GIGG REVIEWs
SYNERGY It started out as a grey and rainy morning and when I woke up it was pretty much a case of do I really have to head out to another festival that I really don’t have too much interest in? I charged my batteries and prepped myself for a day of standing in the rain and headed off to JHB for my first Synergy Festival. Now if I was one to critique the actual organization of the event, I could spend a hell of a lot of time complaining about the bad layout, poor signage of the event, that the crew working knew nothing about anything. I could also sympathize with the 1000 strong crowd that was left standing at the gate for over an hour and half as the organizers had not been given the permissions to open the gates on time but the most important part I would bitch about is how unfair it was to the 4 local bands who were forced to cut their sets down to 4 or 5 songs. Surely it’s not the bands fault for poor planning, so why in heavens name must they be punished for it? Good thing I’m no longer an events manager and merely a reporter and photographer these days. Right then, onto the bands. The SA contingent of the bill included Newtown Knife Gang, Man as Machine, Gangs of Ballet, Wrestlerish, Bittereinder, Desmond & The Tutus, Zebra & Giraffe and The Narrow (if you still consider them an SA artist now that the band is based in New Zealand). Headline artist was international group - The Prodigy, who were gracing us with their presence for the third time (the novelty has pretty much worn off).
I am proud to say that the South African artists were far more impressive than The Prodigy. Given that the first four bands had short sets, this didn’t hinder them in giving it everything that the had. Newtown Knife Gang started the day off to a small crowd of eager and loyal fans. The rest of the people who had been waiting at the gate were either rehydrating at the bars or dancing their feet off at the Red Bull dance stage. Being the stalwarts that the band are, they performed their big numbers to a screaming crowd who let out a combined groan when they heard the band had to leave the stage. I’ve heard a lot about Man as Machine, unfortunately I hadn’t had the opportunity to watch them before Synergy. Maybe this was a good thing. Man as Machine are an up and coming Johannesburg rock n roll band (think a younger version of Shadowclub). Their passion, energy on stage and the actual music made me fall immediately in love with this band. There is a clear reason why this band is taking the industry by storm - check them out if you haven’t. It was pretty random to be sitting in the grass backstage when Gangs of Ballet arrived, I haven’t seen the Klynsmith brothers in a good year so it was a strange place to bump into each other. Being a Durban girl, I have known GOB since their first performance in Durban and have watched them grow from strength to strength. Their performance was unfortunately not something I enjoyed although the majority of the crowd did, so people must like their tracks.