Whether you’re a bohemian ska musician from Cape Town in a bit of a funk or a moody 90s grunge singer contemplating suicide, unplugged sets are a great way to have an intimate evening with all of your fans, and possibly a very intimate evening with one of them.

Captain Stu, one of our favourites here at The Daily Discharge, does occasionally do some unplugged sets.  Also, as you know from Kyle’s last post, Dance, You’re On Fire is down in Cape Town for the next week or so doing a bit of a tour.  They decided to team up and grace us with an unplugged session at an awesome little cafe down in Kalk Bay called Octopus’ Garden on Thursday 22 July. (Facebook event)

(Shameless self-promotion: Kalk Bay is also the setting of my upcoming novel, ‘Dirty Nights in Cuba’ – which is available in serial form at Things By Chase)

Normally I would just stick this on the gig guide and let you find it for yourselves, but this one deserves a special mention. Captain Stu unplugged is an awesome thing to see, and Octopus’ Garden is definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been there before.

The atmosphere is charming. The food is great. The beer is wet and cold. I’ve never seen Dance, You’re On Fire but from all the hubbub people are making about them I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you’re probably in for a treat.  In the meantime, here is a clip of Captain Stu playing an unplugged version of their song ‘The Journey’ for Channel MK’s Unplugged series.  Geniet.

[Thumbnail image graciously stolen from One Small Change photography - thanks Debs!]

This week they are releasing their long-awaited full-length album.

The Brothers Streep is the slightly troubled brain-child of Simon Van Wyk [Edit - and Dylan Hitchins, as Simon has since informed me.  My apologies] , one of the darlings of the Cape Town underground music scene for around a decade, and some of the old members of a band called Sedwick the Salesman (for anyone who remembers gigs at the Purple Turtle, and badly-organised shows at scout halls when we were fourteen).

They made headlines last year when they sang their ‘Anna Paquin’ song to Anna Paquin on the Graham Norton show (video below), which was freaking hilarious.  They also post regularly on The Brothers Streep Blog, which contains similar levels of hilarity.

Anyway, like I said they’re releasing their full length album this Saturday (19th June) at The Nassau Theatre, supported by good friends of ours Forgotten Superhero, and K, Ray and The Bird (that’s one band, not three separate dudes).

Here’s the link to the facebook event.

Dunno why I put this picture in cause it's a still from the vid so you'll see it anyway

Because I’m feeling lazy I’m not gonna write a recap of the launch party, if you missed it it’s your own damn fault and I’m not taking responsibility for your failings. If you were there you don’t need me to tell you what happened, unless you were blackout drink in which case what I said about people who weren’t there applies to you.

So without any further rambling here it is. Touch yourself, smoke a joint, pour a tumbler of Johnny Blue or whatever you normally do before watching a video. And without any further rambling (for real this time) here it is.

Pretty decent I say. And I’m not just saying that because I’m in it, it really is good, like a blowjob when you’re stoned. (The Daily Discharge does not in way endorse the use of narcotic substances. Actually we do but don’t blame us if you end up on the streets selling your body for crack)

Keep an eye out for your beloved editors and our incredible acting skills. Jason claims to be the first mask she turns around, I claim to be the mask with the most screen time, we’re probably both wrong, lying or just fucking with you.

If you don’t have internet (How are you reading this) or want to preserve your bandwidth cap (get uncapped) you can watch the video on MK89 on 23 June Between 20:00 and 20:30.

Cheers

X

Their budget also didn't extend to a photoshoot so they're still using these old pics from the 70's

They began teasing their fans over half a year ago with the promise of a video for the song ‘Carry Me Away’, coincidentally, a song the general public hadn’t actually heard when the hype started. This was to be their first music video, or for those who like using fancy words, much like the band themselves (and to be honest, me), the debut music video. They finally released a teaser for the video in January showing just enough footage to let people know that all the members of the band actually featured in the video as well as an attractive lady who emerges from a bathtub.

At this point the actual song was still a mystery to fans who had to simply assume the it wasn’t a dogshow, The band rectified this shortly before Easter with the online release of the single. Those who had been looking forward to the song released a collective sigh of relief to find that their faith in the band was justified and they could smugly point out to their friends that they’d known about it ages ago with infuriatingly superior comments like, “I called it ages ago.”

In the months that followed, their fanbook page (I intended to type facebook but fucked up, then I decided I like fanbook better so I’m keeping it this way, although with the recent “upgrade” likebook would be a more accurate description, but fuckit) kept the world updated as the production on the video was nearly completed, then completed. They then put out that it was soon to be released, set back, set back some more and so on and so forth. Stuff like this “And in recent news. We’re having some difficulties with the launch, nothing to worry about, but it might be postponed by a week, we will keep you informed!” and this “Soon, just finalising some dates and stuff, had a bit of a mix up but it’ll all be sorted asap!” till they finally let the world know that the vid was going to be released at ROAR on the 12th June. I for one waited for the exclamation of “Hah! we fooled you, we’re never letting you see this thing.” but as of yet it hasn’t come. Jason and I have of course been anxiously awaiting this day so we can see what the hell we played our own small part in creating.

See, It really is happening

So if all goes as planned you’ll be handing over R30, for A B Turbo, The Video, Yes Sir! Mr Machine and Versus the Wolf. The latter have only been around since the start of April (there was however a band called New Altum who had all same members, made the same music and mysteriously disappeared after a fairly big hype campaign at the same time as Versus the Wolf announced their presence to the world. I call shenanigans). The evening will be MC’d by comedian, writer and radio personality,  Paul Snodgrass. The band have claimed that his presence was required due to their own comedic failings. There will also be Jack Daniels promo girls with prizes and, I assume, the intention of using sex appeal to make you part with you hard earned cash for a shot of bourbon and the need to placate that idiot voice in the back of your head telling you that you stand a chance of getting action. (It’s wrong, you don’t stand a chance)

To reiterate, the details you need to be aware of are:

• When: 12 June 2010
• Where: ROAR
• Who: A B Turbo, Yes Sir! Mr Machine, Versus the Wolf and Paul Snodgrass
• Why: A B Turbo’s ‘Carry Me Away’ Video Launch
• What’s it gonna cost: R30

See you there.

On a side note, if anyone has any unwanted Doppler Effect merch lying around I can provide it with a loving and caring home. And there’s not much I’m willing to love and care for.

Come the appointed night I headed through to Mercury. I didn’t take my camera. This wasn’t going to be one of those nights where I sat around trying to get the right lighting to snap a clear picture to use here. That night I had one purpose: to go completely mental, and nothing would be allowed to hold me back.

First up were newcomers, Dustland Express. With everyone still fairly sober and them being fairly unknown it was the usual Cape Town vibe of everyone standing back watching the guys playing their hearts out without ever joining in. It’s a sad fact that in Cape Town: if you’re not known, no one will be the first to go out there and rock with you. We live in a city where everyone is far too cool to be the first to go out and jam to an unknown band and it’s fucking depressing. People really need to stop giving a fuck and show some appreciation for the music regardless of whether anyone else thinks you look like an ass.

Next up were The Rudimentals – a band with no worries about being unknown. They warmed up the crowd nicely with their infectious ska, playing a tight set as everyone has come to expect from them. My one comment is that they have become more serious over the years, more mature. While this is often regarded as a good thing

I have fond memories of the heady days when a Rudies gig meant circle pits and stage diving. It was a feeling shared and summarised by a friend in a singe phrase, “Play NoTV.” It’s a song they removed from their setlist and those who remember it don’t know why.

When they left the stage the usual band changeover bar rush occurred, but rather than taking the acquired drinks and waiting casually for the next band, everyone picked their spot to keep a decent view of the screens. It was a worthwhile exercise because the video is truly something incredible to behold.

The ‘Sherry Anne’ video took 2 years to make, was filmed on green screen and was animated by the Hogs’ guitarist Amos Keeto. A feat which explains the time taken when you consider the fact that everything in the video other than the people is computer-generated. It is truly a must watch. To make things easier for you I’ve embedded it in the page, a feat which amazes me every time I get it right. I’m completely clueless with this internet thing.

With the introductions and formalities now over the Hogs took to the stage. While some may have noticed that George was wearing trousers rather than shorts, a completely unheard of event, most did not. Because from the first note they played the crowd went mad, although mad is not quite strong enough to describe the chaos which occurred. For the entirety of the set there was at least one person borne aloft after a stage dive.

There were a few failed stage dives too, most notably the chap who chose to attire himself in his birthday suit prior to taking the stage. Unsurprisingly his jump was a failure, with him as moses and the crowd as the Red Sea; no one wants to risk grabbing a handful of sweaty nutsack. When the band finally left the stage after their encore they left behind a sea of battered but euphoric fans.  This was quite possibly the wildest gig I’ve been to since my school days.

Until the next video, which I happen to know is in the pipeline, (You heard it here on The Daily Discharge, unless I’m wrong in which case I’m gonna come back and edit this so you’ll never prove anything) or, closer to now, the next gig, I bid you a battered farewell.

Be there

Hog Hoggidy Hog recently finished production on their video for ‘Sherry Anne’, a process which has apparently taken over 2 years. I heard nothing about it till now but then what do I know, I just go to gigs to hit the mosh pit and see how many bruises I can pick up.

I have no idea what's going on here but I like it anyway.

The release party will be happening at Mercury Live on Friday (2010-05-07) evening, it will feature ‘The Rudimentals’ and new band ‘Dustland Express’. Entry will be 50 bucks and for that you’ll get Dustland Express, The Rudimentals, the video screening and finally The Hogs. With The Rudeboys and The Hogs sharing the stage a collaboration on a few songs is fairly likely and those collaborations are always somehow more entertaining than the sum of their parts, which, given how entertaining both bands are, is an impressive level of entertainment. Seriously people this is one you can’t afford to miss, if you do you’ll be hearing about it for ages to come as you sit stewing in your self loathing. This is not FOMO, it’s COMO (a term I just made up by bastardising Fear of Missing Out to create Certainty of Missing Out.

Take a look at the preview on Youtube to see what they’ve come up with

Looks pretty cool doesn’t it?

If you aren’t some form of shut in hermit I’ll see you there. If you are you can see the video on hoghoggidyhog.com at midnight on the night. Either way, make sure you check it out.

For other details there’s always the Facebook Event which has a few stills from the production to keep your appetite whetted for the rest of the week.