By Marley
3 countries, 2 provinces and 1 Subterranean Rhythm and Blues
festival.
STRAB you beautiful creature you. A place where blues and
rock ‘n roll calls out to the sea nymphs of the Indian Ocean, and as they come to
enjoy the music they seduce the humble music folk who are innocently enjoying
the good music. It is a festival which sprouted out of a
birthday celebration
way back in 2003. And thank goodness for that.
This is a very poor and rural area despite its beautiful and
natural surroundings. The colourful beach bars mark the starting point of the
venue but they are not a part of the festival. The bars have interesting names
and they add to the whole flavour of the experience. After checking in at the
gate and securing our armbands we went off in search of a good campsite. It
felt like the whole of SA was there already for the festival.
We finally settled on a spot close to the entrance. After we
pitched our tents we took a walk down that familiar road to the acoustic stage.
Our campsite was about 5 minutes walking distance to the stage. Yes, a 5 minute
walk sounds like nothing but when its on beach sand in a partied up state it
feels like 50 minutes! Never the less we
were excited and the bar and live music were calling our names.
Willim Welsyn of Die Sunrise Toffies (who also happens to report for Rolling Stone Magazine)
was performing with
Akkedis boetie Arthur. Sipping on an R&R and greeting
old friends I felt like I was at a reunion. Said hello to the boys from
After Robot, Jessi Botha of
Jessi B Photography, the boys from
Black Cat Bones and of
course Conrad Jamneck.
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| Frontman of Akkedis Arthur Dennis |
The first night’s line-up was pretty amazing with Jonathan Martin &
Piet Botha,
Natalie Chapman,
Stefan Dixon,
Akkedis,
After Robot and
Juggernaught. I
just love chatting to the
Akkedis boeties as they remind me so much of my
brothers who are equally full of mischief when they want to be.
Stefan Dixon did
a powerful and beautiful cover of
“Angels Wings” by
Southern Gypsy Queen in
memory of Paul Wilson, and that will always feature as a favourite memory of
mine. I bought his album after his show and it’s a regular in my car’s radio now.
The boys from
Juggernaught with their beards and long hair had the late night
rockers at their feet with their set. My interest, however, was at the top deck
where the after party took place. Let’s just say a lot of beer and a bottle of
red wine were amongst my drinks of choice. I got to bed more or less around
2am, and at this point I couldn’t help but observe that there was still a whole
weekend of partying ahead!
Waking up at
STRAB is truly an amazing experience. My reasons for saying so are thus: hearing the
birds calling, watching monkeys attempting to raid our campsite, hearing the surf
rolling in and a semi flat mattress. The only cure for a hangover at
STRAB (if
you didn’t bring some
Vitamin Water) is a refreshing swim in the Indian Ocean.
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This reminds me of DHF song "Sonrotse" -
on the beach around 7am |
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| Rock Pools |
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| Looking towards STRAB festival |
I was up at 7am, far too early for my liking but the
excitement of “what’s next” served as my alarm clock. I sat quietly on the
beach watching the surf roll in and the sun as it rose higher in the sky. A
walk over to the rock pools seemed in order as it had totally slipped my mind
the last time I was here. Because it was low tide you could see them well, and
for the first time in my life I was able to see actual tropical coral reef fish
swimming around in their very own natural habitat. I’ve seen them in aquariums
and more recently in tropical sea water tanks in people’s homes but that was
truly an amazing experience for me. I have made a note of this on my bucket
list: to go snorkelling at next year’s
STRAB.
Cliff from
After Robot joined our little herd of Nelspartans
as we ventured into the village of Ponta Malongane. We sat down for an R&R
and some 2M beers at the Sharks Bar (which happens to be situated right across
from the Blue Bulls Sports bar). The local owners of these bars paint them in
bright colours using familiar names like the rugby teams to attract South
African visitors. There was something awesome about sitting at the Sharks Bar
and being away from the festival that just added to the flavour of the whole
experience. Once back at STRAB we oraganised some food and drinks and made our
way to the stage ready for the music.
The acoustic stage kicked off with the
Lyzyrd Kyngs and they
managed to set an awesome tone for the day. Following them was
Justin Serrao
whose name I’ve been seeing a lot of lately on social media networks. He plays a
lot of covers but has a few originals too, such as
“Friends” which is such a great
song.
Naming James is my new favourite band. What fantastic guys on and off
stage. I might have heard a little birdie whisper that
Up The Creek wants them
on their bill.
ANDRA, the Namibian born and bred songstress was the first
of the ladies to perform. Leading up to STRAB I have not seen her live and man
I’ve been missing out. She captivated me totally and I’m definitely a fan now. Tombstone
Pete could not make the festival and The Oh Serious stood in for his slot. This
was our cue to go back to the tents and get dressed for the evening’s
activities.
I’m going to be very honest now by saying that I missed the
first 3 bands (I fell asleep). When I heard that
Son of a 1000 is one brilliant
band and that the lead singer looks like Lenny Kravitz, I was quite
disappointed to have missed them. I hope I get a chance to see them live in the
near future.
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| Aidan Martin |
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| Benjamin Georgiades |
So the first band I watched for the evening was
Aidan Martin.
And he blew me away. Another new favourite to add to my list. Next up was
Wonderboom and man oh man what a show! To me they are our very own legends, like
an SA version of The Rolling Stones, simply awesome. 17 years in the business
proves that they still got what it takes. A show full of hip swagger, mic
swinging, and pushing the pedal full blast to the metal. They played “Shadows”,
“Never Ever” and of course “Charlie” which became a sing-a-long that the crowd
joined in on. I really have to give
Wonderboom a virtual high five, well done
guys!
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| Rocking it out |
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| Cito Martin |
Our mates
The Black Cat Bones were up next and Kobus stated
“Dit
is ‘n bietjie moeilik nou om op te tree na Wonderboom” It didn’t stop them from
delivering their usual crazy explosive blend of crackers and fireworks that we
have come to know as the
BCB. One thing that made me angry was how rude some
people were during their show. Some of us that had been sitting and standing in
front of the stage for most of the day were totally pushed aside. The tallest guy
with the biggest shoulders decided to stand right in front of us and blocked
our view of the stage.
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| Kobus "Rot" de Kock Jnr - Black Cat Bones |
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Andre Kriel and Chris van der Walt -
Black Cat Bones |
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Chris "Danger Thundervolt" -
Black Cat Bones |
After the
BCB most people left for the bar deck and a
younger crowd remained to enjoy
Bittereinder. A perfect ending to an awesome
day of music. I was happy to watch their show from the side lines and they got
the crowd dancing and screaming for more.
Jaco is a fantastic lead-man.
Louis and
Peach on the decks almost create
a show on their own with the blue latex gloves and the white jackets. Guys: you
are kicking ass! As their last song ended it was time to hit the “after party”
with DJ Bongwater in the mix, which carried on providing music for the
revellers late into the night.
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Peach van Pletzen and Louis Minaar -
Bittereinder |
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Jaco van der Merwe got the crowd at his feet -
Bittereinder |
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| STRAB 2013 |
The last day of
STRAB came too quickly if you ask me. We
couldn’t help but wonder “where did all the time go?” It was a slow start to
the day, some friends at camp came home just before sun rise and scent of a
strong brew of coffee was a welcomed relief to the beat in my head. I was on my
own little mission and so Alice and I joined the crowd on the Acoustic stage at
midday.
Tamryn Jones (bassist of
Southern Gypsy Queen) opened the
afternoon’s ladies dominated line up. Due to Paul’s passing, a lot of
SGQ fans
showed their respect and love to
Tammy not only during her performance but also
in her presence. We missed
Gareth but we know he was there in spirit and
Tammy
all I can say is: honey, I can’t wait to have your album in my hands someday
soon. It was an amazing set.
Lucy Kruger was next and Alice and I made ourselves
comfortable at a table right next to the stage. Next to us sat the friendly
face of Jamie Acheson from
Naming James and as usual Alice took the spot light. It
didn’t take long for her and Jamie to hit it off while I took Jamie up on his
offer of an ice cold beer. I turned my attention to the beautiful young blonde on
stage.
Lucy plays a strong set of songs, songs that make me think this girl is one
old soul.
Shotgun Tori joined her on stage for the cover “Piece of my
heart” and as always they made it their own. After Lucy it was time for
Miss Shotgun Tori and her status is growing in popularity (
her new album will be realest on June 28).
I love watching this woman perform.
Lucy joined her in return for the song “Be
Brave” which she dedicated to Paul Wilson. I get goose bumps all over just thinking
about that performance. There was not one dry eye in the house.
I had to get Alice away from the stage (and her new muso
boyfriend) and missed the
Acoustic Grove Machine but was back in time for El
Cantante. The talented
Cito and Martin of
Wonderboom performed acoustic Spanish
cover songs which made us feel like we were sitting at some small coastal bar
in the Spanish Mediterranean. “La Bamba” was joined in by the whole crowd and they
gave a very rare encore at the end.
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| View from the acoustic stage |
Saturday night kicked off with
The Devil’s Ribs followed by
the sexy ginger blues singer/guitarist
Gerald Clark and The Dead Men. When I
think of blues music I imagine and compare it to taking a drive in a classic Cadillac
with white leather seats, the top down and just cruising along. Not with
Gerald, that’s more like a pimped up version of that Cadillac with your best
friends filling it and having a good time.
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| Frey Gang in action |
The Frey Gang from Germany was next and the only reason I knew
of them was through being an avid reader of the
Rolling Stone magazine. Personally,
they scared me a little, so I didn’t stay long after the 3
rd song. Missing
Jack Hammer would be sacrilege so I returned when they were done. To me, and
many others I’m sure, having a STRAB without Jack Hammer would be like having a
body without arms or legs. I recommend their show highly, to everyone!
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| Dan "The Man" Patlansky |
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| Dan Patlansky and band |
Raoul and Black Friday was another band that I felt was like
a lucky packet draw and we certainly enjoyed them.
Dan “The Man” Patlansky was
next and it was awesome as always. I love watching him as he makes his guitars sing
and it’s always a pleasure watching them do what they do best. Just before their
last few songs I sneaked up to the deck for a beer with my friend Daleen. Between
DJ Dirtroad and CRP (Classic Rock Project) the last of the party people danced
till the sun began to rise over the ocean.
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| Jamie Acheson of Naming James |
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| Late night party on the acoustic deck |
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| The Full Moon |
And so it came to be on Sunday morning that our
STRAB
experience had winded down to its end. With heavy hearts we said good bye to friends
old and new, and I could feel a joyful smile grow in my heart. This is why I
love small festivals like
STRAB, it’s a place where you arrive as strangers but
you leave as friends.
A HUGE thank you to
Conrad Jamneck and his wonderful team that
made it possible for
STM to have attended this year’s festival. Also to my
travel buddies Anthony and ‘The Lychees’: Thank you, it was a great time and an
even greater pirate adventure (I learnt a lot). To Raquel (my unofficial copy
editor) for being so awesome in figuring out what I’m trying to say and getting
it across in the blog, and for helping run the site back home.
To all the bands I enjoyed, the ones I met and those I had drinks
with and partied to – without your music we wouldn’t have festivals like
STRAB.
Thank you!
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