Noel Gallagher (Oasis guitarist and vocalist if you were wondering) said this on the Oasis Myspace after the Joburg show:
"Sunday, April 12, 2009
Noel's 'Tales From The Middle Of Nowhere' (11/04/09) Category: Music Well that was a bit weird. The Coke-Fest. Not sure what to make of it. Strange crowd. It seemed to be made up of every conceivable type of person imaginable. Very quiet. Some of them unfurled a huge banner that said, "NOEL'S PISS IS THE CURE FOR CANCER"!!??
We were on after Snow Patrol. Gotta say, I was staggered at the amount of gear they have onstage. And it all seemed to be working! We must've sounded like Buddy Holly's backing band by comparison.
Leaving for Cape Town in a bit. Meeting up with the rest of Team Gallagher. They're on board for the rest of this bit of tour. Can't wait.
In a bit.
GD.
PS. That thing about my piss has NOT been proven."
If I hadn’t gone to Coke Fest, I would have been cynical about it. Now that I have been, I am still cynical. I did not get out of bed yesterday thinking I would be at Coke Fest in the afternoon. But I was. This was my experience:
Yesterday, Easter Monday was Cokefest, or as some affectionately named it, Blowfest. What a very disappointing day in the sun. The best parts included meeting people I did not anticipate being there, sneaking into Golden Circle with blue wrist bands made of Bonaqua water bottle jackets (thanks Coca Cola) and eating greasy burgers with my hands and then not being able to wash them.
Ok, so there were also a couple of bands. I arrived for the last Dirty Skirts song. The final South African band followed them, aKing. I didn’t really listen to them. The aKing front man Laudo looks just like Seth Rogen from Knocked Up. (That’s just a freebie).
Panic at the Disco had vocal range. That’s it. Their genre is sickening, and I truly cannot tell the difference between them and Fall Out Boy. I was told I would enjoy them live nonetheless, but I didn’t. I think the organisers realised that we would get out of there before 10pm (due to two bands pulling out) and so they asked them to waffle and tell us about their time in South Africa and dedicate every song to a different person in the crowd or on stage.
Snow Patrol were surprisingly good. They played as it got darker. Lights began to have an affect and sing alongs were joined enthusiastically by a wearying crowd. Girls and small boys went on shoulders and fun was had by all.
At the interval, we made our move. We got our water bottles, folded the labels and bent them around our wrists. As good as could be. Three of us tried, two succeeded. I succeeded. My one friend’s band came off as showed it to the security, so he ran the other way. Hello Golden Circle!
Golden circle was fun. There was one character tripping on something. (I am sure there were many, but there was one making a scene.) He was bleak that we weren’t jumping around and crowd surfing to Oasis. “Come on Cape Town! Come on Cape Town! Come on Cape Town! Are you too cool to clap?” “Make some noise Cape Town!” Blond girls started mocking him. Dialogue ensued:
Blond Girl #1: “Come on Cape Town!”
Tripping guy: “Shut…..it!”
Blond Girl #2: “Shut up man!”
Tripping guy: “Go back to your girls’ school! Whatever girls’ school you are from, go back there. Go back to your girls’ school.”
Blond Girl #3: “What’s wrong with you?”
Tripping guy: “What girls’ school are you from? Hey? HEY?!! Go back there! Just go!!”
That went on for a while. Such a laugh. So, Oasis played some well known songs, some of Noel’s songs were a little foreign to me, but I knew Liam’s pretty well. What’s the story morning Glory?, Wonderwall and a host of timeless tunes. During Wonderwall I realised I lost my phone. I was not stoked about that.
A quick comparison that made a lot of difference: Snow Patrol seem to enjoy playing shows. Being on stage was fun for them. Oasis have been together since 1991. I think they are tired of performing. They look as though they are just going through the motions. I think a lot of people went there for Oasis and came away preferring Snow Patrol.
Let’s hope that the low calorie version that is Coke ZERO Fest does not repeat itself next year. That would be tragic. I didn’t awake this morning with the same, “I am too tired to get out bed” feeling, or the excitement of being able to talk about the rocking bands from last night’s show.
Friday, March 20, 2009
So, it's been a week, but it's still bloggable. Zebra & Giraffe played at Mercury Live last Saturday night. They were there to launch their new dvd/cd, Collected Memories. Gregarontosaurus could be seen fashioning a grey Ladyhawk t, and one of those little hats that are becoming more and more 'in' as time goes on. He played a telecaster, but not his. You should know by now, he had a bunch of music equipment pinched from his car in Joburg a couple of weeks ago. Shame. He did well. Anyway, the band that opened for them were awful, 3rd World Spectator. They played once with Maroon 5. Weird, I would never have given them that much stage. Those were some brave organisers. Anyway, back to Z&G. I haven't seen their dvd. I wonder what it's like? Next time they are in Cape Town, will be for Coke Zero Fest in April. They are playing with one good band and a stack of average bands with good marketing, and then South African bands. Fun.
So, barring Oasis, the South African acts are more exciting for Cokefest than the International ones. What a load of tripe! Now that aKing have joined the bill for the Cape Town leg, I totally want to pay R600. Not. I like them, but please get some decent International acts.
Anyway, here are aKing's tour dates for the next while:
Date: 13 February – Venue: UCT, Cape Town– MTV Campus Invasion
Date: 27 February – Ramfest Venue: Nekkies, Worchester, C.T
Date: 12 March Venue: MFM Rockshow, Stellenbosch
Date: 22 March Venue: Kirstenbosch Gardens, C.T Cover: R50 adults / R30 scholars Other info: Collaboration with Ghetto Sound.
Date: 10 April Venue: MK Kaktus Sessions, KKNK Cover: R50
Date: 17 April Venue: Wilgenhof Carry 6, Stellenbosch
Date: 25 April Venue: Ratanga Junction, C.T
The big one is obviously the Cokefest on 13 April. If you have R600 lying around and are not too sure what to do with it, spend it on seeing them on stage.
Wow. How disappointing. The lineup for Coke Zero Fest has been announced. Check it!
The best band is Oasis. Snow Patrol is ok I guess. But last year's show and lineup was way better! Other International acts include Panic at the Disco and Bullet for my Valentine (who I have never heard of). From what I have been told, Bullet For My Valentine made it onto the bill ahead of Queens of The Stone Age and Swedish rock legends, The Hives. That's ridiculous.Why don't organisers give us what we want? R600 for golden circle last year, but then there was awesome music (mostly). This year there is one maybe two decent acts. And we still have pay 600 for golden circle. They are certainly not living up to last year's standard. After tallying the votes, this is what the organisers reckon we want. How sad.
The local acts so far are The Dirty Skirts (hardly surprising) and Zebra & Giraffe (good work lads). Two more are to be announced.
The dates and venues are The Newmarket Racecourse in Joburg on 10 April 09 and The Ostrich Farm in Cape Town on 13 April 09.
I love music, and most things that relate to music. I also enjoy writing. So I have decided to create an amalgamation of my interests. Therefore, Smack Talk serves to entertain, create awareness and be an outlet for my interests.
If you have a band and would like to be seen, known and loved, you can email me. richardcoleking[at]gmail[dot]com
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Noel Gallagher (Oasis guitarist and vocalist if you were wondering) said this on the Oasis Myspace after the Joburg show:
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