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.
UCT students rejoiced the beginning of the mid-semester vacation at the Student Representative Council’s (SRC) event, Rock the Mile, held on the Green Mile on March 21st.
The afternoon included performances from well-known artists such as Locnville, Deader than Disco, UCT’s Jimmy Nevis and international legend, Basshunter.
The event was part of the SRC’s campaign to raise money for the Student Crisis Fund, which aids financially-desperate UCT students who are in need of basic necessities.
Let me be frank with you, dear readers. I’ve been struggling. I’ve been struggling to find an idea, any idea, to put into some coherent form to share with you here.
The Vac (capitalised purely as it is very important) came and went in the form of an arch-nemesis to General Productivity. The latter's forces, battered and bruised by the unholy alliance of home, sun, surf and the absence of classes, have suffered irredeemable losses. At least that was what I thought, until my Twitter stumblings happened across a wonderful strand of information from UK gaming blog Rock, Paper, Shotgun. The cavalry had finally arrived.
Liza Mirò Combrinck: Is the Afrikaans movie business taking over the local film industry?
When people think of Afrikaans movies, the general name that pops up is usually Leon Schuster – known for his brilliant pranks back in the 90s, and for his cringe- worthy, brilliantly bad movies that followed.
Sibabalwe Mona: An intimate performance and a mass love-affair on an ostrich farm.
Get there at 11am, they said. The show will start at 1pm, they said. That is what was going through my mind, as I sat on the ground in sweltering Cape Town heat, on a farm at 4pm two Sunday afternoons ago. After five hours of sitting, sun burning and waiting for the Metro FM-sponsored Miguel concert to start, at the Cape Town Ostrich Farm, many of the concert-goers were fed-up with the organisation and logistical failures of the concert.
Tristan Rayner: A burst of colour and optimism erupts at the first Holi One Festival.
On March 2nd, the Grand Parade became the setting for the first ever commercial Holi One Festival in South Africa. Tickets quickly sold out due to the festival’s reputation alone, setting the stage for what was destined to be a spectacular event.
What will be the next page turner to sell millions of copies? Here’s as good a guess as any…
New-millennium readers are hard to please. But once you get them hooked, you’ve got them hooked for good. Think JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer and EL James. Of course, magic, vampires and sexual horrification are so over by now. While the literary world recovers from Fifty Shades, readers are awaiting the next big thing. But what will it be?
Marike Watson: What you missed at Rodríguez
On Saturday evening Sixto Díaz Rodríguez kicked off his South African tour at the GrandWest Arena. The 70 year old Detroit musician, better known as ‘Sugar Man’, performs a genre I would call a combination of folk and alternative or psychedelic rock.
Ryno Nortje: What you missed at RHCP.
“Is this a song we recorded ten years ago? Hell no! Is this a song we recorded twenty years ago? Fuck no! We recorded this song about thirty years ago!” Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary declared to a crowd of about 45 000 people in Cape Town Stadium last Tuesday night. This warranted a reality check for me, hardly finding a head, be it balding with age or belonging to a 12 year old, that wasn’t rocking to the divine sound of decade-old hit “Hollywood”, performed live by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Lynne Marie Fraser: With the awards season drawing to a close, we take a look at the most promising candidates up for a piece of Academy gold
Since 10 January 2013, the public has known the nominees for the 85th Annual Oscar Awards Ceremony. There are a few interesting nominations on the list this year, but there is seldom room for extreme surprise between the bottoms of the rich and famous who will be seated at the venue on the 24th of February.
