I can’t think of a better way to have spent the last Sunday afternoon of 2012 than at Kirstenbosch Gardens watching Yoav and Tailor.

Tailor had really impressed me at Mercury a few months ago; I was just telling my friends about her and how her Facebook posts are always really cute when she came out on stage looking like a princess, aww! She’s a fierce princess though, make no mistake.

It’s obvious her songs are very personal and all mean a lot to her, I saw her wipe her eyes a few times and was amazed she could channel such strong emotions into her performance. Wow. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for my friends to be won over.

I was a little unsure initially, but Yoav’s latest album, Blood Vine, not only grew on me, but became a strong contender for my favourite album of the year. A long-time live favourite of mine, I was really looking forward to seeing Yoav again and hearing how the new material would translate live.

Part of me’s a little disappointed about the backtracks and how much was included in them (as opposed to being recorded live and looped like in the past) but it’s a very small part. His music was the perfect soundtrack to a lovely evening and in between smiles I was singing along to every song.

Even though I’ve never liked his cover of Pixies’ Where is my mind as much as his original material, I really loved his Kirstenbosch rendition, which took the form of a duet with Tailor. Another highlight was his encore – he mumbled something about having no songs left to do and then a group of girls in front demanded Keep Calm, Carry On. First he said “I could do that. But I won’t.” Then he thought about it and decided to do it, live for the first time ever. It was awesome.

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Yoav  |  Tailor  | Old Mutual Summer Concerts at Kirstenbosch

Photos on Facebook over here