Euro tour 2

Manchester last night was great!

Support acts Ghost Outfit and With That Knife both thrilled us with their fresh guitarey goodness.

The show drew a really nice collection of kids and had a totally awesome time playing for them. Played a whole bunch of the new songs the band have been recording for their upcoming third album.Playing visuals to them while hearing these songs for the first time most definately weren't my finest VJ moment, but the kids of Manchester really didn't seem to mind.

Take down the screen. New shirt. Pack up. Head out.

After the gig we drove to Liverpool. The band needed to get a hundred shirts from a guy called Matt. Along with a friend he runs a merch company. He also happens to play in this band i'm quite madly in love with.

As we walked into Matt's home there was a sudden high pitched screetch. And then another. The place is full of smoke. I ask him what's burning. He runs into the kitchen, grabs a chair, turns off the smoke alarm and then his oven. "There weren't even anythin in the oven like!" Matt gives the band their shirts and introduces me to a pair of charming hamsters called Rodger Murtagh and Sgt. Derrick Riggs.We get in the van and head home to Birmingham.

You are invited! Africa just wants to have fun!

Just in time before I leave for Europe we're squeezing in this month's High Five release! For April High Five is proud to be putting out a compilation we're calling "Africa Just Wants to have Fun!". Expect a special Big Five selection of High Five DJs spinning Kwela, Afrobeat, Jive and Africanized rock and roll, pop and soul!

RSVP here!

Hooray for Humans! Tutus invade Japan like very small white godzillas!

A few months back I excitedly shouted Hooray for Humans because I found out that Africa's much loved Desmond and The Tutus would be touring Japan. The tour is now well underway. With a few cities and shows already down the boys are currently in Tokyo. As if touring Japan and playing rock and roll music weren't awesomeness enough, the Tutus Japan invasion has been multiplied by an additional factor of awesome because the dudes have been joined by Cape Town's own We Are Awesome. The site has already posted a bunch of galleries depicting the Tutus rocking crowds and standing in front of vending machines. Here's a couple pics from Japanone, the first gallery documenting the tour.

Hooray for Humans! Tutus invading Japan like very small white godzillas!

Only a few months ago I was writing about how the lovable kings of kwela punk were about to embark on another excursion to Europe. Now, it's my great pleasure to be able to report that, before the year is up The Tutus will also have a tour of Japan under their collective crocodile skin belt.

HOORAY!!!

Hooray for Humans! Tutus make noise and make people dance in Europe!

They haven't been blowing their own vuvuzelas about it much but those following Desmond and the Tutus on Twitter might have noticed some very exciting tweets. Talk of gigging, recording and watching "We Have Band" in Europe.

Curious as to what all this was about I dropped Shane Tutu a mail to find out what the deal was:

"Hey hey dude! First up, so sorry to be wasting precious overseas time!

Just quick though, could you fill me in on what you're up to in Europe? I've gathered from Twitter it's gigs and recording but who with? Tell me Joakim's involved in the recording side!"

And here's the awesome news he replied with on Wednesday night:

"haha hey bru no worries,

here's what's up
we got invited to do this african music festival in toulouse france, they paid our tickets so we made a little holiday out of it we have cool contacts in paris (tigersushi) and stockholm (v&B) so we stayed a few extra days so that we could do some gigs stockholm is out favourite city in the world and our buddy there was involved in the 2010love festival - a festival celebrating the marriage of the country's crown princess to some yokel, so that was nice to be involved in... then back to paris--- we recorded a song with joakim at the brand new tigersushi studio - he even played the synth for us! and then that evening (last night) we did a crazy little tigersushi party in paris with joakim, maestro (new tigersushi band) and logo (new kitsune disco band)

tomorrow night we're playing that festival in toulouse, it's called rio loco - with johnny clegg and mahotella queens! then friday we're home!"

How freaking cool!?!

HOORAY FOR HUMANS!!!