.



Thanks Hilltop Live for keeping that dream a live!



Thanks One Night in Cape Town for bringing International acts to SA and opening our minds to different music.

I salute you.





Contact me: eliinthecity@gmail.com

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