Rocking the Gardens

Summer is here!! FINALLY…we get the chance to soak up all that the Ozone Layer and Global Warming have to offer, and breath in the smog from the city…who could ask for more?

If you didn’t have something scribbled in your social calendar on 3 October 09, you had better have a very creative excuse, because damn…it basically came down to a process of elimination. Predictably, in my diary, bands win every time and I drove through the friendly drag queen roadblock (seriously) of Gay Pride to make my way to the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens.

The event was organised really well from the hay bails – which made a great fort (yes, that was us) – to the friendly car guards. They were supporting some great causes…CANSA were there handing out sun block, as was the World Wildlife Fund. ‘Keeping Joburg clean’ was an underlying theme with recycle bins all over the gardens and plenty people picking up after the litterbugs – get out of the habit people!!

As Rocking the Gardens was a warm up to the Cape’s Rocking the Daisies, most bands that played are Cape Town based and it was such a great opportunity to get more insight as to how the music scene is going down south and slightly west. This also means that the general vibe was pretty chilled.

I missed the first band, Chiba Fly, as I thought I knew better than my Garmen which ended in a scenic drive around the dam. Rumour has it that they were a great start to the day.

The first band I caught was Fire Through the Window. They are a Durban based band that I last saw two years ago. I love their sound, but it hasn’t changed much since the last time I heard them which was a bit disappointing, but I had a good time regardless.

Being a big Black Hotels critic, I was quite interested to see how this was going to pan out. I really wasn’t expecting much here, and again, had hoped this band would have come further since the last time I saw them. Maybe it’s just not my type of music, and although I would bump up their rating from a 3 out of 10, to a 4 out of 10…it’s still a 4.

Tidal Waves have the ability to put everyone into a good mood. They have the perfect ‘festival’ sound and what more could you ask for on a lazy Saturday afternoon? I have never heard one bad thing about their vibe, music or sound in general…very soothing!

I think I have played aKing more than any other artist to date, and have been counting down the moments to see them live. After hearing so many mixed opinions of this band, and couldn’t wait to see what all the fuss was about. The only word I have to explain them is: WOW!! What a band! I loved every minute and couldn’t get closer to the stage if I tried. Their music is great, their lyrics are poetry and Laudo’s vocals add to what makes them such a phenomenal band. They were my (and what seemed like most of the crowd’s) favourite for the day. They had more calls for an encore than any other band that graced the stage. Nice going guys! Come back soon please!

I still had goosebumps from the previous set, and thought Ashtray Electric would have to pull a rabbit out of a hat in a big way. And they did…they totally pulled it off! No sooner than people had sat down, most were back up on their feet and taking in as much of these guys as possible. The singer is hot, the band is super talented, and Joburg loves them.

Bed on Bricks is another band I have wanted to see for months, and the wait was worth every minute! I loved their sound, their attitude and their creativity. They were having such a party on stage, you couldn’t help but want to join in!

Gang of Instrumentals played their signature show. Nothing new but they played songs that you could sing along to…and I am a sucker for singing along! To me it always looks like they select random musicians the day before the gig and then put something together. I am not denying their talent; but there is just no chemistry between the band members. Weird. At least they all practiced the same words.

Originally from Mozambique, 340ml have settled into, and have a huge following in our awesome city. They actually fitted in quite comfortably with all the other coastal bands, and were great to watch.

Freshlyground are just brilliant. They filled up the stage with so much energy holding the crowd’s attention the whole way through their set. They know how to turn what they do into a performance, which is worth seeing over and over.

The only part of Just Jinger’s set that I liked…well loved, was their opening song – a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On”. I am such an easy target when it comes to a good cover, and this put me into a swell mood right away! And just as quickly as it made me dance around like a hippie and shout the words back towards the stage, the rest of the set kinda killed it for me. Art was talking so much crap that I was starting to get annoyed. To confess…and I am still no fan what-so-ever…I did jump around to most their songs – as same-ish (yes, that’s a word) as they are. Its what you do when the crowd is loving it, the band doesn’t suck, and the vibe is great.

The day ended up being better than I had expected. I bumped into old friends; made some new friends; got to place ticks on my list of “band must-sees” and I won a Cherry Fizz Pop in a bet! Not bad for a days work. Support the scene. See you at the next one!