I knew something big was happening when I got both an email AND an SMS from Clauds at the same time. After having girls hitting on our boy Steve for the last eight months – this could be serious.
Serious stuff alright…A free ticket to Ampli5! Yes, FREE! I would normally pay any amount (of money) to see skinny white boys rocking it out on a stage, but my credit card wasn’t being so giving – so this was fantastic news!
Slightly sceptical as to why tickets were on a “buy one, get one free” basis, I handed in my half day leave form for the 10th and overdosed on Jimmy Eat World in preparation for a good old sing-a-long.
We arrived at around 2:30 and seemed to be the 10th-ish car there which was quite worrying, but understandable when you organise a festival styled concert on a working day (why???). The Golden Circle was about three times bigger than the norm, which was odd, but when pretty much anyone could walk in, it made more sense. Thanks for the heads up on that one – you know who you are…
The sound was a bit better than it was at Fall Out Boy, which was nice. The general feeling (mine) is that this is far from the ideal venue for rock concerts and I really think the organisers and other heavies in the industry should be thinking of other venues. If you build it – they will come. Okay, not so easy – I get it.
One more thing before I get to the bands – what was with that music they were playing between sets? Did I miss something? Did they realises that some of those songs were older that the average age of the crowd? Some songs were older than the collective age of the crowd, but that must have been an honest mistake.
We arrived while Dorp were playing and decided from just outside the door that we liked what we heard. The singer had a bit of a British accent going on, so before seeing their name splashed all over the screen, it was all very top, top, tea and scones, do you know the queen, blah, blah. They were a great band to watch and should have more exposure in the commercial scene here and overseas.
Max Normal TV was an act that I was so glad I caught. Still as controversial as ever, Waddy has collaborated with some very talented people, and despite different artists and influences from the original band, his unique sound is very distinguishable. This is not just a gig – it’s an entire audio visual and extremely entertaining experience. A real indication as to how technology has taken music to a new height. You really have to concentrate to catch all the words, images (some quite questionable), intentions and meanings behind their songs and then you will realise why you don’t hear much of them on the radio. Behind their over produced international style, they are undeniably South African and sing a few full songs and bits of others in Afrikaans. If they are ever playing in your area, go see them. You are in for a big surprise with this one. CONCIEVE, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE. Genius.
The YoungBlood Brass Band were my least favourite act of the night. I don’t mind jazz (on a Sunday afternoon, in a restaurant), but I really wanted them to stop after about two songs. Things went a bit “otherwise” when the drummer decided that it would be a great idea to rap. It wasn’t. Leave that to Waddy or Linkin Park.
Fokofpoliesikar have an energy that fills up a room from the second they start playing. I love watching these guys live and they seemed to initiate the whole rock atmosphere for the evening, which most people responded to. These are the dirty band boys your mom warned you about. Just cant get enough of them though.
If you want to turn an evening into a success story, you invite The Parlotones along. Yes, yes, I know you are tired of me telling of their brilliance – but they got it right. Again. Most of the crowd started arriving at around this time, so the venue started to look like there was actually something happening. This was also the time to stroll into the Golden Circle at get up close. It can’t be easy to play for a crowd eagerly awaiting another artist (Jimmy), but these guys rose up to the occasion and left the crowd wanting more. As they do. Because they’re so good.
If it wasn’t for Jimmy Eat World, the still quite pitiful crowd (for an international act) would have been a bunch of hippies and a couple of hangers on. They have been the biggest name surrounding the concert, and if it wasn’t for a group on Facebook called “Whose going to Ampli5 for no other reason than to watch Jimmy Eat World?”, most people would have no idea they were playing in Joburg.
They were fantastic! The singer, Jim Adkins, gave out an incredible amount of energy that he got straight back from the now slightly bigger crowd. They were everything I expected and can see why they have made a dent in the music world. Their set wasn’t long enough though – I was really getting into it.
The first time I saw the Violent Femmes almost two years ago, I thought the guys on stage were roadies until they started performing – they do not fit the profile whatsoever. One guy looks like a convicted felon and the other a truck driver. Enough of that though, these guys make some powerful music with the bare essentials. The drummer is amazing in the way he uses half a drum kit and jumps all over the place while playing. Their strong bass lines had the crowd mesmerised and their more commercial songs got a huge response. They did get a bit “experimental” at times, but I would still put jumping around to American Music and Blister in the Sun on every rock fan’s list of Top 101 things to do before you die.
We left somewhere between Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” and Beethoven’s “5th” that were being played before Groove Armada got on stage, so we missed out on anything happening after that. I also had to work the next morning which kind of cut the night short, but I still had a fantastic time and took some good memories and bad photos out of it all. Looking forward to the next one.
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