One Night in Cape Town returned for the third time this year and, as a massive Editors fan, I’ll be forever grateful that it did. The Good Hope Centre marked a change in venue from both previous years at Grand West – I wasn’t sold on the choice and more than a little embarrassed that these fine bands were playing in one of the ugliest buildings in Cape Town.
Once it filled up though it wasn’t so bad – the ceiling decor was pretty interesting and the lighting throughout was great. Sound was a bit on the loud side with a lot of echo, but again, that got better as the place filled up. Things were rather desolate at 6pm when Israeli opening act Tatran kicked things off. I confess I got bored rather quickly but most of the crowd seemed to be enjoying the instrumental rockers.
Up next were Shadowclub and the sole local representatives on the bill easily held their own among the internationals. Their music is of the highest rock ‘n’ roll quality (Jacques Moolman’s vocal timbre seems to improve with age) and as of late they’ve only exuded sets of the highest class. Tonight was no exception.
But for me, the night was always really about just one band: Editors. They dark indie rockers played a great set, with the perfect mix of old and new material from across their four albums. Things kicked off with the bass-heavy ‘Sugar’, one of several standout tracks from latest album “The Weight of Your Love” that they played, including ‘Formaldehyde’ and ‘A Ton of Love’ and a surprisingly energetic rendition of the more lethargic, ‘Nothing’.
Classics from debut “The Back Room” included ‘Munich’, ‘All Sparks’ and ‘Bullets’, stand-outs from “An End Has a Start” included the eponymous title track, ‘Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors’ and ‘Racing Rats’. Their third album is my least favourite but contains some solid tracks like “Raw Meat = Blood Drool” which popped up mid-set and of course their mega-hit ‘Papillon’, which the band chose as their epic closer. Great music and a fantastic, energetic performance – definitely a show I will never forget.
But even while I was going full fangirl and singing along in near religious reverie, people next to me were yelling “Wooooolfmuthaaaaah!” It was clear the real pull for most were the Australian headliners. And suddenly, people seem to have appeared out of nowhere to fill the gaps in the crowd, so much so that at one point hairy Wolfmother vocalist Andrew Stockdale said, “I’ve been asked by the organisers to ask everyone to move like a foot back… just so no-one gets crushed in this rock ‘n’ roll madness.”
Now I’ll be honest, the talented Aussie trio (and the third trio of the night, funny that) have never been particularly appealing to me. I know 2 songs of theirs, ‘Dimension’ and ‘Woman’ which amusingly were songs 1 and 3 in their set. But I admitted enjoyed Wolfmother’s energy and pleasantry quite a bit – they smiled and waved to all the photographers as we were waiting to head to the stage area, which I thought was quite courteous of them. I can also appreciate the response that they evoked from their devotees, but I was still swooning hard over Editors.
If I had any gripes about the event, all was forgiven by the time Editors appeared on the stage. It’s a special thing to see a band you really, really love perform live, and for this I will be eternally grateful to the organisers – long may you bring us quality acts!
All pics courtesy of Laura McCullagh. View the full album here.
