Always keen for something new, I’d been looking forward to last Friday’s gig at Mercury for a while – the first of a series that will run one Saturday every month, EARKILLER #1 featured live performances from Black Lung and Shaman and DJ sets from Tannhäuser Gate, The Ants and DJ Sick Days. And all for R20.
The turnout was modest (a welcome contrast to the claustrophobic chaos of the week before) but the vibe was cool, even though things took a while to start (in typical Cape Town fashion). Sonja Myburgh, AKA DJ Sick Days, set the tone for the night with a great collection of alternative and punk classics.
Bizarrely and hilariously billed as ‘Shawn’ on the sign outside Mercury, the first band up were (in fact called) Shaman. They weren’t bad at all, just lacking something for me. Though to be fair the rap-like vocals from the guitarist came out of nowhere and were quite a surprise…I’m just not a big fan of their brand of psychadelic-tinged rock.
Black Lung on the other hand I really enjoyed, lots of frantic energy which made them exciting to watch and for one guitar and two percussionists they were surprisingly melodic.
I was really looking forward to Tannhäuser Gate, the dark electro duo consisiting of the Wild Eyes’ rhythm section, so was pretty upset when unforseen circumstances meant their live set had to become a DJ set…a really good DJ set, but still…
Up afterwards was a DJ set from The Ants, but I’m afraid I left before that.
Not the smoothest start, but ‘rough around the edges’ will probably be a fitting description for many future EARKILLER events and particularly the performers on their lineups – I’d expect nothing less from a showcase of all things new and exciting on the underground scene. Plus for those who are wary of watching ‘unknown’ acts, the R20 admission is super affordable, and worth the gamble everytime.
I’m really looking forward to the future installments.
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Black Lung | Tannhäuser Gate | Sick Day with Sonja
