Stiff, sleep deprived, but ready for the next one.
It was as if the gods recycled the bible into its contemporary counterpart and there we were, feeling like it was 40 days in the desert and we were being blessed with manna. As he stood ready for the first chord to vibrate off the walls of Cape Town City Hall, Petite Noir made his way onto the stage. Greeting his band with a nodding gesture and a hand surfacing to the crowd standing before him, his presence was felt by all who were there. As the front row stood intimately close to the barriers before the stage and waved themselves down with fans made from the newsprint zine sitting to be taken at the entrance, the audience bounced smiles and sweat off of each other.
The length of CTEMF meant several things for those who attended all three days: fighting stiffness with more dancing, putting on extra rollon before your rolled out and making sure you did your homework on the featured acts before the festival, because those stairs became dreary after the third time. I have always needed to experience the gathering that is CTEMF, and being fortunate to now live in the city it occupies, and the fact that Petite Noir was planned to headline, meant it was time to experience all the homework I’d done and see for myself.
Petite Noir is not like anyone I’ve watched live. After reading the several interviews covered on a variety of blogs, including our own- I picked up this: he is a soft spoken and cognisant personality who chooses his words quite selectively when faced with new characters. However, the stage persona is completely different- his gentle confidence was securing my attention from start to finish, even when the sound guys messed up on the monitors and he had to pause so they could level it out. All there was to do from our side behind the amps was to cringe and talk amongst strangers about how badly it reflected on the music industry and Petite Noir’s first live performance in South Africa. After the sound returned, his stillness, even though energised, took us on an exploration of moods, ideas and honest portrayal into the music that has been dubbed as ‘Noirwave.’
And here I could go on, delivering an ode to Petite Noir, but CTEMF was so much more than that. Each day was curated for a different audience. Friday saw the house junkies command the dance floor, while Saturday was fuelled by the grind of Gqom masters Rudeboyz and DJ Lag upstairs in the club, while Sibot and Toyota meshed the classic of The Real Estate Agents and Constructus Corporation with eclectic modern hyper electronic static in the auditorium. Sunday was a winner in its own right; giving me access to the terrace late afternoon with local greats Beat Sampras and DJ Kenzhero and the finale to this musical banquet – Nightmares on Wax. Each stage, each artist and each person attending added to the charisma of the festival.
I left on Sunday night, with a bounce in my step, not entirely for the joy it gave me, but rather the pinched nerve it left my sciatic in. It’s days after and I’m still sleep deprived and stiff, but man I’m ready to do it again.
Featured image / Kelsy Arden
