Rocking The Daisies 2011

My word this is actually quite a tricky review to write. I have so many conflicting thoughts and emotions regarding this festival. It’s a delicate balance between the journalist critic and the party man, the objective versus the subjective, pessimist, optimist, etc. There is one word however, that accurately describes Rocking the Daisies and encapsulates all the mixed opinions I have about it: overwhelming. Because of course, being overwhelmed can be both a good and a bad thing.

Okay, enough crypticism, allow me to explain. The main factor contributing to my dilemma is the size of this festival. In the 5 or 6 years since it started it has steadily grown into a monstrous beast, and again those words have both negative and positive connotations. Evidently the theme of this article could keep rearing around regularly, so I better just stick to one side of the argument for a little while though.

In all fairness, there is of course nothing wrong with the organizers trying to make this one of the biggest outdoor fests in the country, and they are not far off. I haven’t ventured far enough to experience the Oppies or the Splashies, so I can’t compare it to those, but it certainly takes the cake for the Western Cape. What do I mean by big? Well, quite frankly I mean it in every sense of the word. Population? Check. Apparently 12 000 were in attendance, though it certainly felt like more. Not surprising, as this is the first major fest of the summer season (no, I’m not counting the trance parties) and indeed they have the space for it. At least four massive fields of tents were taken up, with room to spare. Activity? No shortage of that. Four different stages catering to a variety of tastes (they’re missing a metal tent, but there are other fests for that market), not to mention gaming tents, swimming in the lake, a food court as good as any shopping mall, and if you do feel like shopping there is an abundance of clothing stalls.

Props to the team who put this all together. What an amazing feat! I am aware that in the past they have visited some of the mammoth fests in Europe such as Roskilde and Pukkelpop for inspiration and guidance, and it shows in their attention to detail. From the layout to the information provided via booklets and the web, and let’s not forget all their greening initiatives, they are definitely ahead of the game when it comes to event management (which I’ll have you know I studied for 3 years, so I know!) Ultimately I had a really fun weekend with plenty of fond memories to take away.

Now for the other side of the coin. I took my video camera along with the intention of capturing much of the amazing scenery, artistry and revelry. I managed to get a little bit here and there, and by the time this is available online for your reading pleasure, I should have put a hopefully cool enough little video snippet together to accompany it. I know I could have done more though, and it was nagging the back of my head the whole weekend, but carrying a camera around is such a nuisance when all you wanna to is jump in the lake or jump around in front of the stage with a beer in hand. Sure, maybe I got a bit lazy, but I was trying to enjoy myself dammit, so by Saturday night I resided myself to putting more effort into my written review. Hence the length.

Right, so, written review. You’re probably looking for a breakdown of their incredible lineup, right? Well I can tell you, and I will (don’t worry, it’s coming) that there were some impressive performances by some very talented acts. Unfortunately if you are expecting multiple detailed critiques on a cross section of the acts, I am going to disappoint you. Why? Well you see, for uninitiated of you who haven’t gone to RTD, a) it takes a good 10-15 minutes to walk what feels like a kilometer from your tent to where the action is, and b) once you are there, between going from stage to stage to bar to toilets to lake to showers to food stalls to finding your friends to back to your tent and then back again, there is only so much you can squeeze into a day, not to mention weighing up your personal intentions and preferences against those of your companions (no-one wants to wander around alone) and let’s not forget avoiding the extreme heat right in front of the stage, be it from the sun or the other bodies around you. Yes, summer returned in full force this weekend. As much as I enjoyed myself, I was exhausted by the end of it all. Maybe as I approach the end of my twenties I’m getting too old to make the most of everything that’s on offer here. Maybe I’m over-thinking things, but I just know I feel better about covering smaller festivals where I’m able to operate at my leisure and still provide a decent overview of what we are essentially there for: the music. Alas, my head was in far too many different places this weekend to concentrate on doing so, but hopefully what I do have to tell you still gives you an idea of the entertainment you can experience at Rocking The Daisies.

Thus, I move on to the next part of this essay and let you know what actually went down at Cloof Wine Estate, well for me and my peeps anyway. Hope I haven’t lost you already.

Cool, so I’m lucky enough to arrive early enough on the Friday to meet up with friends to help set up our proposed “campsite of awesomeness.” Big shout out to all those involved in that. ‘Twas a special thing and quite an accomplishment given how quickly the camping area fills up. Much time was given toward the setting up of tents, made increasingly difficult by an annoying wind, but we pushed through, my buddy and I eager to prove our manliness to the ladies. Immediately following is the much- needed first drink of the day. Aaaah, the sweetness on my lips! Next it’s time to explore a bit. Crikey, there’s even more stuff than last year! Since when are there are all these stalls on the other side of the RED BULL STUDIO electro tent? Shit, there’s a fucking boxing ring in the middle of it all! Ooh, THE ARROWS are kicking things off on the main stage. It’s quite a brutal slot as people are still arriving, but they give an energetic fun-filled performance and having been wanting to see them live for some time, I am quite satisfied. A little more navigating of the surrounds and another drink and a snack and then it’s back to the campsite to welcome more arrivals and put the finishing touches on the site. Yay, everyone’s sorted. Back to stage only to realise that the slot entitled RTD ALLSTARS was actually a huge collaboration of some of the biggest muso names is SA. Having arrived just in time for the last couple of songs, I kicked myself for being quite ignorant on that one.

I try to catch some of GAZELLE, whom I had described, quite fairly I think, to someone earlier as being the SA version of Jamaroquai, but my buddy and I are a bit distracted while picking up some chicks at the chick stall. No, I kid, I kid. Actually it was at the one of the pool tables in the newly erected MAN ZONE (did that sound dirty?). After that is JACK PAROW. His set is still good fun, but in the 2 years since he burst on to the scene it has hardly changed at all. I should actually have gone to see NAPALMA at the NU WORLD BEAT tent instead. Fuck, why did I forget about that?! Kick myself again! See what I mean? You have to remain vigilant in order to enhance your festival experience. It sucks! My memory gets a little blurry gap here for a while, probably due to alcohol. I seem to recall more wandering, saying hi to familiars, eating one of the epic shwarmas they have on sale there and eventually ending up back at the tent but not yet ready to hit the sack. My buddy fades on me so I make new friends out of my tent neighbours and head off to see HAEZER in the electro tent. I’m not a huge fan of the doof doof stuff, but this DJ happens to be a long lost friend from back in varsity days, and since now he is some kinda superstar on the scene, I need to check out a full set of his. He makes quite an entrance and the beats sure are banging. Now I’m done for the night, but the lovely new lady friend I am accompanying keeps bringing me into drunken conversations with random strangers. Good times all the same, and the extra beers she suckers out of them are always a helpful contribution to an otherwise difficult sleeping environment. Shot, Ash. You legend!

After all that, you’d think I’d be sleeping in a bit on Saturday morn, but when the sun hits the tent, it doesn’t take too long to force you out. The situation is helped however by a delicious skottel bacon and egg breakfast, cooked for the most part by me might I add. Normally I avoid cooking at fests, as it seems like too much work and takes up valuable rocking out time, but there was a birthday celebration in this case and so exceptions must be made and by God was it not exactly what the doctor ordered. Mmmmmmm,mmmmmmm! I keep the work ethic going a little while longer by attending an organizers press conference and trolling for some cinematic wideshots which you will see in my vid, but soon I realise how stinky sticky I am feeling by this stage, and the weather is telling me it is time for a dip. Walk, walk, walk, change clothes, gather follow swimmers, walk, walk, walk. (Sigh)

The water is much nicer than I remember it last year, and I definitely feel better afterward. Now time for more music. Another band I have been hearing good things about but not yet seen, PEACHY KEEN. They have some pretty cool rockabilly vibes going and I will surely make a point of seeing them again. Next is ISCREAM & CHOCOLATE STIX, who I am quite fond of, but have seen better from. I don’t think the midday timeslot really suited them, but they still managed to get a decent reaction from the crowd dancing in the blistering sun. JEREMY LOOPS came after. I wasn’t familiar with his stuff, but his laid back one-man folk styles were most appropriate for my sought-after chillaxing in the shade. Indeed fatigue is setting in. Replenishing is needed. However, before that I am enticed into another swim, but of course not before another fucking mission all the way to the tent and back. (Sigh again)

I catch a small glimpse of YOAVs set, which sounded excellent and I’m told was. Feel bad again for still not having experienced this talented musician I have heard many good things about. One of the visiting international acts BELLARUCHE follows. They are pretty interesting but not enough to keep me captivated. Yet again, I should have been elsewhere, such as perving over the babes from BLUSH N BASS spinning the decks or marveling at the hypnotist and magician in the LEMONTREE THEATRE. Anyways, it is time to recharge. I manage a brief, light doze in the tent but it is the showers calling me the most. Here I find a major improvement on last year. The queue is a little long but there are more units this year and so it moves quite quickly. Inside, it is clean and the water pressure and temperature is heavenly. Kudos to those responsible there.

I now make a point of grabbing my camera, because tonight holds the main 3 acts I am here to see, CIVIL TWIGHLIGHT, BAND OF SKULLS and LARK. The first I was lucky enough to see at their show at Assembly end of last year, and while their sound is a bit more commercial than what I usually enjoy, I was blown away by their raw talent and stage prowess. This time was even more impressive. Amongst ongoing technical sound problem, they just carried on like it ain’t no thang and kept up the momentum of each song and held the crowd engaged. When the singer was finally able to fire up his keyboard again, the moment warranted a well deserved cheer as it appeared almost seamlessly part of the show. Band of Skulls was the headlining international act, and having acquired their album last year, I was very excited to see them. Definitely worth going for, I liked many of their songs more live than I do on the CD. One might wonder why LARK was scheduled after them, but let me tell you it is because Lark should be an international act. Every time they hit the stage they drop it hard. Despite having seen them many times before I think they were still my top band for the weekend.

After my extended gallivanting the night before, by the time they were done I was well and truly finished, I’d been struggling since the Skulls actually, but was determined to push through. After one last beer and chat by the tent, I had a much better sleep than the night before. So much so that there was no chance of me getting up early enough to go watch the rugby match on the big screen the next morning. I did make it for the dismal last 2 minutes though, noting how the main stage area was fuller than it had been all weekend. From the lake I watched epic solid stream of somber faces vacating.

Sundays are always fit for the laidback vibes, and between floating around on a blow up boaty on the water, sitting in the shade with a boozy slushee in my hand, and catching some laughs from comedians at the Lemontree, I think I actually enjoyed Sunday the most. This was helped by more awesome bands on stage. Usually the Sunday lineup at fests are a little bland, but this day the quality was top notch. The singer from HOT WATER wowed the crowd by climbing the scaffolding during their set and JON SAVAGE brought us some interesting nomadic versions of some of his songs. It was really nice to see JUST JINJER again, as I haven’t seen them since I was in high school. Despite them being one of the patriarchic bands of SA rock, their stage presence and showmanship doesn’t particularly rival any others anymore, but their songs are still classics and very soothing. I felt really sorry for the GREAME WATKINS PROJECT, who ended up being last and deserved a better crowd than the thinning one they ended up playing to, but they did well with what they got.

As I said, all in all it was a great weekend, and there is something there to be enjoyed by everyone, but I think it really is important to switch your mind off for a while in order to make the festival experience your own. For the amount of money that you spend on it, you might feel pressured into getting as much out of it as possible. My advice is, take what you can, leave the rest for everyone else, there is plenty to go around. Thank you Rocking The Daisies for doing so much for the music and art lovers of Cape Town and other visitors. Overwhelming as you may be, I think I may finally have a handle on you and hopefully you will feel less intimidating in future.

Ian Belknap