Laura's pics & ramblings | things I see and do…

rAge Cape Town at GrandWest

Posted on: March 24, 2016

18 & 19
March
2016

A well established event in Joburg, rAge (Really Awesome Gaming Expo) came to Cape Town for the first time last weekend at GrandWest Casino. Over three days, the casino‘s market hall hosted the NAG LAN while the expo across from the arcade offered loads of demos of games and various technologies (from drones to VR goggles to 3D printers) as well as a massive Counterstrike tournament (with players vying for R100000, the largest prize ever in South African eSports), overclocking demos, workshops and contests, market stalls full of games and geek paraphernalia and of course loads of cosplayers.

For all this I confess I found myself a little overwhelmed – as with last year’s EGE, the Friday was pretty dead but things picked up hectically on Saturday and, as inaugural events go, it was really good overall and a solid foundation for bigger and better expos in the future.

Here are some photos of Friday and Saturday at rAge CT 2016.

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Posted in Events
Tagged 3d printer, comics, competitions, convention, cosplay, costumes, dressing up, expo, games, gaming, geek, grand west, grandwest, lan, market, nag, overclocking, oxygen bar, photography, rage, really awesome gaming expo, stalls, superheroes, toys, vr

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Zebra & Giraffe’s farewell show with Monark at Kirstenbosch

Posted on: March 23, 2016

Sun 20 March 2016

Like many I was surprised and saddened by the news of Zebra & Giraffe‘s indefinite hiatus. I’ve always liked the band, and watching them over the years they’ve grown from strength to strength and their final show at Kirstenbosch was super slick.

Speaking of super slick, supporting act Monark put on a great show too. They remind me of OneRepublic with a bit of Maroon 5 mixed in – practiced, polished and crafters of solid pop songs.

Here are some photos from last Sunday’s wintry Kirstenbosch Concert.

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Posted in Gigs/Live Music
Tagged botanical garden, cape town, crowd, evenings, farewell, farewell show, favourites, gigs & festivals, guitars, kirstenbosch, long hair, monark, mountains, music, nature, outdoors, photography, plants & flowers, pop, rock, south africa, south african, summer concert, texx and the city, weekends, zebra & giraffe

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Interview in Click Magazine for Canon Roadshow 2016

Posted on: March 17, 2016

Thurs
17 March 2016

I’m excited and honoured to be presenting at the upcoming Canon Roadshows in Joburg, Durban and Cape Town respectively. I’ve been attending the roadshows for years and never thought I’d be on the other side of the mic, it’s a humbling and slightly terrifying prospect and while I’m still putting together my thoughts and pictures, Canon Click Magazine did an interview with me about my work, gear and the upcoming roadshows.

Big thanks to Canon for the opportunity and the cool feature in Click; check out the online version over here:
http://www.clickmagazine.co.za/flipbook/Click63/index.html#10

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I haven’t seen Roadshow dates officially confirmed, but the first one kicks off in Johannesburg mid April.

If you haven’t been to a roadshow before and have any interest in photography I highly recommend you sign up

Posted in Photography
Tagged canon, cape town, click, click magazine, club med, durban, feature, gigs & festivals, gigs and festivals, guitars, interview, joburg, one eight seven, photography, pro insights, roadshow, south africa, south african

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God Mother, Maximum Carnage, One Eight Seven & Ded End at Club Med

Posted on: March 14, 2016

Fri 11 March 2016

Club Med is fast becoming my favourite Cape Town venue; with its no frills, raw vibe it’s perfect for energetic punk, metal and hardcore acts. Plus both gigs I’ve attended there have ended with the floor covered in beer-mud and glitter for some bizarre reason, which is a bonus…

Last Friday was a perfect case in point with Ded End’s debut show, another cracker of a set from One Eight Seven and some intense headbanging from Pretoria’s Maximum Carnage before the headliners, God Mother, tore the roof off. The Swedes were totally exhilarating, delivering their short tracks with more urgency and intensity than I’ve experienced in a long time.

Here are some shots from the epic night.

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Posted in Gigs/Live Music
Tagged cape town, club med, confetti, crowd surfing, evenings, favourites, gigs & festivals, glitter, guitars, hardcore, headbanging, international act, joburg, jumping musicians, long hair, maximum carnage, metal, mud, music, noisefix, one eight seven, photography, punk, rock, south africa, south african, spilled drinks, summer, sweden, swedish, tattoos, texx and the city, weekends

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Belly of the Beast: Hellcats, The Tazers, Retro Dizzy & In Bloom at the Assembly

Posted on: March 8, 2016

Sat 6 March 2016

Though poorly attended, Saturday night’s show at the Assembly showcased some first class rock from newcomers In Bloom, surf rockers Retro Dizzy and Joburg’s The Tazers and Hellcats. All of the bands had great energy and didn’t let the poor turnout faze them, which gave the night the feeling of a super cool private party.

It’s always a fun bonus when the drummer is also the lead vocalist, and that was the case for 2 out of the 4 acts (incidentally the first and last on the bill, In bloom and Hellcats). I found both of these bands particularly impressive, and since they were both new to me (I’d seen Hellcats just once before, 2 days prior at Aces where they were awesome) I found them especially exciting – it’s been way too long since I’ve been truly excited about ‘new’ local artists and it’s a feeling I have missed.

In the case of Hellcats, a power duo if ever there was one, their EP‘s been on repeat since the weekend, and think I’ve found my new favourite local act. I really hope people turn up the next time they come to town, because they sure missed out this time.

Here are some shots from the night.

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