Posts Tagged ‘desmond and the tutus’

South Africa’s largest music festival is in its tenth year! The annual celebration of music, youth and culture promises to be bigger than ever with some of South Africa’s finest acts from across the musical spectrum making their way to the Riversands farm for this years event. In addition, BMX riding, paintballing and several cool stalls guarantee a weekend to remember. What are you waiting for? Check the lineup and make your way to Woodstock 10.

Take a look at some of the awesome acts performing

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You know that indie dance. The one when you shake your head from side to side? Well, after Saturday night at Klein Libertas in Stellenbosch, there?s a new trend that?s going to hit the indie dance floor and it?s called The German Modern. Yes folks, it wasn?t only the album that Desmond and the Tutus were promoting, it?s their very own dance craze.

Images by Kristen Leigh Parris and Lindi Brownell

Once again, the Stellenbosch insanity prevailed. Hordes of people crammed into a venue that, in the end, burst its seams into the freezing night air. An album launch always brings out even the most reclusive, and hey, this was Desmond and the Tutus? time. After waiting two years for the moment to arrive, fans were ready to rock and roll.

Question: is kidofdoom‘s Richard Brokensha on drugs? We received isolated reports of the talented keyboardist/guitarist’s ridiculous stage antics from people we know are on drugs. And while we?ve never seen anything like it — rocking back and forth at about 100km per hour whilst shaking his head wildly — it does make you wonder if some kinda synthesis is happening backstage, too. Comments below, please.

“After waiting two years for the moment to arrive, fans were ready to rock and roll.”

Desmond and the Tutus got off to a great start with the fantastically addictive track, Pictures, a good way to get the audience in the mood. Not that this crowd needed it. Fans danced and jumped around as much as they could; bearing in mind that most people were sandwiched tightly together. Songs like Kiss You On The Cheek and Peter got everybody going, so much so, that it felt as though they had just started playing when the performance was over.

While the Stellenbosch insanity may have indeed prevailed, the real craziness came from Pretoria in the form of kidofdoom and Desmond and the Tutus.

• The Tutus, New Loud Rockets Dance-Off
• Desmond And The Tutus, SweatX: The End Is Nigh
• Video | Kidofdoom: Mario Bros Theme Tune

Freelance post by Lindi Brownell

Desmond and the Tutus: show offs. Maybe it’s the super hero names like Super Shane and Dangerous Doug, but getting wowed by the increasingly popular 4-piece Joburg outfit comes easy, especially when they team up with the New Loud Rockets for a double-whammy. Richard King hits the Assembly and the Hidden Cellar for a weekend bonanza.

Desmond & the Tutus vs New Loud Rockets

It has to be said that Friday night at the Assembly wasn’t the Tutus’ best gig. Sorry, guys. The last time (alongside SweatX) was definitely a more of a throbber. Unforeseen problems took a little away from their act; but guitarist Doug and drummer Craig kept the vibe alive while they rectified the situation. Shane charmed the crowd like a pit of cobras with his trademark “German Claw” and harmonica!

The Tutus are something of a hybrid band. As the name connotes, the Tutus are essentially an African band, and as doors open for them, we won’t be surprised to see more of the kwela-styled numbers hitting the radio stations. Going back-to-back with Kidofdoom in Joburg the night before made it easy for the punters to realise that they’re offering something different. And, after all, good music tends to stick around.

Desmond & the Tutus: Peter More Vids on our YouTube Channel! | Submit Your Own Vids!

The video: Shane explained that their video for Peter was a creative deviation from the standard, eyes-to-the-camera, lip-sync treatment found in the torrent of mainstream pop. It’s basically a typical bar scene, with all the players in place. In fact, the same setup, shoot and extras were used for Kidofdoom’s Minor Disagreements for the Levi’s Young Guns initiative. [Get a review of debut album Kidofdoom here]

Saturday: awesomeness! The New Loud Rockets opened for Desmond and the Tutus. They performed in Stellenbosch’s Hidden Cellar, ironically situated upstairs. NLR front man John Seth set the Tutus on a pedestal by praising them and calling them “the best band in South Africa by a f**ing mile!” Maybe a little bottle logic creeping in there. Or maybe not. [Comment below: are Desmond and the Tutus the best band in SA?]

Sweat poured from the crowd of Stellenbosch wife-beaters (well, they were wearing them). A dip in the Stellenbosch Gymnasium outdoor pool was rumoured. As Seth pointed out later over a beer, it is impossible to not move with the Tutus’ energy. Desmond and the Tutus finished up their set with the NLR joining them on stage for a dance-off. Everybody won.

Desmond And The Tutus, SweatX: The End Is Nigh The New Loud Rockets: Video Launch Dirty Skirts, New Loud Rockets Assemble	The DatT Take On Peter Video What Is The Levi’s Young Guns? Facebook Convention Chaos

“We won’t be surprised to see more of the kwela-styled numbers hitting the radio stations.”

Hidden Cellar, Stellenbosch
March 8th, 21h00

Generally, South Africa draws about as many parallels to an American teen flick as Ladysmith Black Mambazo does to a Taxi Violence fan. Usually, one doesn’t see kilometer-long queues outside a club, but Desmond & The Tutus, Sweat X and Sovereign Academy DJs Richard the Third and Data Takashi obviously got some steez crackin. We check out The End is Nigh at Carfax.

Like a sober 80s rocker, this downtown Jozi queue was an anomaly, a phenomenon that would by far be my standout memory of the night. I finally brushed past the bouncer with new lifelong friends and grey hairs. Once finally inside the place, which, granted, is a great party venue, we were greeted by the sounds and gyrations of Desmond and the Tutus in their skinny fit indie jeans, and the lead singer in his Mickey Mouse T-shirt – which he made himself. Does this make them a Mickey Mouse band? (Check out the killer T-shirt lead singer Shane the band made especially for the show!)

It was OK. Like when you think a leaf is going to be crunchy but you step on it an its squelchy – I was disappointed. I expected more. The upside is that with Desmonds (or Tutu? or The Tutus? – comments, please), you’ve got a couple of mismatched, image-reckless guys who love making music more than they love being musicians; totally refreshing and inspiring to see the mashup four-piece still going strong since we last saw em.

From the Tutu’s it was around the corner to another dancefloor, where DJ Richard the Third and Data Takashi played a ‘versus’ set together. This was good, and people were busting all sorts of grooves and cutting many rugs. My only concern was the amount of glo-stix that were being brandished, and the concern peaked when I saw someone with the glo-stick in their mouth and the glo stuff had come out and he had a fluorescent mouth. Something vaguely Roxette about it.

Next on the main stage was Sweat X, and boy-o-boy has p***y-mad frontman Spoek run out of steam. The once-luminous duo sure knew how to get a crowd going a few months ago, but this, their ‘last gig in Joburg for two months’, was a little less dirty and left most of us even hungrier than at their Cape Town gig a few days ago.

Much anticipated Glaswegian JD Twitch took to the main stage with an avalanche of bass, and the festival-savvy Franz Ferdinand producer, while not entirely convincing to the SA crowd, still put on a vibe of authority and kept the party alive. Now, let’s hope there’s not a queue to get out of here…

[Guest post by Moya]

“Do skinny jeans make Desmond and the Tutus a Mickey Mouse band?”