Tot die son uikom

By Marley

Winters in the Lowveld are mild and warm, so much so that even the bums move in from the highveld. The evenings get a bit chilly and some nights are down-right freezing but nothing could have prepared us for the weather we experienced at Blue Moon on Saturday before and during the show.

Photo courtesy of Facebook

With one hell of a working week of up to 16 hours a day not yet behind me, relief presented itself in the form of Jason Oosthuizen and Jedd Kossew when they arrived on Thursday night at the bar I was working at.  I instinctively knew it was the build up to a crazy weekend of rock n roll! Pre-sales for the show went slow as the Most Voted band on Blue Moons Facebook page didn’t pull the same amount of people. It didn’t really matter as along with Saturday came the rumble of thunder... Yes, thunder in winter. I thought “oh dear here we go” and hoped the storm would pass so that we could get on with a good show.

The storm did in fact pass and as I left for Blue Moon in the early afternoon the sun was shining. I was greeted by Blue Moons new marketer, Madelein Jordaan who was on her way to the gate. Upstairs I ran into mister STRAB himself, Conrad Jamneck while he was busy with stage setup. I helped with the bar set up and checked out VCK’s sound check during which I was greeted warmly by the band, seems this blogger has made some kind of an impression at least.

Within a few hours the weather slowly but surely seemingly changed from one seasons weather to another. At one stage I thought I was wearing too many items of clothing but my answer came during Bittereinders’ set – hail. The hail was only pea-sized so luckily it didn’t damage our cars. The electricity tripped during Bittereinder’s set but Pete and Anthony knew exactly what to do and got the generator up and running within moments and the complete darkness turned to light and sound. Bittereinder was professional and continued their set without delay or complaints. When they started the intro for “Kwaad Naas” the crowd went nuts and FINALLY I could see that some people recognized the band. It was awesome standing in the bar and hearing the crowd rap the song back to them which I think gave them goose bumps too.

Bittereinder had the crowd at their feet -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Peach and Louis of Bitteriender -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Bittereinder front man Jaco van der Merwe -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Anyone who has not seen this band live is missing out on a big part of SA music culture. A lot of English speaking friends who were there all said the same thing “I don’t understand much but I’m feeling the music” – yes that is what I want to hear. Meeting Louis, Peach and Jaco was a great honour and since I’ve been following Louis’ work for a while and it was great to put a face behind the artwork.

Voetstoots opened and they were in awe that they got to share the stage not only with Van Coke Kartel but also Bittereinder. Their set was dynamic and dictated the mood for the evening in just the right way. Other than Friday is Forgotten the whole line up was made-up of purely Afrikaans music which was a breath of fresh air. No offence to any past artists, I just expected a lot more Afrikaans speaking people at the show. After Voetstoots and Bittereinder (and the hail) the head liners – Van Coke Kartel were next. The rain forced the whole crowd under cover and in front of the stage during Bittereinder’s set and it was nice to have everyone rock out instead of just chilling and watching the show.

Stefan Retief -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Ettiene Smook -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Piet Vogels -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Voetstoots -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

VCK showed us again why they are so brilliant live. From Wynand jumping off the walls to Francois crowd surfing to Jason giving one of the best drum solo’s I’ve seen in a super long time. Jedd (who is the cool calm and collected party animal) worked that guitar in a way that would make any fellow guitarist fall to their knees in appreciation. Since we were a little short on staff I ran around alot but still managed to watch “Vir Almal”, “Tot die son uit kom” en “Voor ons stof word” during which Wynand handed a big bottle of Jager out to the crowd and everyone took swig before it was passed back. Francois’s crowd surfing was a little nerve wrecking for me as I recalled his almost failed attempt last year during the Fokofpolisiekar show at Innibos. But it was mic swinging, guitar playing, Jager shots drinking typical Van Coke show; they didn’t disappoint and the fans that were there had lots of fun.

Van Coke Kartel -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Jedd Kossew -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Wynand Myburgh -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Jason Oosthuizen -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Wynand Myburgh -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Francois van Coke -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

Francois van Coke -
photo courtesy of Look Local Lowveld

After them it was the young and upcoming Friday is Forgotten and I was happy to see the crowd remained for their set. Everyone was singing along out load to cover songs and once they were done within minutes DJ Dirtroad made the floor the hype of the party. Local Drumming Circle organiser Raquel Loots brought out her djembe drum and before we knew it more drums crawled out the woodwork and the beat started in the bar. I also learnt why Jason is called “Jager Jason”; due to the fact that the man hands out Jagermeister shots like lollipops. Jason and I had partied almost from the first day of their arrival and it was a highlight to end off the weekend with him, breaking my dry spell of not drinking Jagermeister. In truth I think there are only two musicians I will ever drink it with – Jason and Pierre Joubert of Black Market Riots.

After a long shift and a short drinking spree it was time to head to bed just after 2am. I welcomed the couch and warm blankets before falling blissfully asleep. The next morning i was up and ready just after 6am. I drank some coffee in the Blue Moon house kitchen with Anna Mart, Beanie and Liechen while breakfast was being prepared. While waiting for the much needed hangover cure and for the bands to wake up I took the girls outside to sit in the sun and giggle with the everlasting party animal Jacques Schutte of Schutte Fotografia. We giggled and laughed so much that you could apparently hear us all the way up in the bar. The new word of the day was “Skattie” and poor Bittereinder probably thought we were all on special medication during breakfast as we giggled all the way through it.

It was an ill attended gig but it was a fun gig to say the least. I really think that Nelspruit is missing something not only because we have Innibos once a year but because they tend to be closed minded towards live music. People always enquire about the gigs but once the marketing starts and the news start spreading there always happens to be an excuse. I’m trying not to be negative here but the community of the Lowveld really needs to wake up.

In 2001 I attended my first Blue Moon show and also struggled to get my parents to take me there and back. Now 13 years down the line I’m still going and I wish parents would come with their kids and experience it for themselves. Blue Moon sell’s good wine and food and it can be a night out with the teenagers without them being glued to their phones or PC/TV screens.

Thank you to EACH person that showed up and had a good time at Blue Moon. Also major respect goes out to Anthony, Pete, Anna Mart, Madelein, Sune and Lichen for the awesome weekend. Thank you to Francois, Jedd, Jason and Wynand for 3 days of stories and memories. To Bitteriender, Voetstoots and Friday is Forgotten: you guys rocked our socks off!

See you at the next show

Note of thanks to the team of Look Local Lowveld for the excellent photos!

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