Five People, Two Bands, and a whole lot of Sound

I had the pleasure of being entertained by both these bands this past Sunday, in the cosy setting of the Alma Cafe in Rosebank. The Cafe was filled to the brim, to a fully seated crowd, eating a tasty dinner, in between sets.

The evening was kicked off with a short set by Johnathan and friends, from the Alma Cafe. The sound was engineered by the Alma's proprietor, and was clear, nicely balanced and not too loud.

“Jeremiah Brimstone Band" was next to take the stage. Their sound reminded me most of Nick Cave, a range of songs, from fairly dark lyrics, through to ballads. Their sound also drifts into blues and banjo country territory. The songs are all original, written and sung by the band's front man Dawid de Villiers. At one point I was swept completely away by a ghostly musical journey, which brought in slide guitar and other unconventional sounds to create a mystical cacophony.

After dessert, “amaBhulu?” took the stage, led by the strong stage presence of Heine du Toit. This very original act is definitely one that needs to be seen live. They reminded me a bit of David Kramer. They create their own distinctive sound, combining various styles, to produce a kind of “Boeremusiek” with a difference. I experienced this as storey telling through song, exploring various issues, with a lot of twinkly humour to lighten it. I found myself wishing my Afrikaans was less rusty, as I missed some of the more subtle nuances.

As mentioned before, both bands consist of the same five members. I was impressed by the way the two band leaders supported each other with their respective styles and creations. Generally as David led on guitar, Heine would support him on the bass or slide guitar, and when “amaBhulu?” took the stage, David played the support role on bass and banjo. Both bands were well backed up by Natalie Mason on the viola, and Elmi Badenhorst on accordion and harmonica. Hendré Retief was sitting in the background, doing percussions. The members interact comfortably with each other, with space for each to bring their musical talents to the fore.

Although these bands are based in Wellington, they travel a lot and perform regularly in Cape Town. Future gigs include: Tuesday 4 August - Zula bar Long Street Cape Town; Tuesday 18 August - Die Boer Durbanville; Saturday 29 August - Steenbok fontein Arts festival, Lambertsbaai

For more information, please visit : www.myspace.com/amabhulu http://www.amabhulu.co.za/ www.myspace.com/jeremiahbrimstoneband