» CD Reviews

» Features

» Live Reviews

» Travel Features

- Join Here
- Terms & Conditions
- What is Writers Club?

* All photos by Sam Reinders

Last Saturday night 1.5 billion people watched the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup on TV. Twenty thousand people experienced it at Newlands. And a thousand brave souls descended upon the Breede River, in the Western Cape, to experience its banks thump to the sounds of some of South Africa’s finest music.

I say brave because to do this these people survived Tropical Storm Creek — a tent peg ripping wind and a drenching rain that, like instant pudding, turned the usually dry banks of the Breede into a mud bath.

But far from putting a dampener on the weekend the weather served to make the experience a better one — an ideal mixture of intimacy, music and mud. Oh ya — and Tequila.

Mud, luscious mud...

Because the only vaguely dry place in a hundred kilometre radius was under the tent where the stage was, everyone HAD to be there. On Friday night my late arrival meant that I missed New World Inside and Kelvin Declined… but arrived just in time to see Freshly Ground (surely the most talked about Cape Town band of last year….) and Moodphase 5 (with a very pregnant Lady E - see main pic above - showing exactly why she is Cape Town’s songsteress supreme) stir the crowd into a fury with their afro–soul sounds.

In the open-sided tent steam rose off the wet crowds as the bands competed for sound with the pouring rain.

Saturday morning dawned in a hungover drizzle. Slowly people emerged from their tents, surveying the damage (to person and tent) that the previous night had rendered.

Back in the main tent people set up camp, marking their territory for the day — bringing cooler boxes, camp chairs, bean bags and cushions. I am not sure if it was because it was festival time again — or the weather played a role in it — but the proverbial Boeing flew over Up the Creek very early that day.

There could not have been a more perfect choice to start the morning off than Tony Cox — guitar maestro, muso extraordinaire and platinum blonde. Especially moving was his tune 'Blue Grass Safari' — a marriage of blue grass music with a distinctly South African vibe.

Sons Of Trout

Sex Tips for Boys, Delta Blue and Azania completed the day’s music line up. The mood was ridiculously mellow — as if some higher power had released a drug through the air, reducing people to a stoned happiness. Azania in their dread locked glory did a cover of Louis Armstrong’s 'Wonderful World' and the guy next to me nodded and said: “yes man, it is.”

In between the music the crowd were treated to some of SA’s finest stand up comedians. The likes of Colin Moss, Cokey Falkow, Paul Snodgrass and Dave Levinsohn had the crowds choking on their Savanna’s — with stories about bergies, Van Gogh and snails.

As the light turned dark and the hairs on your arms started standing up, the anticipation became tangible. Beanbags were moved to the side of the tent and the crowd rose to their feet. First up was Valient Swart and his band — the ever-trustworthy Albert Frost, Schalk Joubert and Barry Van Zyl. (All stars in their own right!) The Valient package was as tight as ever — experience and professionalism shining through.

After this was Perez — on stage for one of the last times before they go the way so many other South African bands have. The crowds lapped these guys up, even though a broken guitar prevented them from displaying their full might.

Lee Thompson doing his thing with Sons Of Trout

Sons of Trout were up next. Now I know that it is only the early days of 2003 but I think that it is going to be a struggle to find a gig this year that is as good as this one was. These guys have been together for donkey’s years — and are the living proof that practice makes perfect. Take Mike Hardy’s free styling lyrics, mixed with the guitar brilliance of Nick Turner and flowing bass of Schalk Joubert — and add the extraordinary violin sounds emanating from Mike Rennie’s instrument and you have an X factor that is almost difficult to put into words. I watched the crowd as they were whipped into an absolute frenzy and saw how every so often people would just stop dancing, stand there and just take it all in, mouths open.

I kept thinking that although I was selfishly glad that these guys were here at Up the Creek they should have been on the field at Newlands, ambassadors for South African music. You don’t get much better than this.

Golliwog

It is almost a pity that anyone had to play after Sons of Trout because it was a natural anticlimax — and it should not have been at all because Golliwog were brilliant. As always these funk masters ooze intensity. 'Nasty', Golliwog's first single, remains the highlight of their set. (Although in this case perhaps "climax" would be a more fitting word!)

African Rhythm Travellers took over the mic from Golliwog and moved the party into the darker hours after which DJ Blunted Stuntman — a night shift guru if there ever was one — provided the backing soundtrack to a party in a tent under the stars.

On Sunday those who remained were treated to a line up of the Boulevard Blues Band, Robin Auld Band and Rudimentals. I, however, had to hit the long road back to my house under Table Mountain… with a broken tent, wet sleeping bag and wonderful memories.