WARDROBE WORRIES AND JAMESON JIVE :
CROONER Loyiso Bala took the term “fashionably late” seriously when his Good Friday performance at Word of Faith in Port Elizabeth began 45 minutes after the set time – all because his wardrobe had got stuck in traffic. But he more than made up for the wait with his hour-long performance, sharing colourful stories about his spiritual journey and reviving the crowd with a message of hope.
“I did not come from money. I was never the smartest or the one with the best looks. Even at [the] Drakensberg [boys’ choir] I was never the best singer. But I’ve always had my faith and it is the one thing I can attribute to the wonderful journey I have had,” he told the 2 000-strong audience, including your Skinnerbek – and now we love him even more!
Also at the concert was Bala’s mum, Veronica Bala, who looked fierce but elegant in her beige ensemble.
Port Elizabeth at Easter is synonymous with the Splash Festival and, though we realise the budget was tight this year, the event is surely in need of a revamp. The opening on Friday was well attended, as was the main act that evening – a performance by Idols season nine winner Musa Sekwene.
Now more than ever I know we made no mistake by voting for him – that dude is seriously talented and I would even choose listening to him when my favourite soapie is playing.
Actually, all of the artists I saw that night gave solid performances. It was especially good to see kwaito duo Sdudla and Mathousand who are now doing their thing in the city of gold. By the looks of things they are enjoying their time up north, but hopefully they will stick to their promise of not leaving the Bay for good.
Saturday’s traditional fireworks display was the weekend highlight, with hundreds flocking to Hobie Beach and surrounds to watch, though whether the spectacle was “bigger and better” than in previous years is open to debate.
As for the festival’s abysmal VIP area, it was at the Hobie Club which meant no view of the main stage.
The food was good, but the bar left much to be desired as they ran out of bottled water.
I bumped into municipal spin-doctor Roland Williams and his wife, Shahnaz, who has regained her sexy figure following the birth of the couple’s daughter, Isla.
After the fireworks I hightailed it to the ’90s Music Series at Kings Beach, as I simply could not wait to show the young ‘uns (not that I am such an oldie, mind you) the bus move that was trending back in the day. I got to the venue two hours after the start and yet there were still fewer than 20 people around.
As the evening wore on, and the VIPs became increasingly grumpy, it seemed our exclusive spot had more people in it than there were actual audience members at the event. . . Quite a few people opted to chill and listen to the music from the comfort of their cars instead of paying the R100 entry fee.
Bay TV's acting station manager Lungile Ndevu appeared to be drowning his sorrows at this flop of a festival; other VIPs were surprised they had to pay for their own drinks.
Later on they were provided with three platters of seafood, but by 10pm there was still little sign of the promised kwaito artists. Sitting around waiting for no-shows has never been my idea of fun – and I was not about to hold a night vigil for them. When I finally ditched the scene Maggesh was apparently on stage, though of that I cannot be sure as I only had a side view of the very small Coca-Cola truck stage.
One of the organisers even went around accusing media folk of shooting down black companies should they report on the failed event. I mean, who does that? They should focus on improving the event for next time instead of sending out blame-game SMSes at midnight. Itching for a good party, I headed to Cubana where I ran into some fabulous friends, dahling. Alas, one of them had the wrong attire, so this unfortunate wardrobe malfunction set us back as an outfit change was needed. Seriously, who forgets the dress code for Cubana?
When we finally found ourselves a table (properly attired, of course) the manager on duty told us in no uncertain terms unless we ordered a bottle of Jameson, we couldn’t sit our pretty behinds down.
Apparently the tables were intended for high rollers, not the cider-drinking crowd. . . and all this before we’d even ordered.
I understand they have to cash in on their busy trading days but c’mon, they shouldn’t forget their regular guests either.
On Wednesday I made time for a listening session with Malizole at Umhlobo Wenene’s offices.
The session was packed with Umhlobo Wenene employees and we had to wait for the regional manager, Zola Yeye, who was to welcome guests.
Lulu Harmans was the MC – wow, does she have a beautiful voice.
The man of the moment, Malizole, looked dope wearing his Xhosa beads. He, too, can sing and I would buy his CD any day. Singer Sindi J who rocked a long light brown coat, was with music promoters Andile Ntlokwana and Danny Mongo.
Having packed a fair amount of activity into my long weekend – and week – I am now good and ready for another weekend of non-stop partying!
Have yourselves a glorious time as we celebrate 20 years of freedom in South Africa on Sunday!