It must’ve been around 4o°C on Sunday afternoon, but that couldn’t keep the masses from Kirstenbosch where Foto na Dans played their last ever gig. It’s always sad when a really good band calls it a day, but as final shows go, I don’t think it could’ve been lovelier.
When last I saw Foto na Dans, I was a bit disappointed by their performance – they’ve consistantly been a great live band but something was just off that last time…not too long after that came the announcement that after impending break-up; I was shocked and quite sad, but I suppose considering how I felt about that last gig and their last album, it’s not entirely out of the blue.
Sunday’s performance however was probably the best I’ve seen from them, which is saying something. Their setlist was great, mostly the old stuff which I know I was not alone in appreciating. It’s also been a personal mission of mine to catch Le-Roi Nel’s epic jump in Soldaatvolk (and part of the reason I was disappointed with that last gig was that he didn’t jump) so the amount of energy he gave it on Sunday (and the amount of jumps he did) was really awesome.
Unfortunately their set felt quite short, and the announcement that they only had 2 more songs came way too soon. It was great though, a fantastic performance and an obviously emotional one too. The band will be missed, but I’m sure it’s not the last we’ll see of its members.
Up next were Flash Republic, now with 2 new members (including Shadowclub drummer Isaac Klawansky) but with only 4/5 on stage as their guitarist was recovering from a skydiving accident (I think that announcement threw everyone, but we were assured that he’ll be fine).
I’d seen the then trio at Synergy 2010 (also performing with Foto na Dans) and wasn’t mad about them, and my only subsequent exposure had been catching the odd music video of theirs on TV…
Maybe it was all the summery good vibes of the venue (the temperature became quite pleasant as the sun went down) but I didn’t dislike them as much as I’d braced myself to. Theirs is still not my favourite genre but there were some songs that I quite liked. And they were entertaining to watch – Tamara Dey may have some quesionable taste in clothes but she knows how to work a stage, and her billowing shirt, strange as it was, danced pretty interestingly in the wind from her trademark fan.
It was inevitable, but maybe that just made Foto na Dans’ reappearance on stage even cooler. The two bands shared the stage a final time to perform their 2009/10 colbaboration Afrikaans, and it was a fittingly great end to a very special gig.
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Foto na Dans | Flash Republic | Summer Concerts at Kirstenbosch
