The Rising Sun Tour  

Saturated guitars expand the atmosphere as the temperature drops outside.

Immensely broke after turning 24, I offered up some loose change to have a Friday jol on hump day, with the winds of tequila blowing in my favour, I headed straight to the bar for a cold one.

Kicking off the tour at The Good Luck Bar, Urban Village was first to take the stage. I’ve never seen them live, but Urban Village is definitely taking the scene by storm. The rhythm set in and I could not stop listening; soulful, spiritual, energetic, rumbling drum loops with few vocals and echoes of the drummer lyrically in tune in Xhosa. Their performance made me proud to call Africa home.

The acoustics at the beginning of The Rising Sun Tour were better than previous events I have attended at The Good Luck Bar. As familiar faces smiled back at me while a cold wind blew outside, Late Night Fox joined the stage. Powerful and confident, they danced across the stage, Dani created an amazing stage performance, one which would make you think that she’s been doing this for years. The combination of the synth and bass together carried most of the melody throughout their set. ‘Hugh Masekela’ was the highlight of the evening; with a set that was solid and fantastic. This makes me excited to see what they have in store.

BOXER never disappoints, they created a contagious energy, with instruments that are simple but well textured, guitar riffs layered to compliment the bass and drum beats that fit their vibrations well. ‘R2D2’ had the whole crowd singing along and up on their feet. Dirty influences of guitar solos makes me think of  the old school tunes of Tame Impala. Each member brought some of their own influences to the stage that creates the unique sound known as BOXER.

Rhythm and blues kicked in as The Tazers do what they do best. Influenced by the blues, ‘Dirty Laundry’ was the highlight; they can create a whole EP by treating their music this way, picking out an intricate melody on their guitars by the absence of vocals. Their raw performance lets the music speak for itself, making sweet love to my ears: solid saturated music that creates distortion that leaves you wanting more. The Tazers always play the same songs, starting with ‘Go Away’ and ending their set with ‘Around Town’. They have kept it this way since the start, because the melody of each song flows perfectly into the next, but they have made it so unique to their ways with inducing lyrics, you’ll hardly notice it.

With an iron board holding the keyboard, bare feet, and a full crowd tapping their feet and snapping fingers, Go Barefoot took the stage. They have managed to develop their own unique style and their set depicted this:  raw, down to earth and very natural. With the crowd singing along to ‘I Won’t Back Down’ the amazing Kwela folk band is something I look forward to seeing live everytime

Suffering a severe hangover the next day made the evening a success, be sure to catch the bands on tour in July in a town near you.

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The Rising Sun Tour with Boxer, The Tazers, Go Barefoot, Hey! Bang! Dead! and DJ Nudisto will be in Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth from the 7th until the 9th of July.