Battle For Woodstock 07 November 2007

The whole intention of going to The Olive Lounge on Wednesday was to watch Munkinpure – a band that has been on our “really must see” list for a while. Forgetting that this was not a ‘normal’ band night, we arrived at about 9.30 to be told that Munkinpure had already played. A bit bummed, we did what we could to look really disappointed at the door and we got in for half price.
“Oomniek” were playing when we walked in. To be honest, I was a bit sceptical about their name and didn’t expect much, but did these guys prove me wrong! They knew how to rock and how to hold the crowd who loved them throughout their set. The Afrikaans rock scene seems to be growing steadily, and with bands such as Straatligkinders, Foto Na Dans and Oomniek, I can only see it going forward from there. Good guys. Good times.

Next up were Norwood, who were…ummm…okay, the less I say here the better. They committed too many band crimes in a 20 minute set to make any positive impact. Steve’s advice for this band would be 1. Keep your lead singer marginally sober until after you have played, and 2. Never, and I mean NEVER do a rock cover of ANY Justin Timberlake song. It is bad for you! Stop it!
There was a bit of talent hidden in there, but they still looked like a high school band.

Iberah were great to watch as they salvaged that part of the evening. Not only were they good-looking guys (which made their setting up quite interesting), but they really know what they are doing. There are some bands that are a step above the rest from day one, and this band would be one of them. They looked the part, they played the part, they even dedicated a song to all the emo kids in the crowd. There you go emo kids…someone does care.
They are a great band with great style and a great future. I really hope they hold it together long enough to make an impact.

We could hear Fragmented Children were quite heavy from where we were sitting outside, so decided to go in and take a look. I’m not too sure where all these people had been hiding up to this point, but the place was packed! There were a few hard core fans head-banging in the front of a huge group of people – the most I’d seen in this venue – taking in all they could. They were clearly the most popular band of the evening and deserved all the support. Despite not being our type of music, they were really good and if you are looking out for something heavy, keep an eye out for Fragmented Children.

It’s always great getting Steve back to his roots and checking out some new indie bands. Unlike most evenings such as this, the organisation was excellent. The bands moved on and off the stage according to schedule, played up to their designated times with enough exposure to show what they do best.

See you at Woodstock!