My Coke Fest 2007
Concert ticket (Golden Circle): R570
Accommodation and travel expenses to get to Johannesburg: R1245
Seeing 2 of your top 10 bands of all time: Priceless.
I’m not going to post an overly long post about My Coke Fest 2007 (at the Newmarket Race Course in Johannesburg) – I wouldn’t want to bore readers. The short version: The concert was fantastic! It was totally worth the effort and expenses to get up to Gauteng for an event that was unquestionably better than last year’s festival on every account: organisation, facilities, and a top-notch line up of bands (both local and international).
Apart from the dust kicked up by gusts of wind for most of the day (our ear and nostril contents were black when we finally got home), My Coke Fest 2007 was a prime example of how open field concerts are better than stadium-set concerts. Events just have more of a festival vibe to them!
Anyway, let’s make this more of an image-heavy “phlog” entry, with some commentary where appropriate.
Early on in the day, as people were just filing in.
Later on, looking back over the crowd of 50 000 people. We were in the Golden Circle, about 6 layers of people from the front of the stage. Later on in the evening we defended our position with vicious elbow thrusts against rude pricks who tried to sneak to the front of the crowd without making any of the sacrifices we did – not leaving our spot to eat, drink or go to the bathroom from 4pm to 11pm.
Here’s a pic of Paul and myself, courtesy of the roving Thunda.com photographers.
I was extremely impressed by the South African bands performing. Last year it felt like some of them had been included just to pad out the show. Some were utter shit. This year, every single act was polished and professional, with recognisable hits that had received radio-play. My favourite: J. Awesome indie rock far heavier than you’d expect… and the band includes a cellist for some listening variety.
Other SA band comments:
Fevertree: The first act of the day, they spent a lot of their 30 minute set talking to the crowd. Entertaining.
Cassette: A band with a healthy sense of humour, these guys came out on the stage ripping off absent Guns ‘N’ Roses.
Evolver: It may be too early to say this, but Evolver seem to be shaping up as the next Springbok Nude Girls-lite… with blonde dancing girls for the guys to goggle.
Parlotones: You’ve heard their happy, whimsical rock songs on the radio, and they carry off the sound perfectly when performing live. They also seemed to have developed a My Chemical Romance approach to performance dress-up. Naturally they closed their set with ‘Here comes a man’.
Springbok Nude Girls: South Africa’s biggest ever alternate band got the crowd rocking, but honestly with an echo effect on the mike, and exceptionally loud music, it was difficult to hear Arno’s distinct vocals for much of the performance. Apparently there have been similar problems with other performances to support their latest album, Peace Breaker.
Hoobastank: All those chubby, gummi Goths at the concert may rip me apart for saying this, but I thought Hoobastank was actually the best act at My Coke Fest. Evanescence came a close second, of course. But Hoobastank were utterly amazing! They even got the crowd chanting their name.
Admittedly I was a bit concerned before Hoobastank arrived onstage – I adore all 3 of their albums, but I’d heard that they were more of a studio band, and dud live. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Their choice of songs was superb (all the up-tempo tracks from their CDs, including my absolute fave, Same Direction), and delivered with such energy that you couldn’t help but be carried away. I sang along to every single song. Fan-fricken-tastic!
Staind: After Hoobastank’s strong crowd interaction, these chubby rockers started off a bit aloof. However, once Evanescence’s Amy Lee walked out onto the stage for a surprise first-time-ever duet, Staind’s set improved dramatically, and the crowd warmed to them. Of course, they sang It’s Been A While, and that’s all I really wanted.
3 Doors Down: Personally, after Staind’s ‘heaviness’ I found 3 Doors Down to be a little on the light side. They were very good, and probably the only band to really make use of projected multimedia and music video clips in their show, but by the time they came on stage I was desperate to see the final headlining act of the evening…
Evanescence: As with Hoobastank, I was worried that one of my top 10 favourite bands was going to be disappointing live. The Anywhere But Here ‘Live’ CD was OK, but hardly brilliant. Again, thank heavens for misconceptions. Evanescence were awesome on stage.
Just like Hoobastank, they started with the first track off their latest album – in this case Sweet Sacrifice. Lead singer Amy Lee was all over the stage for the next 90 minutes (when she wasn’t sitting at her piano, at least). Despite all her movement, the clarity of her voice was just as good as on her studio albums. The crowd went crazy every time she began her vocal gymnastics.
After 2 Coke Fest line-ups that were essentially male-only affairs, it was great to cap the latest Fest with some quality female vocals onstage for the first time. Like Hoobastank, Evanescence were clearly there to please their local fans, and they certainly delivered.
Wickhead: I’ve heard only good things about them, but just like the Parlotones following headliners Metallica last year, most people (including myself) left the concert before Wickhead came onstage.
Final thoughts:
My Coke Fest 2007 – Totally brilliant! How will 5FM and Coke ever top it next year?
Anyway, over the next few days brace yourself for further posts on my Jozi weekend, and a return to “normal” entertainment news updates…
Accommodation and travel expenses to get to Johannesburg: R1245
Seeing 2 of your top 10 bands of all time: Priceless.
I’m not going to post an overly long post about My Coke Fest 2007 (at the Newmarket Race Course in Johannesburg) – I wouldn’t want to bore readers. The short version: The concert was fantastic! It was totally worth the effort and expenses to get up to Gauteng for an event that was unquestionably better than last year’s festival on every account: organisation, facilities, and a top-notch line up of bands (both local and international).
Apart from the dust kicked up by gusts of wind for most of the day (our ear and nostril contents were black when we finally got home), My Coke Fest 2007 was a prime example of how open field concerts are better than stadium-set concerts. Events just have more of a festival vibe to them!
Anyway, let’s make this more of an image-heavy “phlog” entry, with some commentary where appropriate.
Early on in the day, as people were just filing in.
Later on, looking back over the crowd of 50 000 people. We were in the Golden Circle, about 6 layers of people from the front of the stage. Later on in the evening we defended our position with vicious elbow thrusts against rude pricks who tried to sneak to the front of the crowd without making any of the sacrifices we did – not leaving our spot to eat, drink or go to the bathroom from 4pm to 11pm.
Here’s a pic of Paul and myself, courtesy of the roving Thunda.com photographers.
I was extremely impressed by the South African bands performing. Last year it felt like some of them had been included just to pad out the show. Some were utter shit. This year, every single act was polished and professional, with recognisable hits that had received radio-play. My favourite: J. Awesome indie rock far heavier than you’d expect… and the band includes a cellist for some listening variety.
Other SA band comments:
Fevertree: The first act of the day, they spent a lot of their 30 minute set talking to the crowd. Entertaining.
Cassette: A band with a healthy sense of humour, these guys came out on the stage ripping off absent Guns ‘N’ Roses.
Evolver: It may be too early to say this, but Evolver seem to be shaping up as the next Springbok Nude Girls-lite… with blonde dancing girls for the guys to goggle.
Parlotones: You’ve heard their happy, whimsical rock songs on the radio, and they carry off the sound perfectly when performing live. They also seemed to have developed a My Chemical Romance approach to performance dress-up. Naturally they closed their set with ‘Here comes a man’.
Springbok Nude Girls: South Africa’s biggest ever alternate band got the crowd rocking, but honestly with an echo effect on the mike, and exceptionally loud music, it was difficult to hear Arno’s distinct vocals for much of the performance. Apparently there have been similar problems with other performances to support their latest album, Peace Breaker.
Hoobastank: All those chubby, gummi Goths at the concert may rip me apart for saying this, but I thought Hoobastank was actually the best act at My Coke Fest. Evanescence came a close second, of course. But Hoobastank were utterly amazing! They even got the crowd chanting their name.
Admittedly I was a bit concerned before Hoobastank arrived onstage – I adore all 3 of their albums, but I’d heard that they were more of a studio band, and dud live. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Their choice of songs was superb (all the up-tempo tracks from their CDs, including my absolute fave, Same Direction), and delivered with such energy that you couldn’t help but be carried away. I sang along to every single song. Fan-fricken-tastic!
Staind: After Hoobastank’s strong crowd interaction, these chubby rockers started off a bit aloof. However, once Evanescence’s Amy Lee walked out onto the stage for a surprise first-time-ever duet, Staind’s set improved dramatically, and the crowd warmed to them. Of course, they sang It’s Been A While, and that’s all I really wanted.
3 Doors Down: Personally, after Staind’s ‘heaviness’ I found 3 Doors Down to be a little on the light side. They were very good, and probably the only band to really make use of projected multimedia and music video clips in their show, but by the time they came on stage I was desperate to see the final headlining act of the evening…
Evanescence: As with Hoobastank, I was worried that one of my top 10 favourite bands was going to be disappointing live. The Anywhere But Here ‘Live’ CD was OK, but hardly brilliant. Again, thank heavens for misconceptions. Evanescence were awesome on stage.
Just like Hoobastank, they started with the first track off their latest album – in this case Sweet Sacrifice. Lead singer Amy Lee was all over the stage for the next 90 minutes (when she wasn’t sitting at her piano, at least). Despite all her movement, the clarity of her voice was just as good as on her studio albums. The crowd went crazy every time she began her vocal gymnastics.
After 2 Coke Fest line-ups that were essentially male-only affairs, it was great to cap the latest Fest with some quality female vocals onstage for the first time. Like Hoobastank, Evanescence were clearly there to please their local fans, and they certainly delivered.
Wickhead: I’ve heard only good things about them, but just like the Parlotones following headliners Metallica last year, most people (including myself) left the concert before Wickhead came onstage.
Final thoughts:
My Coke Fest 2007 – Totally brilliant! How will 5FM and Coke ever top it next year?
Anyway, over the next few days brace yourself for further posts on my Jozi weekend, and a return to “normal” entertainment news updates…
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