Sonar Cape Town 2014

15 & 16 December 2014

While Joburg got ‘A taste of Sonar’, Cape Town were treated to a fully fledged Sonar fest, with two days of great entertainment courtesy of local and international electronic artists on the 15th and 16h of December.

The frankly rather ugly Good Hope Centre was transformed into something pretty classy for the event, and the dauntingly large space well used to include (on the second day) the laidback Sonar D+ room where interesting panel discussions and film screenings took place, the moody Pioneer DJ stage as well as the main stage in the colossal main hall. With great sound and lighting as well as loads of different vantage points (up on the pro deck, seated on the surprisingly comfy stands or front-row on the dancefloor) the main stage was the place to be for all the big live acts.

When I arrived on Monday evening, Christian Tiger School were keeping things pretty chilled as the crowd slowly started to swell.

The dancing really started with the first live act of the night though, Fantasma. As a fan of Spoek Mathambo this new project of his left me a little disappointed – they just felt a bit disjointed and didn’t quite work for me. There’s definitely no question of each member being super talented…I think maybe they just need some more time to gel a bit better.

It was pretty clear, glancing around the crowd, that the Pet Shop Boys were the big drawing card for the night. They attracted a wide range of supporters across the whole demographic spectrum, and the trend I seemed to notice was the whiter the hair, the harder they partied.

The band themselves definitely lived up to the hype – the 80s duo and their two amazing dancers put on a mesmerizing show. Each song brought with it new visuals, elaborate costume changes and large stage props, seamlessly moved off and on by the swift stage crew. As for the music, Neil Tennant’s distinctive vocals sounded as good as ever and the setlist included a great mix of current material – including Fugitive, Thursday (featuring Example’s disembodied head on the big screen) and Love etc. (performed from two giant beds) – and classic hits – It’s a sin, West End Girls, Suburbia, Always on my mind and Go west.

As a fan both of their mashups from back in the day and their alt. rock band Soulwax, I was really looking forward to 2manydjs. Even so, I’d actually expected a lot of people to have cleared off after the Pet Shop Boys, but happily I was wrong – the bouncy Belgians had a pretty full crowd to play to, which was fitting as they were really, really good. With their great set and classy European chic that included suave suits and a glass of bubbly, they closed Sonar day 1 off in style.

Day 2’s proceedings kicked off with a string of informative and engaging panel discussions and film screenings in the Sonar D+ room. I checked out a few of them before heading home and returning in the evening in time for PHFat, who put on a really good show together with special guests Mr. Sakitumi & The Grrrl and JungFreud.

Sibot and Toyota were up next…

Before the super energetic Bloody Beetroots exploded onto the stage and put on an amazingly entertaining, energetic and loud set. I really enjoyed watching them.