Make Overs are back in action and you are invited!

After a bit of a breather after their epic summer tour, Make Overs are getting back to what they do best: making more noise than two people should ever be capable of! They're playing two shows in the space of the next week. Playing both dates alongside Make overs are one of the most promisng new bands to emerge out of Joburg in the past year, The Idiots!

RSVP here!

RSVP here!

Good weekend. Dance Dance and the Pregnant Seabass!

Usually an animal calls good weekend starts on a Thursday. Since last week Friday was a public holiday, I think it's only right that this episode of Good Weekend starts on a Wednesday:

After work I drive through to Jason's place. We hang out for a bit and then head through to Tanz for this.

I went to the old Tanz cafe once, years ago. The venue was pretty underwhelming and seemed a lot more like a little restaurant than a live venue. Even after hearing it moved to a new venue I've never again driven to the otherside of the city to go to Tanz. Until now.

As we're climbing the huge staircase into the venue I realise I've been seriously missing out.

The "new" Tanz is massive. Huge stage, awesome sound and best of all a big plasma dead centre at the top of the stage. I patch straight into it and we have a great set (which you can watch a section of here). Us Kids Know's set it more than great. After a good break Colin's Jazzmaster makes it's triumphant return alongside the return of a awesome selection of the old songs. Between us and them I see Murkwood for the first time. It seems yet another exciting young band are emerging out of our city. Murkwood's combination of sounds is far to strange for me to even try make comparisons, and that alone should tell you they're doing something right.

Thursday, being the Friday of this week, is highlighted by an awesome party. "I'm not a DJ, I'm in a band" goes down at Tings and as I walk through the door it feels like it's been way too long since I was last here. PJ from The Havoc Vultures is finishing off what sounds like the end of great set. Liam takes over and proceeds to lay down what most definitely is a great set. Chemical Brothers, Ian Brown and Fela Kuti- how can this not kick ass?

Before Liam finishes Joe comes over to me. "Ben! You gotta rock this! You're gonna play the hits right?!" "Yeah, yeah yeah" I reasure him, but honestly I'm not sure what "the hits" even are anymore.

As I walk through the dancefloor to take over from Liam, Henry grabs me:

"Play teen girl fantasy!"
"Huh!"
"Teen girl fantasy!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about..."
"Come on Ben! What new stuff have you been listening to?!"
"Les Savy Fav, Tokyo Police Club, Thermals..."
"That's not dance music!"
"Yeah... You see my problem here?"


I put on my headphones, not feeling very confident after my chats with Joe and Henry. But the nexy hour is total affirmation that, (even if I am an old, out of touch rocker) I can still work a dancefloor.

The hilarious horror of Isochronous's "DJ Virus" are next. Followed by Makkie and Wim from Pity the Fool who are mixing incredibly well for two band dudes that have just got into DJing.

Friday should be a chilled public holiday. Instead I spend it editing, driving, stressing-out, laughing and planning for Pregnant Seabass. We're literally working on it right up till we leave for Tasty Tasty Heritage, but once we get to perform our "improvised noise set" it's so totally worth it. We have tons of fun (which you can read about here). Make Overs are up next and they're just awesome. So so solid for a band that have just started up. To be fair though, Andreas and Martinique have been playing music together for 6 or 7 years, so it's not all that surprising their new band is fantastic right from the get go.

Us Kids Know make my life yet again. Gotta say, with the return of the jazz master and Cam's incorperation into the band I am so totally in love with the current incarnation of this constantly changing band.

Atom Band are next. Been looking forward to seeing them again ever since The Slumber Party. Their first song is great and they kick right into the second really solid. I think how impressive it is that they're so together for a band playing their second show, but then things start going wrong. I won't dwell on particulars, but the rest of their set is just problematic, and I'm left feeling like I still haven't seen the band properly since that first Pretoria show.

I sleep till crazy late on Saturday. Wake up to an SMS from Anja offering to come over with Sushi so we can play some Heavy Rain. Execute said plan. It's awesome. I get a little bummed not being allowed to play Heavy Rain without Anja, but being forced to play it in these little episodes is a great way to experience the game.

Patrick drops by. Then Cam, Richard, Lindi, Chad, Maria, ADK, Chris and Derek. Killer braai times ensue.

At 8ish we dash through to Dance Dance Dance. Lindi's about to start when Ri discovers the display on one of the CDJ isn't working. This means you can't read the pitch, remaining time on a song or even the track number. In other words you're screwed if you wanna try play on this CDJ.

I say we might be able to rent one of Suttner's. He doesn't answer his phone when I call to hear if they're in, so I just drive home. When I get there I discover the CDJs are out, so I came through for nothing.

I figure, while I'm home I'll grab some records; play on the working CDJ and rock one of Ash's turntables on the other side.

I drive back to Kitchener's. Ri tells me he's made a plan. Chad drives to fetch said plan. Lindi starts her set with 1 CDJ with no screen. I start turning the old Canned Applause lightbox into a sign that says "Slow Jam". Crafting in the Kitchen isn't the best way to experience Lindi's set, but at least I hear the whole, radical thing. Warren takes over and more goodness ensues.

Finish off the light box. Ri installs it at the back of the DJ booth, allowing the DJ to now alert the dancefloor of good times to slowdance.

Kodiak takes over. Being outside of Africa for a few weeks has definitely not caused him to loose his edge.

And then it's Sasstime. I have the best set. Sure Ash isn't here so I can't play any of the vinyl I packed. Yes, the replacement CDJ is sticking like a stuck record. I choose to go back to the CDJ with the broken screen so, although my songs are playing properly, I feel like luke trying to blow up The Deathstar with his eyes closed, but playing to a dancefloor like this it's impossible not to love every minute. The place is just full of kids wearing huge smiles, shaking their hips like crazy and screaming when they hear songs by TV on the Radio, Us Kids Know and Johnny Foreigner. If only this would happen even half the time when I play.

Ri's next. I head outside to get some air. Before I make it out the venue I run into Patrick, his camera and a small hoarde of friends. Figure that even if I didn't get to drop the crate of records I'm holding, we should at least give them some play. Full post on these shenanigans here!

After my crazy run of 4 totally different gigs over 4 nights, not playing on Sunday feels awesome. Anja and I hang out with my dad and mom. We eat fantastich German food to celebrate my mom's birthday. Later I stress about things I don't need to stress about. But it's not all bad, at least I've got Mass Effect 2!

You are invited! Tasty Tasty Heritage!

Tomorrow night South Africa's greatest record lable, KRNGY, will be hosting their next party. You might recall that their last night, The Slumber Party, was fantastic. If you didn't know this, you should probably check out these pics and these pics and these words.

For their next night KRNGY will be celebrating Heritage Day in style. Noisey, crazy style. the night will feature KRNGY's own guy/ girl, guitar/ drums scream-duo, Make-Overs. Firm favourites Atom Band and Us Kids know will also be making appearances. Then there's a pretty strange surprise called "The Pregnant Seabass" kicking things off.

If you haven't heard of Pregnant Seabass, that's because tomorrow night will mark the first time it swims onto a stage. Looking for a new opening act for Tasty Tasty, Martinique asked me if I wanted to do an improvised noise set with either my awesome girlfriend Anja or wonderful manfriend Cam. I said I'd take both of them.

I don't wanna ruin any surprises here so let me just say we have something genuinely crazy planned. There's a good chance we'll never do it again, so if you wanna see two boys and girl sing, scream and smash their way through something really funny, loud and possibly even pretty, you have to make sure you'll be at The Bohemian tomorrow night.

RSVP here!

Good Weekend. Lucky and the Band-make-overs.

On Friday night Anja and Lindi rock up at my place. I'd say they're pretty merry, but that would be a lie. They're pretty DAMN merry. They both climb into Ingy's back seat and insist I drive them around like a taxi driver. We head through to The Bohemian.

Hang around the venue for an hour or so before Lucky Fonz starts. This time is mostly spent catching up with friends, swapping Oppikoppi stories, drinking beer and talking about comic books. There's a pretty impressive crowd that's pulled through and a before Lucky even starts his set the place is full of people patiently waiting. He plays a pretty neat little soundcheck, singing "this is not a song, this is just a soundcheck". Flashback to late 2006- on this very same stage I'm seeing Green Is For Turbo for the first time.

Lucky's set is unsurprisingly fantastic. And surprisingly lengthy which nobody seems to mind. On Saturday afternoon I drive through to Pretoria. Shiva's Rock is not the kind of place I'd usually hang out at. It does stay open later than anywhere else in Pretoria, so there've been a few nights where I've landed up there at 3 in the morning, but it's never like I'm actually excited about going there. Until now.

I arrive at 6ish to check up on the visuals before I meet Maaike and Christian for dinner at 6:45. I run into Andreas and Martinique in the parking lot - give them a hand unloading their gear and head into the venue. We're "greeted" by some dude that turns out to be the rudest, weirdest, craziest door-person of all time. Despite the fact that it's 6PM and we're carrying handfuls of drums and guitars he won't believe we're playing, never mind that this is Martinique's gig. "No, no, no, you need to speak to the organiser" - "I am the organiser!". Eventually he seems to tire of being a total douche and lets us in. Martinique gives him a list with the band members and their guests. Still, as each member (or girlfriend) of Us kids Know or Eyes Like Mirror enters the bar they have the same wide eyed terror at just having had to deal with Lord Douchington the IIIrd.

People are watching rugby on the screen we'll be projecting onto so I don't get a chance to check the visuals before I need to leave for Chineese food. Awesome Chineese food. Unfortunately we can't enjoy it for very long before needing to get the rest of our meals to go and rush back the venue.

By the time we return, Shiva's has undergone a pretty radical rock and roll transformation. 20 little paper machete heads are hanging around the stage. Little cut-out clouds are floating around the venue. A weird, bear/ octopus/ doll creature is hanging at the front door and then these bad boys are at the front of the stage: If, like me, you were confused by what you're seeing, everything is explained here.

After seeing them spinning around the party for a while I realise I have seen them before - in a music video for one of my favourite bands from almost a decade ago! We hook up the projector and a William S Burroughs DVD complete the slumber experience. A fair amount of kids have shown up in their PJ's and there are even a couple of friends for the Stitch and Seekat plushies Anja and I have under our arms. This is gonna be a cool night. The Atom Band start their set. It's crazy hard to pinpoint what they're doing. It's kinda 80ies, kinda 90ies. It's pretty Manchester. There's a keyboard. They do a cover of Echo and the Bunny Men. Whatever it is Atom Band are doing it's really fresh and I really like it and everyone else seems to too. After their set I hang out with some of the dudes. Turns out it's their first show. This means in the past two months I've seen 3 great new bands all playing shows for the first time. There's definitely a new wave of awesomeness waiting to break over South African music.

"We just really just gotta stick together. Create a community, a scene." the lead singer tells me. I couldn't agree more, but it's sad that he obviously has no idea about the fact that there was a community a few years back. And it's not that he wasn't into music then, it's just no-one recognised what was happening back in 2006 so people didn't even know about it. There were no magazines or websites or blogs documenting the fact that a little army of bands and DJs were getting together every second weekend and playing their hearts out.

All I can hope is with Night Sky Empires, Tennyson Extended, Vampire 9000 and now Atom Band, the new scene will be a little better represented than the last.

Next up it's a band who were a part of the old scene. A band who will no doubt be a part of the new scene. With how they've re-invented themselves, sure as hell sound like a whole new band now. Us Kids Know get up on stage and start out with thier original two piece lineup. In a few songs brand-new live member Cam will join them, but even while it's just Colin and Chad they're sounding like a very different band from the one they were even a few months ago. Colin's sticking to the aucoustic guitar he was brandishing for Howl at Wolves. And again it sounds awesome. After a few songs Cam joins in. Initially he's rocking glockenspiel and noise samples off a tape deck. Later he switches over to bass. Us Kids Know where always wildly creative (to the point that many were totally freaked out by thier ADD song writing in the early days). The fact that they re-invented every song for every show meant they were consistently one of the most fun and exciting bands to see live. But now the way they've pulled this total 180, it's just inspiring. It's like they've become the poster boys for fearless creativity - something you almost never see in local music.

Next up it's Make-Overs, who don't work so much in fearless-creativity as they do in creating fear. And this as well is something you almost never see in local music. In a decade of going out to watch bands only a handful have ever truly challenged or frightened me. In 2010 no-one's going to be freaked out by metal or punk bands doing the same thing people we doing 20 years ago. At some point those genre's were doing something new, something challenging, but they've long since become about as safe and predictable as a Bon Jovi greatest hits CD.

There's a mountain of fantastic bands that don't do it, but to me pushing boundaries and freaking people out is one of the foundations of rock and roll. Sadly this is something almost nobody in this country gets this. But Make-Overs are not one of these nobodies.

Andreas and Martinique have been making music together since 2004. Over 3 main bands they've stuck to the formula of both singing, Andreas playing guitar and Martinique handling bass. With Make-Overs they've broken away from this, with Martinique now playing drums. Through the power of a really cheap gaming headset, she still sings and screams along to every song. Other than this shaking up what they're playing, the thing that's most striking about Make-Overs is how much noiser they are than the their last band, Sticky Antlers. Anyone that's seen the Antlers will understand this is no small feat. The antlers were pretty bad-ass, but Make-Overs are BRUTAL! Many people are totally freaked out. Of my friends Patrick seems to be the only guy loving the band quite as much as me. Shannon can't stop saying how awesome Andreas' scream is. Some elderly Shiva's regulars look like they're feeling as though they've wondered into hell. It's great.

After they finish their totally rad racket The Mirrors and I take to stage. Awesome times ensue. The crowd's been thinned a little by the onslaught of the Make-Overs and it's definitely not the biggest audience we've played to since I started jamming with the boys a few months back. But the guys are well on form and we have loads of fun. I spend most of the set on the floor in front of the stage. Rocking out in tracksuit pants and slippers is crazy weird, but totally fun. During "Math Rock" I run off and fetch Seekat. I perch him up on one of the wooden beams running above the stage. This song isn't about Octopi, but the visuals are, so it only seems right that our plushy blue friend joins the party. I don't fall over and my keytar doesn't break in the last song! Win!

"You've got new dance moves" Anja tells me after we finish. It must be the PJs and slippers. I'm exhausted and we quickly pack up and hit the road back to JHB. When I get home I brake my post show ritual of shower and Phonogram. Tonight it's shower and Mondo Urbano. Sunday is spent the way Sunday's should be. Movies, games, PJs all day and more comics. Good weekend.

You are invited! KRNGY Slumber Party no.1!

For more than a year (KRNGY first lady and Sticky Antler) Martinique and I have bee talking about throwing a party together. She came up with the name "The KRNGY Slumber Party". We both loved it and proceeded to get totally carried away with ideas of an all-night noise-rock mini-festival, freak art exhibition and sleep-over acoustic extravaganza.

After a few months of putting off making this epic concept a reality we've now decided to start doing the slumber party as a far smaller, but more regular series of nights.

Fast forward to now, and it's my pleasure to invite you to the first of these nights. It's going down next Saturday in Pretoria's "Shiva's Rock". So far, beyond making you show up in your PJs, we aren't planning anything to elaborate, with the emphasis of the night centered around it's solid line up.

Personally I've never heard Atom Band, but the night will feature Animal Call favourites Us Kids Know. The Mirrors and I will also be playing, marking our second PTA gig ever. But most importantly the night will be the Pretoria debut of Make-Overs, Andreas and Martinique's follow up project to the awesome Sticky Antlers. Needless to say this is gonna be a good night.

RSVP here!