Marike Watson: A rock 'n roll war at Belville Veledrome

It’s pitch dark in the Belville Veledrome, apart from the all lit cigarettes around me. The only sound is a bustling noise from the crowd. It’s midway through Metallica’s repertoire and the audience is waiting in anticipation for what’s about to happen next. Suddenly the Veledrome turns into a battlefield, explosions set off on stage creating a war-like atmosphere and with each explosion the audience jump straight out of their black-only attire. Frontman James Hetfield seems amused as he laughs at the folks behind the guardrail.

Vibrant. Entertaining. Moving. The Rhodes University Drama Department hosted the annual Innovations show. The student-driven show focused on dream sequences and the blurred lines between reality and fiction.

Chwayita January and Stuart Thembisile Lewis: Olde 65 played host to the Battle of the Acoustics final this Saturday. Three-piece band, The Bad Hands, won the night – and R1000 – after narrowly beating solo guitarist Matthew de Klerk.

After two tightly fought qualification rounds, three acts were selected to compete in the final. The third act, Ryan, unfortunately had to withdraw from the event due to unforeseen circumstances.

Prelene Singh: Street Rhythm and McDonalds are doing a campus wide tour to find the best DJ and dance crew in the country.

Mfuneko Toyana: Liesel Jobson writes with an intense, explicit sense of self-awareness that almost overpowers the reader who picks up her book – if not the author herself.                       

She admitted as much to the audience in a reading of her latest collection of short stories, Ride the Tortise, at the Wartenweiler Library’s Writing Center on Wednesday evening.

Asked why she had not yet ventured into the longer novel form, the author, musician, and photographer thought carefully before explaining the mental process of her writing:

Ray Mahlaka: TO celebrate a hundred years of Gerard Sekoto’s life, the Wits Art Museum (WAM) is staging a retrospective of his artwork in an exhibition titled Song for Sekoto 1930-2013 .

LUSANDA FUTSHANE: The world had almost given up on The Strokes. Their debut album Is This It seemed like a flash in the pan when all the albums that came after it didn’t impress as much. The band maintained a small cult following but never really grew its audience. And then, more than a decade after their meteoric rise to fame, The Strokes came back with a fifth release. Has Comedown Machine salvaged whatever was left of this New York outfit’s bruised fame?

The short answer is: sort of. The long answer starts with the band’s obstinate sound. Over ten years and four records, there’s been very little growth in The Strokes’ style. Sure, the groovy combination of garage rock with danceable indie beats was what got this band noticed in the first place. However, when that sound isn’t developed enough, what you end up with are five albums that sound almost completely the same.

Lauren Dixon-Paver: Renowned acoustic guitarist Gary Thomas returned to Grahamstown on Friday 19 April in what was the fourth stop of his nationwide tour.

Having recently returned from a two-month tour of Europe, this talented musician graced the stage of The Lowlander, bringing the audience a unique and spectacular display of vocal and guitar skills in an intimately casual gig.

HEIN PAPENFUS: The aching struggle with writers block coupled with a mildly serious bout of alcoholism that plagues the life of screen writer Marty Faranan is, funny enough, a slice of sanity amongst the mayhem conjured up in Seven Psychopaths. Marty, played by Colin Farrell, is a Hollywood screenwriter battling to write a screenplay entitled: “Seven Psychopaths”. Helping Marty out of his creative doldrums is his best friend, unemployed actor, Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell) who kidnaps dogs in order to receive reward money after pretending to have found the unfortunate wandering dog.