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http://www.motherfudd.com/

Motherfudd is one of the most awesome Gatherings you can ever attend, for the simple reason that music is literally the point. You could say that getting smashed might be the point too, but honestly that’s just a plus side. Motherfudd caters for anyone who has a feel for Metal and who likes watching live bands, drinking and moshing until you can’t feel anything; other than your head attacking the floor. Those that are not so eccentric can always just plunk themselves under a tree and enjoy it from there.

To my bitter disappointment I heard that there won’t be a Motherfudd next year. The Festival was a huge success, but I heard that financially it went down the pooper. So I decided to share my experience with those that might not get the chance to do it themselves.

With bands playing practically all day there was no lack of entertainment, so whatever you decided to do there was a constant sound of music in the air; whether it was a live band or just someone’s car blaring. The atmosphere made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Whenever I heard something interesting, I would just tilt my head to distinguish where the sound came from and what it was I was listening to. There was a pool, a bar and loads of stalls where you could buy practically anything, and let’s not forget the Jägermeister truck. Keeping in mind that the venue it was kept at was quite great too. It was held at Malonjeni Guest Farm.

Some people might think twice before even considering going to it. I was quite the skeptic myself. Can you imagine yourself being between the tent of a guy that eats cats for a living and a woman that looks more like IT than that neighbor you had as a child, who wore so much eye shadow she was able to see all the way to Japan. You can’t be too careful going to festivals either way but I went, and it wasn’t all that bad. (I am starting to get excited all over again just thinking about it – good thing one can’t stutter when typing).

So there we were, packed and ready to go. Needless to say, I was starting to get really excited. I felt like an earthworm under distress. It was my first Motherfudd and even though I didn’t know what to expect, I knew  it was going to be awesome. They organized the Guinness World Records to be there so that we can put up the record for most people head banging simultaneously. Now even though we weren’t the most people to ever head bang together, we were the first to think of it (or rather the organizers of Motherfudd were). I always knew that deep down somewhere inside me, I had a little something that would allow me to end up in that book. The song we head banged to was a collaboration, they used some of the bands’ guys and covered “Walk”  from Pantera. Awesome!

On Saturday a whole bunch of bikers joined the festivities and, might I add, that was the most amazing day ever. I met a few of them and a few of the band members of Sacrifist who played that night. Now if you know Sacrifist, you would most probably know that most of them are part of the Hell Razors (the bikers club). Don’t let looks deceive you, they are really awesome people. I was protected from all harm that could potentially strike and I had the time of my life; what more could one need? I really felt like I should slap myself silly for Judging before I knew. The people were weird but certainly not in the way you might expect. If someone walked passed you twice, they would introduce themselves and become “your new best friend”. I even got stung with an invisible dart (shot to the dude with the green monster watch). I was soon to realise that no one there had any hang-ups with anyone and if so, the security would have sorted that problem out.

So I have learned that people that are even weirder than myself, judge even less and sometimes you need to meet the person behind the “mask”. I don’t have the words to describe the atmosphere; it was really an epic experience. Honestly I can’t really remember most of the bands that played and I hardly understood what they were singing, but that’s in no way because of them; it’s me. The sound was awesome, the stage setup was great and the performances were out of this world. I can really say that South Africa’s music talent is becoming quite something.

Motherfudd was really the high point in my 2010 and it surely is sad that there won’t be another one. Motherfudd became the place most people called “home”, it was a tradition and a brotherhood a lot of people will miss and I know I am surely going to remember it.

For your interest and imagination, here is the list of the bands that played and the times.

FRIDAY 12TH MARCH 2010
18:15 – 18:45 EMPERIUM
19:00 – 19:30 SATHERN
19:45 – 20:15 RHUTZ
20:30 – 21:00 RIDDARE av KODEN
21:15 – 21:45 EREBUS
22:00 – 22:45 A.O.A.
23:00 – 23:45 STIGMATA DAWN

SATURDAY 13TH MARCH 2010
10:15 – 10:45 NIGHTHAWK
11:00 – 11:30 INSTRAMETAL
11:45 – 12:15 RED HELEN
12:30 – 13:00 LOATHE
13:15 – 13:45 FRAGMENTED CHILDREN
14:00 – 14:30 GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
14:45 – 15:15 GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
15:30 – 16:00 HAGGIS & BONG
16:15 – 16:45 ALL FORLORN
17:00 – 17:30 JUGGERNAUGHT
17:45 – 18:30 CHROMIUM
18:45 – 19:30 SACRIFIST
19:45 – 20:45 AGRO
21:00 – 21:45 REVEREND HENRY KANE
22:00 – 22:45 BILE OF MAN
23:00 – 23:45 MAZARU

Lets just hope that by some stroke of luck, Motherfudd will continue one day.

Until then – we will be sobbing, thinking of  our sentiMental memories.

Gather Round Hippies, Gather Round

In previous years Rocking the Daisies has had no competition. It’s the first festival of the summer. It was the only large festival till February-March. It provided, for many, the only opportunity to commit dirty deeds in a tent. Dirty deeds in tents are one of my many vices so I packed my tent and condoms and headed up. While I enjoyed it, and the dirty deeds, I only really went because it was the only festival I could attend. I was never really impressed with the lineup of bands who I could see most weekends at the Purple Turtle or Zula for the princely rate of  R30 for 3-4 bands. In extreme cases I might be called upon to part with R40 to see them at Assembly. Holy Shit! That’s expe… oh ya, pretty fucking cheap. The crowning achievement of the lineup  was Goldfish, who’s music doesn’t appeal to me anyway.

Everyone is sitting. Not good.

Now however Synergy Live has entered the scene offering a lineup I actually want to see, I could still see most of the bands on Friday night  but at least it’s bands that I would go to see. Just try dragging me to a jazz show and see what happens, I assure you, you’ll come off second best. Adding another nail in the coffin is Ramfest’s shift to providing a lineup and atmosphere more inviting to those who have more mainstream taste in music (COU*jocks*GH) while simultaneously increasing the alternative appeal. The organisers of Ramfest claim that they intend for Ramfest to become the best festival in SA and they’re doing pretty well. This year’s lineup contained bands I didn’t expect to see ever; Pendulum are massive international hits, Boo! broke up years ago. The rest of the lineup included a huge number of bands from across the country. Their only real competition are the large festivals up North. It is by far the best festival in Cape Town.

Notice the raised arms, these people are having the time of their lives.

A look at pricing also shows a huge discrepancy, with Daisies  weighing in just below R400 and Synergy and Ramfest staying neatly below R300. Why, you ask, does it cost so much more to throw a festival with lineup composed mostly of Cape Town bands than one with a huge number of bands coming down from across the country, an extra stage and 3 bands from foreign shores? The only possible explanation, besides a love of massive profits, is the much bragged about carbon neutral nature of the event. I don’t give a damn. I’d rather save R100 and have the rest of my money go to bringing in Pendulum to rock my face off. It’s been a cold and shitty summer this year anyway, I could do with a little global warming.

While many will simply buy their tickets and head on up I doubt I’l bother. The two things that could draw my presence would be a massive improvement to the lineup or abject boredom from a winter spent indoors, but to be honest if I find myself suffering festival withdrawals I’ll just go to a trance party. At least that way I can take my own drinks to the dancefloor.

Ramfest however is where things get pure. There will be no Afro ethnic chill music or electro jazz and no inflated ticket price to pay off the environmental impact. Instead there’ll be two music stages separating the metal acts on the alternative stage from the more mainstream acts on the main stage, a third stage will provide electro all night and late into the morning with nightly afterparties meaning that there’s no reason to hit the bed at 4. The music ranges from ska, to punk to metal to electro to finally drum and bass, with international act Pendulum headlining. Thanks to the spread on offer there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy at any time, I myself have taken a look through the lineup to try figure out where I’ll want to be and when (if I don’t find myself in a tent, carnally occupied at the time) and found myself struggling to prioritise.

The alternative stage lineup looks like a who’s who of Cape Town’s metal acts with a few bands from upcountry retracing the steps their forefathers took many years ago during the great trek to return to the Cape of Good Dope. Bands to watch for are Enmity with their unique image and sound, AB turbo, who coincidentally will be releasing their first music video some time soon,  and… my pitiful knowledge of the SA metal scene has now been exhausted. Use the comments section if you have any other recommendations.

The main stage lineup on the other hand look like a who’s who of “HolyShitThey’rePlaying?” with bands like Lark pulling themselves back together fo the occasion, Boo! playing again after 6 years of seperation, Red Five Point Star coming down from Slovenia, and finally Pendulum, the band who come to mind immediately after The Prodigy whenever Drum and bass is mentioned, coming down from the UK. This is before I bother mentioning the current Cape Town favourites such as The Dirty Skirts, Fokofpolisiekar, Half Price and Taxi Violence.

In terms of electro I once again find myself out of my depth but seeing as our electro contributor seems to be perpetually absent I’ll just go ahead and recommend Bruce Willis, Haezer, Mix n Blend and Killer Robot based on second hand information. I know enough though, to be around for the homegrown section featuring Niskerone, Counterstrike, Hyphen and SFR.

Other than the music things to look forward to include flushing toilets in buildings and hot showers, a river and a pool to cool off in. Robot and ninja themed afterparties will be held at the electro stage on Friday and Saturday night respectively with a beach party during Saturday day. For those who prefer to feed themselves instead of tucking into the food stalls there will be braai’s so you can have cook your own chops and wors. Bear in mind that only plastic bottles will be allowed into the stage area’s so bring something to decant your beer into or pick a liquor and mix to bring along.

If you haven’t organised your ticket get down to a computicket and grab one. If you have yours already look out for keep  lookout for myself and Nick Krige, sadly Jason and Solly couldn’t make it and Norman is too much of a fag. And yes,  we do look like our pictures. The official Ramfest website is hell to navigate so rather check the facebook event for more info

All images stolen without permission, please don”t sue me.

They are just a few of the hundreds of images he took over the course of the weekend.  When he could remember which way to hold his camera. Most of these are shown as-shot, with little or no alteration.

This will (hopefully) be part one of a two-part series of images taken by extremely talented friends of mine.  We hope you enjoy them.

If you’d like to see more of Cameron’s art, you can find him at http://cameronrichards.com, or you can visit his page on facebook.

The Hogs Live at Synergy

Our crew was there to see Hogs, if we missed anything else. And despite any incapacitation or hallucinations, we trooped down to the stage to jam to our heroes.  Check out Kyle’s post to get a feel for what the pit was like.

If you weren't there, you can't understand

Being in that crowd, when you know the words and your friends are around you, is what everyone there came for. And we got it for three days solid.

The Rudimentals put on a jamming set.  Which I sadly missed, because it was 40 degrees Celsius and we were all passed out under the gazebo farm. Fortunately one of us was there to capture it.

Fokofpolisiekar were one of the most exciting bands of the weekend. Unfortunately they swapped their set with the band before them, and we got there late.  But at least we saw most of it. Francois seemed to put just about everything into that performance, and the effect on the crowd was awesome to see.

It might seem like we’re romanticising it, but we’re not. It was every bit as cool as it looks and if you missed it, you missed out.

And finally, the shot which I feel pretty much sums it up. Two crazy characters, as happy as you can imagine, streaked with sweat and dirt, popping up in front of the camera just before the shot was taken.  This is exactly how it came out, and if you want to know in an image how Synergy Live 2009 was, here it is.

I won’t bother boring you with a history lesson but will point out that the people responsible for this include people from the Prizm Rezonance crew which gives an indication of their ability to throw a party.

The last Synergy party

If you’re wondering what to expect a quick look at the lineup will show you something similar to Rocking the Daisies, but with less Afro-Jazz and more rocking. The electro lineup also shows an improvement over daisies by featuring DJ’s you may actually have heard of as well as a few proper psytrance DJ’s for a good stomp. If that’s your thing. It’s mine.

Can you name everyone in this? They're all gonna be there

There will also be sundry random attractions which, much like the history, I can’t be bothered researching or writing about. They are not rock and therefore I don’t care.

The venue is the Boschendal wine estate which I believe is the same place that hosted the 2008/2009 new years Prizm Rezonance. For those unfamiliar with the venue, it’s easy to find if you follow the directions and far shadier than most festival venues. That’s shady as in away from the sun, not dodgy. Given that my weather forecast is showing 26:28:26 for Fri:Sat:Sun, this is a distinct advantage.

But you should still bring sunscreen of some sort. On that note, if you plan on cooling off in the dam you should also bring a decent pair of sandals, it’s a fairly long walk from my recollection, through some rough terrain, to the dam and no one wants to put proper shoes on after taking a swim. There may be a river though. It was dry the last time I was there.

The main stage area

If you haven’t bought your tickets yet (you idiot) I would suggest that you head down to one of the outlets to buy one as they’re R340 at outlets and R370 on the web. If you choose to buy at the door they’re R380. I may have just got you 3 extra beers there. there are also options for tickets for arrival on Saturday or even Sunday but if you’re gonna miss the first day you probably don’t have what it takes to rock away the weekend anyway. For those coming the outlets are.

Sport ‘n Surf	Long Street
Sport ‘n Surf	Diep River
The Surf Centre	Canal Walk
Rust	Claremont
Project UK	Tygervalley
Skint	Noordhoek
Boogaloos	Somerset West
Gypsy	Stellenbosch
Gypsy	Hout Bay
Gypsy	Durbanville

I assume that my readers are at least moderately intelligent and so I assume that you will be there (If you are to stupid to understand that last sentence I basically said that if you don’t come you’re an idiot). I hope to punch you in the face in a non malicious fashion in the moshpit. The Hogs moshpit to be specific. Look for a massive and messy campsite and you’ve probably found us¹. We camp in numbers. And to be honest, rather disreputable squalor.

See you there.

1. Us refers to myself and several other Discharge contributors, Ya we’re all gonna be there. With sundry friends and enemies.