Courtesy of Infinite Focus Photography.
You'll never GUESS what the subject of today's post is going to be! Come on! Guess!
Give in yet? Ok, I'll give you a clue...
It's about how fucking awesome and incredible and amazing The Awakening is. Without even gushing, I can honestly say that I was humbled this weekend. Not only by Ashton Nyte's extraordinary talent, but by the man's humility, grace and generosity. His buddies in the band aren't too kak either! On Friday night's performance alone, tomes could be written - each more complimentary than the next - but it was best summed up by one of local music's fiercest critics, when he simply commented "Flawless" and went on to claim it the single best live performance he had ever witnessed. Strong words, Bryn Diesel...
Allow me to back them up. The Awakening is quite simply the most experienced and exceptional of any local underground act still active. I still think of them as local in the same way that I consider Fetish to be local. Whatever, bands shouldn't be judged on their geographical origin. Ashton Nyte is the brains behind the band and the songwriter and singer. Therein lies the success and longevity of this act. He is not only a supremely gifted song writer, but as enigmatic and engaging a front man as you are ever likely to encounter. Friday night's entrancing performance was due to many, many years of diligent work, a wealth of hard earned experience and much blood, sweat and tears. And no small helping of natural ability.
I feel honoured to have been included in the proceedings - obviously. SUBVERS started things off in a pretty packed Mercury and I hope we made some new friends and fans. I can tell you I played my little heart out and was absolutely knackered afterwards. It was good seeing all the faces in front of me enjoying themselves so much!
Next up were our great mates Terminatryx, who were also launching their new album "Shadow". It was a triumph of a show, the crowd went nuts - the band were on fire! The new single is that good it was stuck in my head the next day!
And then of course, the main course. Striding onto the stage alongside guitarist Jeremy, bassist Damian and drummer Sevven, Ashton proceeded to woo the crowd into near cardiac-arrested rapture. He crooned - they swooned! He swayed - they bayed! And when they unleashed their more upbeat stompers, EVERYONE went fucking berserk! It was a delight to behold such unadulterated enjoyment - a sight rarely seen in Cape Town's dour underground.
Saturday morning provided its own challenges...
But by Saturday evening it was show time again, albeit a little less intense. SUBVERS joined The Awakening for an evening of acoustic enchantment at Aandklas in picturesque Stellenbosch. Grandpa's guitars were dusted off and bar stools found their way onto the stage as we took a seat and launched into "SUBVERS SUBDUED" before The Awakening once again delivered a perfect set to the delirious appreciation of another enthralled capacity crowd. What an evening!
From me, I'd like to thank Gert and Sabbath Events, Ashton and the lads of The Awakening, our good friends Terminatryx, all the kind people at Mercury, the crew who did an outstanding job as usual, everyone at Aandklas, Bryn Diesel and Infinite Focus Photography, Herr Grun for the continued support and videography, Laura McCullagh for photographs, TDB for his help with the gear, everyone who came out to support the bands and get blown away. And - most importantly - to my band mates; Likkle Spoon Daemon, LordDoom and Double Deebs - fuck, that was epic!
Spread The Love. With Conviction.
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