The Maritzburg Musicians’ Club last night really was a blast. We always enjoy the Red Door and appreciate what owner Jamie Visagie does to keep live music alive and well in KwaZulu-Natal. It’s not often we get to rock up, plug in and play… but it’s always like that there. Sound and set up is always great.
The MMC is really growing. Not sure on exact numbers, but it looked like 100 people were through the door, which I’d never thought possible. Local people seem hungry for live music venues and the Tuesday night slot really does fit the bill, being a week-day it’s not too rowdy as a night out, and the tables-and-chairs vibe in front of the stage works well. It was great to see people from all over Maritzburg and the midlands region come to last night’s show – fellow musicians, lecturers and friends I know from varsity days, friends from Grace and from other corners of the city.
Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters front man Brian Bedingfield introduced our performance as a “swan song”, and told the audience “before they become really famous, they’re here for one last time to perform tonight”. Turns out Roberto bribed him into saying that. Some bruin ous…
Last night we introduced five new songs from the upcoming album. The new songs definitely bring a variance in the atmosphere of our set, which I really like. It’s good to have the joyous, the poignant, the quirky and the melancholic all mixed up into one set. Well, I think so anyway.
Another exciting addition was having Rudi on vocals. I hauled him up front for a few numbers with the shaker and backing vocals, which I know people enjoyed. It’s cool when things (like drummers) move around on stage. Diversity. We’re big on diversity. There was even a busked bass solo last night. Not often that happens!
So the preliminary set as the trio worked well. (Sigh of relief.) Our stage-diving keyboardist Jon flies in on Wednesday to join us for the next few shows. So if we can prevent him from messing everything up then we should be all set for our first tour of Cape Town.
Seriously though, it will be good to have Jon and Tam join the mix. You’ll love the new vibe… see you all at Alliance Française in Durban!
