Weekend Music and The Soweto Theatre

My last post was a downer, and I think that reflects the mood in the last couple of weeks. Spearing kak has seriously brought me down, along with all the other vitriol that the media is currently so awash with. And then there's the predictable and personal emotional angst that often accompanies moments like this. Thankfully this all seems to be blowing over now, if a little slowly for my liking. So, I thought it best for me to post something a little more upbeat:

Last weekend I actually had quite a lot of fun and much of it revolved around good music and discovering new places in Jozi. Here's a rundown:

1. Neighborgoods on Saturday morning and afternoon with brother and sister. I know this probably sounds a little lame but I find that this place can actually be quite a lot of fun if you go with nice people and you find a good spot in the sun. I also discovered a Belgian beer that clocks in at the 10% alcohol mark. We were fairly sozzled by the time we stumbled out of there. Shout outs must also go to the friendly Serbs serving up those delicious Balkan burgers. Did little for the rate of inebriation though!



And the band played on

2. The folks came over early Saturday evening, and after convincing them that we were not actually stoned and merely recovering from some serious drinking - my mother happened upon my brother snoring in the bath, and my sister and I both passed out in bed - we managed to rally the troops for our first taste of the Sophiatown Jazz Encounters held monthly at the Trevor Huddleston Centre a couple of blocks away from The Safehouse. Check out The Trevor Huddleston Centre and Sophiatown Heritage Program website here. Lucas Senyatso and his merry band played on that particular evening and I thought it was seriously great. Here's a link to the event. What really warmed the heart too - especially in the context of broader and ugly social rumblings - was how diverse the crowd was: old, young, white, black, indian, coloured, single people, couples, families, etc....everyone was represented by a warm, lovely crowd in a small and intimate space. See photo above. Wonderful setting in a beautifully restored house, a real local community feel and guided tours presenting the history of the area after the show. Wonderful framed photos and the house converted to a heritage centre. A must see.
3. Lunch on Sunday was spent with the family at the Fisherman's plate in Cyrildene. Check out one of my previous posts referring to Jo'burg Gems for more info on this place. The food was spectacular.
4. Then it was off to Salif Keita playing at the newly-opened Soweto Theatre on Sunday afternoon. Big ups to Busi who tugged on her considerable networks and managed to get us some tickets at the last moment (thanks to The General too!). Upon arrival I immediately wondered who all was at the Bushfire Festival in Swaziland because it looked like the who's who of Jozi arrived for this concert. The theatre is truly something to behold. The show was, to put it mildly, mind-blowing, and I think that is mainly because of how energetic the crowd was. By the end of the show Salif was jiving on the stage, pulling audience members up for some free-stylin' dance moves with his drummer. Everyone was out of their seats. Music, predictably awesome. Everyone sang along. Just great. I can't wait to go back there. Observe the photos below.

Tourists in Soweto

So a great weekend and big ups for Jozi and the cool people who never lost their minds in the madness and bitterness that seemed to be taking over before that.

When Reality is Momentarily too Much

The place: a small coffee shop on the corner of Juta and De Beer, in the heart of Braamfontein.
The time: early Monday morning.
The feel: a crisp winters morning, people shuffling themselves off to work, stuffed in coats and wrapped in scarves, wearing that defiant Jozi-scarred demeanour, looking noticeably weary - more than usual.
The read: Ferial Haffajee's response to Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla in the Sunday's City Press.
The sound: Who'll Stop the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The paragraphs: "My biggest lesson this week is that the ANC no longer leads; it can no longer be trusted to pull us back from the brink as it did when Chris Hani died and the nation lay on the edge of a precipice." - "This national pain is greater than our individual hurts, I know." - "I'd like to play my role, but if I respond to fear, insult, demands to remove an item of journalism, threats and intimidation, then what role will I be playing to make ours the best possible world for your little brothers and sisters, and all the children for whom we are making a future?"

Too real.

Links, Thoughts and Opinions

A quick update to share a couple of links that I happened upon today.

So first up, most of you know that I am fairly passionate about challenging the negative perceptions about Jozi. I take great pleasure in discovering hidden treasures in the city and if I wasn't such an ardent Bulls fan I would probably have completely re-branded myself as a 100% Jozi-ite. Alas, people still know that I'm from Pretoria. Anyway, I digress. Some of you might recall that I was punting a Facebook group called Secret Johannesburg some time back. I liked the initial idea of providing a space where people were able to post details of their own discoveries in Jozi. Problem is that, apart from my own FB vacation that is still in force, the group also appeared to lose a little bit of steam and I noted with some alarm how people started posting details about such random oddities as the local vet who reportedly has a "wonderful way with the animals"?! No kidding. Good to know.

One other thing to note is that Jozi is not one of those places that easily or initially lays out it's best to the would-be explorer. Excuse my crudeness here but I find the "ladies" metaphor instructive here: Jozi is not a cheap date. In fact, she looks downright disinterested to the point of making you wonder whether she even cares that you're around at all. However, if you're persistent, tenacious and willing to navigate spaces that may often be outside of your comfort zone you will find things that, more often than not, are beyond your imagination. She's just so much deeper than you could even begin to fathom and I feel like one could continue to discover new things about her forever. I like that. And the fact that she also wears her scars in a show of strength and resilience that is truly heart-warming. Contrast that with Cape Town that to me is more like the pretty girl who has you believing that you've seriously "scored" until you try have a serious conversation with her. It is then that the vacuous truth has you cursing and questioning your own level of substance. Harsh I guess, but that's how I feel.

So the point of all of this is that I discovered a new Jozi blog called Like Father, Like Son and I think it does a good job of unearthing some of these treasures, at least from a food and drink perspective. Here are two links to whet the appetite:

First, 5 Jo'burg Gems and then have a look at Where to get beer in Jozi. I definitely have a revised to-do list after checking out some of the suggestions from this blog. Good.

Onto more serious things then. I sometimes find myself checking in on some of the Thoughtleader opinion pieces. Quite often these opinions act as an extra cycle of rehashing mainstream news headlines, but that can be useful and often times I find perspectives, delivered from a very personal point of view, that add a little more complexity to stories that are often mind-numbing in their over simplification of the facts - as if someone has already decided what we can and can't handle emotionally. So I came across a reader blog entry entitled I apologise for apartheid that I thought was an interesting and heartfelt attempt by an Afrikaner to comment on the fallout from FW De Klerk's comments on CNN regarding apartheid and his thinly-veiled defense of the homelands system. It probably sums up a lot of what I feel too and I liked the mention of Antjie Krog who I also think has done a lot to unpack the complexity and brutality of our past from an Afrikaner's perspective.

And now, for some light-hearted frivolity.I was emailed a fairly amusing video clip by OSHO (for those who don't know, he's a philosopher/spiritual guide of sorts - click here for more on his wiki page). The content may be somewhat familiar but the delivery is what makes it special. Check out video called Strange Consequences. Nietzsche must be spinning in his grave.

Lastly, I was reminded of one of my favourite poems yesterday. The poem is entitled If by Rudyard Kipling. Check it out here.

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting;
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating;
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;"

Brilliant.

Delving Into Photos From The Last Year: Part 2 - The Bulungula Adventure, Family Wedding, etc.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I happened upon some photos from last year that brought back fond memories of some 2011 highlights. This is the second and last part of the photo publishing so here goes:

First up there was my trip to Bulungula on the Wildcoast with Aly. I planned this trip as a celebration of the completion of my thesis and it did not disappoint. Check out the link to this beautiful spot here. I am not going to delve into all the reasons why I love this place, because you should go yourself. Have a look at the photos below, check out the website and book a holiday! It was just the tonic for me and lovely to share it with Aly too.

Aly and I on a rowing expedition on the Xhorra River - Bulungula

Check out this incredible stretch of coastline - Bulungula

Sunrise at Bulungula

Another view of the coastline and villages - Bulungula

Then it was off to my cousin Erica's wedding at Verlorenkloof in Mpumalanga. I love family gatherings so. They always tend to showcase the best and worst in some kind of plastered-on-smile manic quasi celebration with the volume turned up. The wedding was all it should be I suppose, although I prefer to keep the broader mother-load of my - apparently radical - opinions off-line. Those who know me well will be familiar with my sentiments regarding the wedding industry generally. That said, there were plenty laughs and some Johnson-sibling-dance-floor-jigga to boot. Good times. Just have a look at that ridiculous brother of mine.

Phillip and Charlotte at the Verlorenkloof wedding

Phil, Aly and I at the wedding. I don't look great but the beer foam on the tip of Phil's nose is pretty special

Below is a photo of Winston the cat taken when I was in DC during March-April 2011. I facilitated the acquisition of a kitten for Aly when she was still living in SA circa 2004-2005 and Winston soon became quite famous in our circles. That is mostly because he possesses a ripper of a personality, loves attention and frequently responds like a dog, has major aggression issues with other cats and vets, and is remarkably good looking too (this is what I am told), according to US vets especially. Apparently they fawn over this "African" cat something fierce when he goes in for check-ups. His relocation - some would say displacement - to the US was also quite the story but he made it safe and sound in the end and has now been reformed into an apartment cat. He has a funny habit of getting into bags, boxes and all manner of empty receptacles whenever he can. I am not sure what he is looking for in there, or if he is somehow harking back to the 20 odd hours he spent caged-up in the cargo hold of an SAA Boeing 737 bound for Dulles Airport in DC. Bless him.

Winston the African cat, simulating his trip over from SA - Washington DC

A little bit of playground goof-around - Cape Town work trip

Charlotte taking photos at the Sea Point Promenade

Lastly, the end of last year saw a proliferation of Safehouse gatherings. Many of them ended in the wee hours, often with table dancing and other more unspeakable things. Lots of booze was consumed, lots of good times had, drunken sing-alongs, braais, deep conversations, etc. Weirdly (not) I found only one photo of a gathering from last year - Jan, Busi, Kim and the (in) famous Rashie in attendance. It all looks fairly tame too, but don't be fooled. Observe the classy crate garden furniture. Fond memories, although I'm sure there would be more if it didn't end up getting so inevitably blurry.

Kim, Busi, Rashi and Jan at the Safehouse - latter half of 2011

An Ailing Witkak And Weekend Concerts

Lets start with the bad news. My car, most commonly and very affectionately known as Witkak, has been through hell lately, and its not really my fault either. The friendly local neanderthals at Hi-Q Melville neglected to do something really basic, according to my learned mechanic friend (don't laugh!), after I had my wheel alignment done there at the end of last year, ultimately resulting in the forced replacement (kinda like forced displacement don't you think?!) of the entire - and previously power - steering rack. Some steering boot-like thingies were improperly twisted, and on departure from this terrible establishment they immediately tore open, the net result being that my frequent driving on dirt-roads in Mpumalanga caused the accumulation of small sand dune-like masses within the broader steering apparatus of my beloved chariot. Now while I am sure that the result was not quite as bad as adding this self-same sand to the fuel-tank, for instance, the damage still amounted to somewhere in the region of eight-thousand Rand. Whats more, replacing a power steering-rack costs almost eleven-thousand rand for just the part so I am now also downgraded to that animated, heavy-on-the-arm turning. This made me sad and I even stopped driving for some days in some sort of pointless protest sulk. I am making plans to storm into Hi-Q in the near future with some choice words and the objective of rattling some cages, at the very least. Today my starter also conked out. I'm bleak. I love Witkak, and when he hurts so do I. But money's too tight to mention too. Ho-hum.

Broken Witkak - look how sad

Now for the good stuff.

So I know its a little belated and all that - I'll explain why in another post - but on the weekend of the 14th of April Charlotte and I went to different music concerts on the Friday and Saturday night, and they were both great.

The first was on the Friday and we ended up schlepping to the North (Fourways) for a reunion concert by Henry Ate. Karma was back in SA for a short trip - she now lives in the US - and reunited with her old band-mate Julian to recreate some of the awesome circa mid-nineties musical goodness that awkward white kids (mostly) freely wallowed in, in their teens and early adulthood. I must say that to see this crowd now in that "thirty-something and older" stage of life, still bopping to the one-time hits like "Just", "Hey Mister", "Pandora's Child" and "0 Miles", was a little weird. I realized that I had lost touch with these people at some stage in my own life and to see so many of the same "genre" in the same place really kind of drove the point home. Needless to say, it was a trip down memory lane and wouldn't you just know it that I would also run into one of my class mates from primary school in PTA. Weird. Any way, check out Henry Ate's Myspace page if you did not grow up in SA during the mid nineties.

Julian and Karma - just like old times

And then it was onto the Jozi Hipster music scene - incidentally, this scene appears to be doing very well, although I am still trying to figure out where all these kids come from. Charlotte and I splurged on tickets for the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah concert on the Saturday night. It took place on the street outside the old Carfax building in Newtown. My personal highlight was Spoek Mathambo who opened for CYHSY. This guy is seriously talented and I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had not heard of him before the weekend. Check out his website here. His wicked lyrics make me think a little of Thumi of The Volume fame. CYSHSY was pretty good too although I was fairly wasted by then so my abilities as a music critic may have been a little compromised by then. I have a fairly good excuse for that too, which I will summarise as follows: There is only one thing worse than a Cape Town Hipster and that is a Wannabe Cape Town Hipster, especially when they are to be found in Johannesburg.

Spoek is Awesome

This looks almost as good as it did through my inebriated eyes