Oppikoppi turned sixteen this year and it was only my second visit. Should I feel ashamed or embarassed? Probably. Do I? Not really, but I have promised myself that I’ll make the small effort needed to join flocks of like minded South Africans again, for a dusty weekend of celebrating some of our cultural fruits.

I made my decision to go on the Friday when the festival had officially opened and drove through late that afternoon afternoon. By the time I got there it was already dark , cars were queuing , but the mood was as chilled out with a brewing excitement — the guy in front of me hopped out his car to grab some beers packed in the boot and offered me a Black Label. What a champion. .. Once inside, I realised things were in full swing and recalled how we had arrived a day early the first time I came to Oppikoppi, so I definitely felt like my arrival this time was fashionably late.

There is an underlying compulsion by many at Oppikoppi to scream “Oppi! … Koppi!” at least once between swigs of their preferred drink(s). I lost count of how many times I was greeted driving around for a spot to camp and felt a little detached from their jovial efforts, so I kicked open my Smirnoff Vodka and sipped away while snailing along in first gear. I eventually gave up to the dust, human traffic, distant music and complete darkness by parking in the next gap I came across. My car remained there all weekend getting a dust make-over. I later found out people recognised my car as the one with newspaper in the windows — I did this to keep out the sun in the morning as I had no space for a tent and slept in my car. It turned out to be rather comfortable and will definitely use this tactic in national(?) garage parking lots while travelling around South Africa.

My main goal for this weekend was to explore photography and gain a little experience in event/live photography — it was the reason I came to this festival alone. With this in my mind and the stage music booming, I grabbed my camera gear and left my car’s nondescript parking spot trying to make mental notes of the route. This didn’t help… I got lost every time I went back to my car over the weekend. Every. Time. I wasn’t alone either, a large portion of drunken ramble I heard during the three nights was made up of: “v*k, where is our camp!?”, “Sorry, is this Boom Straat? You Sure? Sh*t man, ha ha, later!”

Using my fixed focal 35mm lens on the first night, I was full of excitement over it’s potential to capture in low light. Well, it was pretty good but I couldn’t get close enough — the stage guards were very particular about letting only media registered photographers into the area in front of the stage. No amount of BS on my part helped either. Here are some images from an Australian band called Philadelphia Grand Jury who played on the main stage.

I switched over to my bigger 18-200mm lens for the rest of the weekend, which I thought might help make me look like a professional to the guards but had no real persuasive power as found out. I got much better shots overall using this lens and was happy with the results. Other music fans also were surprisingly obliging in giving up some of their precious space and think my professional ruse worked better on them. Rock on.

The rest of the weekend rolled on with interesting conversation, awesome photo opportunities and great music. I haven’t a single complaint and can only praise the fine people of our beautiful country.

Here are some spatters from my Oppikoppi 2010 collection and hope you enjoy. You can view the full set here on Flickr: Oppikoppi Festival 2010 – Sexy.Crooked.Teeth

I hope to see you all at Oppikoppi 2011!

“I’ve always had this curious fascination with classical symphony meeting pop / rock. Six Years ago, I knew I wanted to see Flat Stanley performing in front of an Orchestra”                                                              

There seems to be a lot of crossing over taking place. From blending pop-rock with the symphony of a live Orchestra, to finally making a dream come true. In 48 hours the Grand Arena, Grand West, will be transformed into a rare and experiential performance brought together by a 65 piece Orchestra. Talk about Electricity!!!

Taking a step to the other side of the Music Industry, Andy Mac has kept this vision alive for almost 8 years. Finally he was ready to put on the ‘Producers Hat’ and take that vital step. Commitment.

Despite mixed reactions, Andy Mac believed in the success of this production. He had every good reason to. “I’m thrilled. Next to speechless. Within 2 weeks we sold out to full capacity. It wasn’t easy to pull this off, but I absolutely can’t wait to see people’s reactions. The Cape Town vibe has been simply amazing and I know that we’re going to knock this one out of the park!”

With careful attention to detail, this promises to be the show of the year. The AV effects are rumoured to be breathtaking. While at any given time there will be at least 100 top class musicians on stage sharing their common passion – Music. With so many logistics to keep in mind, putting together an event of this capacity can only be a labour of love.

“I’ve always been involved in the eventing aspect of the music industry – helping others and bringing in what I know that works. I don’t see myself going into events production but rather producing worthwhile Flat Stanley Events that I can be proud of.” comments Andy.

 As the final touches are being put into place, and the technical rehearsals come to an end – Cape Town is about to brought to life with a new sound. 3 Lucky JHB couples also have the chance to be a part of the experience. The rest of the country will simply have to wait. This might be a rare show, but I doubt it will be the last.

Join FLAT STANLEY • LOUISE CARVER • JUST JINJER • WATERSHED • aKING • GANG OF INSTRUMENTALS and 65 SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA Sat 21st August 2010 at the Grand West, and stay tuned to all the latest news.

Lena Ski

For those of you who missed the passion…

According to the front man of Billy Talent, Canada makes the best beer….well after last night’s concert it’s clear that the country has much more to offer than just cold beverages.

Durban was the last leg of Billy Talent’s South African tour, and the energy that the band, and the supporting act, The Dirty Skirts, brought to the stage could have fooled anyone into thinking it was the first concert. There was no holding back, no tailing off, every minute of each band’s set was explosive.

The supporting band, Cape Town band The Dirty Skirts, took to the stage earlier than expected at around 7pm and proceeded to warm the crowd right up. Personally I’m a fan of the band, so it was pretty hard to stand still and take pictures when they played some of their catchier songs. Though looking back, and from chatting to people at the event, I’m not sure they were the best choice as the sole supporting act. The Dirty Skirts sound is very dance and radio friendly, while the fans attracted by Billy Talent tended to be into a harder sound. But to give credit to The Dirty Skirts, I think they won over alot of the non-believers during their set, the crowd was really getting into it. They also put on a very energetic show which leads into Billy Talent’s set perfectly.

When Billy Talent took over the stage the crowd really went wild. Their set was just amazing from start to finish. The lead singer had enough energy to power a small country and he used every inch of it. The whole band was very professional in their execution of their songs, and the whole set flowed flawlessly. The crowd showed their adoration by sacrificing shoes, bras and even panties to be thrown at the band, whom loved every second of it. At one point the lead singer even tried to start returning the lost shoes; who doesn’t love a band that can rock your socks off, and then have the kindness to return them. All in all it was probably the best live show I’ve ever been to, well worth braving the freezing cold weather.

Review by Samantha Dawe