jonathan carter

Yesterday I went to see what’s probably been the biggest music event of this decade in South Africa so far. The line-up included Fokofpolisiekar, The Rasmus, Seether, Fatboy Slim, Collective Soul and Metallica. It was rocking.

We got there a bit early to avoid traffic, only to stand in a two hour queue for the venue to open, which proved to be unnecassary. That was the only bad part, from there onward, it was phenonemal. Fokofpolisiekar blew us away. They played all my favourite tracks, including “Hemel op die platteland”. Arno Carstens performed OK, although I feel that he could’ve put more of himself into the performance, it was like he wasn’t quite there, but still, it was extremely enjoyable. Before the show, I told my friends that Simple Plan is like a boyband compared to the other bands playing, but I was, and very pleased with it, proved wrong. They were fantastic. Not only were their music good, but they were fantastic performers, entertaining to the last minute they were on stage. Especially that guy that looks like he wants to be Michael Jackson.

The biggest highlight for me was Seether. I’m a huge fan of them, and they’re also one of the biggest internainally recognised South African bands. Every song they played were magical. If I could re-live any 3 minutes of my life again, it would be when they played “69 Tea” yesterday. We had a mosh pit going near the front in the golden circle area, which was lots of fun.

Collective Soul didn’t dissapoint, either. I should really listen more to them. “Why part 2″ has always been a song I enjoyed intensely, but nothing could ever match the live performance they gave us last night. I would give anything to be able to make music like that. I’ll have to stop talking about Collective soul now, otherwise I’ll run out of objectives to describe Metallica.

Metallica was… . And yes, I just said that about the other bands too, but really, they were professional, emotional, and they gave every bit of themselves that they could. And they helped the audience to give every drop back too. I’ve never considered myself a Metallica fan, although I did have my favourite Metallica songs, but after last night, I finally ‘get them’. I know realise that I’ll eventually have to get my hands on all their CD’s, I’ve definately missed out on some good Metallica. What’s also impressive, is how much they enjoyed performing. I mean, they must have performed “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” a thousand times by now, but they still do it like it’s a new song.

By the end of the concert I was finished. My legs, arms, feet.. everything was sore, I also have a few blue marks here and there from hits in the moshpit. We were in the sun most of the day so I ended up a bit dehidrated. Was it worth it? Hell yeah! Whenever I’m close to a live act from any of these artists again, I’ll make sure to attend. Most of the international artists promised to visit again, soon. Simple Plan even said that they’ll encourage other bands to come to South Africa.

On another note, Thursday I also went for my first guitar lesson. I bought a guitar almost a year ago, but last year proved too demanding for things like guitar lessons. This year, however, I’m not letting anything get in the way of the things that’s important to me. Hmmm.. I went from a fun subject to serious mode… end of post