Long Live The Thursday

Thursday nights all over the world are generally standard affair. Wake up in the morning, one day closer to the weekend which is exciting but there's still a whole full day you have to get through. You trudge along, going through the motions but in the back of your mind you've got it in there that Friday is coming and that puts a smile on your face. You're primed and ready for what may come. Thursdays are fluffer days for the weekend. In theory, they're no different to any other day. You can still go out and do whatever you want, you'll still suffer all the same if you go balls to the wall. But, they don't have that element of grandeur that Fridays have. Thursdays are like the more chilled, laid-back girl you asked to be your girlfriend. Generally people don't let themselves go loose noodle on a Thursday because that's kind of frowned upon in the high brow world of people who wear neck-ties and have shoes so shiny you can see the future in the reflections.

These days though, Thursdays have been given a new lease on life. For the last few months in Durban, things have been happening on Thursday nights for those of us who want to make the most of our week. There's always whispers of a show happening here and a gig kicking off there. Keeping your ear to the streets will get you jacked up with lots of information on what you can do. 

A few Thursdays ago, I spent my night at Live The Venue. Live's basically my second home. Live music and a great mix of people is something that I will never tire of and it's something that is always floating around in abundance. I won't lie, I wasn't too sure as to what was going on but a friend of mine, Caro - who took all the pics I'm using - was going to do her click and shoot thing so I decided to tag along and live a little. Red Five Point Star, a band from Slovenia, were heading the bill so why not. Supporting foreign bands that have made the long trek to the forgotten city of Durban is something I almost feel is my civic duty to the city, in hopes that one day it'll be something that catches on and we all finally get out there and get recognised as a city to play in for these big time bands we see wave us on all the time.

The Accidentals

You know when you walk into a party hosted by someone you don't quite know and you're not quite sure what to expect. The host is new on the block, from a completely different world as you. You don't know if the night is gonna turn out to be a full blown romp that turns into legendary status or if it's gonna be an over-the-t-shirt awkward grope fest? You condition yourself to expecting the worst, I mean anything could happen here but you walk into the living room and all your mates are there and everything is chill. That's what it was like walking into Live and having The Accidentals going off on stage. They've been moving on up and up, making themselves known all over the Durban scene. A good set of familiar faces, bringing that feel good swing to the evening. I haven't seen the Accidentals in a while and the inclusion of a saxophone in the line up just goes on to show how these guys - in my opinion -  aren't afraid to go out there and experiment with sounds and it makes for a good noise. The band is made up of members from bands like, Fruit and Veggies, Lowprofile, Car Boot Vendors and even THC, it's cool to see them all coming together and putting on a sick show. The only problem I found with the set was that at some points, some of the instruments were being overpowered by others. It would come and go, one minute the guitars were coming in flush and strong like ripe melons and then next they shriveled up into wet grapes and drowned out by something else which would then go on to be drowned out by something else. All in all it was sick. A good marker for the ska/punk to follow on through the night.

Hours

Next up were Hours. I'm ashamed to admit this but I've been sleeping on this band. Honestly, fast asleep Carl Froch eight round knockout on these guys. These guys are a sick pop/punk set up that made me feel like I should be ashamed for my limited exposure to punk music these days. These guys really put on a show that had me digging up at my latent angst, feeling like I should carve anarchy signs on tables and chairs. it's funny though because just by looking at them, you wouldn't guess just how much they rocked out. The cool thing about watching bands is that one second you're at the bar, getting your drinks in. There's a dude next to you and he's basically here doing the same thing you are and next minute you see him up on stage melting faces away. I think that's cool. I dig the ease of it all. The way that anyone out there really is one step away from rockstar. Thursday night rock outs don't seem to be a problem for people these days, true punks don't worry about Friday hangovers, as was evident in the form of a man in the crowd who was shouting and getting in the swing of things all night. I must say I was impressed by these guys and I'm looking forward to seeing them again pretty soon.

Red Five Point Star

Last on the bill was Red Five Point Star. I hadn't heard of them till I walked in the door so I wasn't too sure what to expect. To me, these guys sounded like Reel Big Fish without the satirical lyrics. I digged them. They opened up with a hefty drum solo. Big, loud and a sure fire way to get the people coming inside to see what all the noise is about. You know that intro tune that plays at the beginning of movies, the one with the earth spinning, there's noise, it builds to a giant crescendo and we all laugh and what not? That's what they opened with as the slowly built up their numbers till all seven members were on stage. I love Eastern European accents. They can either sound very friendly and make you think of vodka and comical antics or they can sound very intimidating and make you think of vodka and being locked up in the boot of a car. These guys sounded like vodka and falling over tree trunks. The lead singer's vocals reminded me of Chris Chameleon from Boo. They had that feel to them which was cool, something familiar. I've actually heard some of their stuff before on DMX, it was pretty awesome to have faces to the music. One thing I've noticed over the years is that covers make the world go round. The power of a brilliantly executed cover will take you very far because not only does it show your range as a musician but it also exposes you to other people who would normally not have heard of you. Original music is still the best form out there but a cover can do wonders for you. The little interlude of Careless Whisper that RFPS did kept that sexy feel to it with the use of saxophones but they also gave it their own ska-inspired flavour. The easy swinging, ska movement vibes they were laying out were coming loud and smooth from those horns. You could put these guys on Durban's beach front on a sunny Sunday afternoon and they'd turn heads and collect crowds like nothing.







All in all I must say that I was pretty pleased with the way my Thursday went. Three sick bands and a festive atmosphere is never something I'll turn down and I'm glad now we have an extra day in the week to turn up. Long live the Thrusday nightlife!

Hours

Hours

The Accidentals