SA Rocks

I had a phenomenal weekend, what with the rugby and cricket and all that jazz. The most fantastic part was 94.7‘s incredible Joburg day celebration on Saturday.

On the way to the Randburg Sports Club on Saturday morning I heard that 15 000 tickets were sold for the event. I panicked and rushed to get there in the hope of finding a parking. That was unfounded panic. Yes it was busy but no, it wasn’t full. The police were out and directing traffic to various parking lots that had been set up. I found one, parked my car and got to walking.

Organisation

The roads were cornered off, police blockades were up and the atmosphere was great.

By the time we got inside we realised that we had not actually been searched at any point, this was literally the only bad part of the whole event. I had certain goals for my Saturday in the sun. I wanted to find a space to site – Thanks Courts – I wanted to relax, I wanted to listen to some good music and I didn’t want to be harassed by drunk people. All of these goals were achieved.

Alcohol

This was not an issue at all. The Joburg day event is celebrated as a family affair. And it was most definitely that. There were young people, people drinking and pissed people but all suffered from an extremely pleasant disposition that made the entire day drunk-event-free. The organisers arranged for the bar to be closed for a “cool-down” period between 2pm and 3pm. The bar subsequently closed at 5pm. This allowed for the drunk people to gather themselves and the sober people to get their last beer at 4:55pm. Great move by the organisers. Truly great.

Food and drink

There were more than enough vendors strolling around selling cooldrinks, chips, chocolates, cigarettes, popcorn and other things. Camping neighbours were more than friendly and often shared drinks, food, lighters and smokes. The actual designated food and drink area was well organised, well placed and fairly well priced. Pizza, wraps, boerie rolls, prego’s, doughnuts and many, many other options were around for anyones needs to be satisfied. While the boose runs were limited to a maximum of 20 minutes (most of which spent walking through the masses of people).

Music

I am going to quickly run through my highlights for the day and comment on the pseudo-celebrities and the VIP areas.

My highlights consisted of three bands that are truly, proudly and incredibly South Africa in sound, nature, approach and members.

The first band that caught my attention was the Parlotones. These dudes rocked out as they always do. They are crowd pleasers and their on-stage antics are incredibly entertaining. Their new music is great and their radio-friendly sound made them the perfect band to play the mid-afternoon slot at 13:30.

Mango Groove stole the show. Claire Johnston knows how to do it (she has been doing it for long enough I suppose) and kept the crowd involved from the minute she stepped on to the stage with her brilliant band, backup singers and dancing school children. I have never seen 15 000 people jump to their feet that quickly in my life.

The best part about the grooving mangoes is watching everyone from all walks of life trying to find their very own “groove” to the music. I love watching black people dance, there is something mesmerising about it and something that us unrhythmical people will just never understand. But nevertheless everyone was bopping (yes I just said “bopping”) and jiving (yes, I know) to their incredible sound. They are without a doubt one of the best things that SA has or has ever had to show. Brilliant.

Finally, Freshlyground came on stage at just the right time (Watershed were a bit of a downer). This band gets better and better with every performance and almost every day that passes. Their eclectic background, sound, feel, groove, vibe, jam, soul is just mind boggling. I have received criticism on this blog before for posting about SA bands that sound generic. This band is most definitely not generic. I have never heard anything like them, or seen anything like them in my life.

There were a few wanna-be-pseudo-celebs at the event. One being Danny K. I really didn’t think he was fantastic. It sounded like he struggled through his whole set. Many of the songs he sang were covers and generally not very good ones at that. NKD was also there and didn’t particularly tickle my fancy. The VIP areas always get to me. Who are they meant to entertain? Highveld DJ’s and celebrities? The VIP tent that I was next to was empty for most of the event. Even a friend of mine who had a VIP armband wasn’t allowed in to this very-VIP area. Anyways. Moving on.

In general Saturday’s Joburg day was one of the best events that I have attended in JHB in a very long time. If you missed it, make it next year or you’ll be sorry.

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