Back in October last year I was mindlessly enjoying some terrible videos on MK (a hobby of mine) when a strange, new one came on. The track’s unusual, organic percussion grabbed me immediately and before the video had gotten halfway I’d already decided that I needed to buy Bittereinder’s album ‘n Ware Verhaal.

Fast forward to the present and the band have really begun making a name for themselves. As their hometown of Pretoria is pretty far away, I was really excited when I heard their Bitter Begin Toer included a few venues in Cape Town. The first was Ramfest – as I mentioned previously, it really wasn’t a great timeslot and generally didn’t feel like it was being taken too seriously as the band were putting a lot more emphasis on their second CT gig, their album launch happening that Wednesday in Stellenbosch.

Bittereinder at Ramfest 2011

Die Klein Libertas Teater is a really cool venue, I hadn’t been there before but it’s the kind of place I’d gladly go back to if it wasn’t so far away…Happily, the locals came out in their droves for a much better crowd than at Ramfest. But that was to be expected – it was Bittereinder’s night and the people who were there had come for them.

They weren’t the only performers on the roster though – first up, Tumi reprised his Ramfest performance with the backing of Isochronous and Yesterday’s Pupil. I thought his music had worked well on a hot and lazy Saturday afternoon, but in the dark club with smoke and lights, it worked even better.

The same was true for Bittereinder – the small, packed room was an infinitely better space for them and helped to amplify their energy and intensity. I looked around; the space in front of the stage seemed exclusively populated by photographers, all, like me, snapping away manically. I can’t remember the last time I’d been aware of such a concentration of photographers at a gig – I hope it bodes well for the band; they’re something special, and people feel it.

Audience participation is one of those risky things, especially for a newer band. I’m generally not a fan as I’ve seen it fail pretty often, but when it goes well it’s awesome – especially seeing the joy in the musicians’ eyes when the people in the crowd know the words and they sing along. So it was when Jaco held the mic stand over the crowd for the chorus of Ware Verhaal and the room sang his words back at him, great stuff.

They performed their album in its entirety, with the help of the album contributors from the weekend – Tumi, Richard Brokensha and Inge Beckmann – plus an additional one. The room went crazy when Jack Parow, dressed as a priest and reading his lyrics from what looked like a bible, appeared on stage for his ode to the Cape in the first-ever complete live rendition of A Tale of Three Cities. When he got to “Dis Stellenbosch op ‘n Woensdag” there are cheers all round, too cool.

An awesome gig, a night to remember and a band to watch. If Bittereinder are playing anywhere near you, go see them and if you haven’t yet heard their music, go check them out now: http://www.facebook.com/bittereinder

Same goes for Isochronous, Yesterday’s Pupil and Tumi.

Pics on Facebook over here.