Saturday morning was brutal and not just for me – going big on the first night had clearly taken its toll on a lot of people. Still, any day that begins with a massive Spur burger (exotic breakfasts are a great part of festivals) is bound to be a good one; with the international headliner down, it was all down to the local acts to make day 2 of Synergy Live 2012 a cracker, and they managed quite easily.
Touchwood, who had won themselves Saturday’s opening slot at the LMG stage, provided some chilled sounds for the morning crowd, baking in the hot tent.
Due to the wind, there was no awning or shelter by the main stage, so aside from the sun-bravers, most people watched from the main bar and the other tented areas. We parked off in the smoking tent for the bulk of the afternoon, venturing out to the stage every now and again – first for Two Minute Puzzle, then Sons of settlers and for an extended time for Red Huxley after a stop-over at the LMG tent for the nutty Sun-Do Q’lisi.
We also met Derrek, the Norwegian – when Jess showed him her ‘Norway’ bikini his eyes nearly fell out of his face.
Fox Comet are so much fun, I hadn’t seen them in a while so particularly enjoyed their set, as well as the surprise addition of Sabretooth‘s Nikolai Athiros on keys and 2 large inflatable balls, that stole the crowd’s attention for the last 2 songs.
Ska and reggae aren’t my favourite genres so I confess I didn’t stick around for much of Grassy Spark or the Rudimentals.
I’d seen Th’ Crows once at &Union and thought they were loads of fun – up on the LMG stage they reaffirmed this and put on a great show, with vocalist/bassist Liam McDevitt even earning a lacy red bra from an enthusiastic audience member.
Fuzigish fueled a formidable and dusty moshpit before an awesome sunset filled the sky.
Jack Parow raked in a huge crowd and owned the stage, along with his super energetic band. Over in the LMG tent, Woodstock Mafia were getting feet stomping and heads banging.
At this point I have to say the LMG tent’s line-up had the edge over that of the main stage – Dead Alphabet were great and Make-Overs were a weekend highlight for me. I was looking forward to seeing the Pretoria duo and didn’t know what to expect, I found it amazing that just 2 people could be so loud. They’re in Cape Town for the month, and I intend to see them again.
I popped in to the Studio7 stage where Motheo Moleko was enthralling the crowd (and where my flash batteries finally died) en-route to the main stage, where Shadowclub were wrapping up. Van Coke Kartel started their set with a great slow-burning rendition of Buitenkant II, everyone in the crowd sang along.
The Bone Collectors were nearly done when I made it back to the LMG tent, but, due to popular demand, played 2 encores (yay!).
I was a little worried about watching Yes Sir! Mister Machine – I’ve seen what goes down at their gigs – but it all turned out fine though and I actually really enjoyed it; musically they’re a bit hardcore for my taste, but they’re super energetic and loads of fun to watch. Plus they asked MC Gary Cool to introduce them as Prime Circle, which was pretty funny.
Maybe it was curiosity or maybe a small part of my soul just wanted to die, whatever the reason, I decided to make a detour past the Red Bull stage on my way back to the tent.
The sprawling electro stage and its surroundings resembled some kind of post-apocalyptic hell – dazed bodies stood in clumps, some swayed lethargically, some just stared, unmoving. The floor was a mess, people were in various stages of undress in spite of the chill in the air. Surely it wasn’t always this way, clearly it had deteriorated, but I didn’t care – I had stumbled onto a godforsaken wasteland and needed to escape quickly…
When I finally made it back to the tent I was totally broken, my feet ached and I’d done something to a muscle in my shoulder which wouldn’t clear up till Tuesday.I was so finished I didn’t take any photos on Sunday morning, though I would’ve liked to. Ah well, getting the car packed and heading home to a warm shower and real bed were the only things I cared about at that point.
Synergy 2011 was the standout event of the year for me, unfortunately I’m not sure I can say the same about 2012. The weekend was great but there were parts that weren’t, the overwhelming one being that I came out of it significantly more fucked-up than ever in the past, and not from drinking but the hours of walking in trying weather.
But hey, first time in a new venue, there were bound to be snags, I’m sure they’ll be ironed out by next time.
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Synergy Live | Two Minute Puzzle | Sons of Settlers | Red Huxley | Fox Comet | Grassy Spark | The Rudimentals | Fuzigish | Jack Parow | Shadowclub | Van Coke Kartel
Your LMG | Touchwood | Sun-Do Q’lisi | The Dollfins | Th’ Damned Crows | Woodstock Mafia | Dead Alphabet | Make-Overs | The Bone Collectors | Yes Sir! Mister Machine
