Avicii's Cape Town Performance!

31 March 2012

Our first proper day in Cape Town dawned, and we spent most of the daylight hours in Canal Walk. Ordinarily I think this should have been a dream come true for a shopaholic such as myself. That being said, I was not allowed to dwell on those shops I would usually frequent and was instead dragged by my two male counterparts into every electronics and camping store we passed. After nodding politely about the usefulness of some or other gadget for the fiftieth time, I made my excuses and headed on a solitary expedition of the vast mall to find a wedding gift for my brother. Finally settling on a silvercandlestick pair and vase, I made my way back to the boys. Surprise, surprise, I found them waiting their turn in a long que extending from a race track simulator. Once Simon had had his chance to take on the racetrack Luke rewarded me for my monumental patience by introducing me to Kauai – a fast food restaurant that is healthy! Wraps, gourmet sandwiches, salads…I was in heaven. Naturally Simon and Luke decided that their lunch should come from McDonalds, seeing as we have no McDonalds in Grahamstown *rolls eyes*. 

Our shopping mission accomplished, Luke and I parted ways with Simon at his house for the night. Our evening plans consisted of ThunderCity where Avicii was holding a show. Meeting up with an old school friend at 17.00PM, Carmen and her friend, we made our way into the Golden Circle (R450 a ticket) and claimed a space right at the front of the stage. 

As the night went on this prime spot grew increasingly difficult to keep, and on more than one occasion I found myself thinking extremely rude thoughts towards the people constantly trying to take my space. I have to admit that my appreciation for electronic music doesn’t run far, but when Goldfish took the stage all misgivings on my part were put aside. Their stage performance was unbelievable, and for an hour I forgot that my legs were aching from standing for five hours, that I was at the mercy of a crowd of sweaty bodies, and that I dared not move from my hard won place to grab a drink for fear I might never get it back. 

When their portion of the night was ended to make way for DJ Fresh, all my energy left me. I cannot express how much I detest DJ Fresh, and when he went on for longer than his hour slot due to Avicii being late (he had played in Joburg that afternoon) a rage began brewing within me. At long last, Avicii came on stage nearing 01.00AM and the excitement for him was such that there was a huge surge in the crowd as the masses made a new bid to be at the stage front. The press of people was so intense that Carmen was crushed against the fence and we were forced to give up our spaces after his first few songs for fear of being trampled. 

Besides that, Avicii lived up to expectations and created an incredible vibe that inspired the feet and filled the heart, and although we were no longer at the front we realised that being in Golden Circle meant you could move into the emptier spaces at the back and still be able to see the young DJ and appreciate his music. We were even close enough to notice that the very blonde teenager behind the turntables was also very sunburnt. Clearly the South African sun had proven too fierce for his fair Swedish skin. Ending the night at the Road Lodge my mum had thoughtfully booked for us not 5 minutes’ drive from Thunder City, we collapsed into bed with legs that were numb, necks that were aching, and a smile on each of our faces.

Beginnings, Burgers and Bad Luck.

Dear readers (i.e. Jordan).

As short as this ten day September holiday has been, my final day at home has presented me with the perfect weather for blogging – rain, iron grey clouds and a nippy chill to the air. Gazing at this typical spring weather (typical for the Midlands that is) from my nest of blankets, I cast my mind back to early April of this year when autumn was just beginning to set it’s chilly claws into the Cape. That holiday proved to be the most eventful two weeks of my life thus far, as Luke and I were given the opportunity to travel from Cape Town to Grahamstown along the Garden Route with his family.

30 March 2012

Luke and I began the holiday with driving straight down to Cape Town in convoy with Simon, a good friend in possession of an afro of sheep-like proportions who had kindly agreed to open his family’s home to us during our stay in his hometown. We made it to Storm’s River Bridge in good time, having left Grahamstown at 10.00AM, and took in the daunting depths beneath the bridge whilst we munched on Steers burgers for lunch. At this point we were optimistic enough to believe we could reach Simon’s house by 17.00PM that evening. To be sure, Luke and I could have made it in that time – if we weren’t dogged by the string of bad luck that attached itself to Simon from that moment onward.

Our first setback occurred when we reached the Tsitsikama Toll Plaza and Simon realised he had forgotten to draw cash at Storm’s River Bridge (a good half hour’s drive back) to pay entry. Now, this could have easily been rectified if Luke and I had waited on the other side of the Toll to pay Simon’s way for him. However, we had continued driving along blithely unaware that Simon had been turned back and so he had to take an hour to re-travel the route and get his cash. By the time he called to explain the situation, we were about half an hour further up the road and ended up stopping off at a little petrol station to wait it out.

Finally all together again, we made our way towards Knysna thinking that our troubles were at an end. Alas, it was not so. Just as we were about to leave Knysna’s sinuous roads, Simon was pulled over by a traffic officer. The reason? Simon’s elderly Toyota Corolla (for which many people have offered Simon money – something about it being easy to get spare parts for and “soup up”) did not have a front number plate. Unfortunately the poor car had met with a minor accident the previous week, and so its number plate was sitting on Simon’s backseat waiting to be reattached once he got home to Cape Town. One R500 fine later, and we were off again.

Surely we were entitled to a respite from any further setbacks on our journey now? Murphy’s law was however fully functioning on that day and so when we reached a Stop-and-Go Luke and I were counting our lucky stars when we were allowed to go through, and then cursing Simon’s luck when we realised he had been forced to stop. Thus, even though we had not been stopped along with Simon, we had to stop on the other side of it and wait for him anyway!

By the time we were reunited once more, dark had fallen and it had begun to rain in sympathy with our dejected moods. A pick-me-up was much needed, and so we stopped off at a KFC to pick up some Sprinkle Pops and commiserate in company before attempting the road again. We finally happened upon Cape Town at about 22.00PM, and my word was it breath-taking to round the curve of a hill and gaze upon the sparkling city lights bordered by the dark expanse of sea. Although it was five hours later than expected, we had finally arrived at Simon’s home: a well-situated house nestling just beneath TableMountain and two buildings up from a night club, and Luke’s parallel parking skills were tested to the limits on the almost vertically inclined road. An exhausted greeting of Simon’s parents was extended and they quickly made us feel completely at home – although perhaps at the expense of Simon as we were given his room and he was made to sleep on the couch (sorry Simon).