Bastille 10.0

Franschhoek is a bit of an “all or nothing” little town, and those of you who follow the blog will know my opinion of this French corner of the Cape – this slice of heaven town has a crème de la crème reputation for fine wine, dine… and apparently, swingers (an interesting little fact I picked up at last year’s Bastille bash). 

Celebrating French Huguenot heritage with admirable abandon this 17th – 18th of July, every shop front and five year-old painted face screams the red, blue and white colour scheme. 

Being a valley of award-winning restaurants, Bastille day boasts first and foremost the marquee – housing the aromas and jollity of lavish cuisines and cellar-sellers.

In addition, Franschhoek runs a French fims festival, an exhibition of vintage motors and (simply as a result of Franschhoek’s small-townnness) events the likes of the Chefs and Waiter’s race and Barrel Rolling.

Entrance to the marquee is R100.00, inclusive of a tasting glass and a booklet of 10 tasting coupons (… enough for round 1, really) and tickets can be bought online.

The event is a splendiferous testament to our varied Western Cape wonders and we suggest you head on out:)

And for those faring back into the city slickness from the mayhem of Bastille, best bed and breakfast it at 17 on Loader. 021 418 3417.

Au Revoir!

Mexican Shebeen!

Weeks of searching and I believe that I’ve discovered where the real, riotous, palpable World Cup fever is AT!!! Cape Town’s football-crazed chaos has largely been a pub and fan park affair. With other great places to perch onesself for a viewing, including the actual stadium, and Mzoli’s.

But in search of something more – something different – last night we wandered down toward the muffled crowd sounds of the Shebeen (which is at the Strand Tower Hotel on the corner or Strand and Loop Streets) and found our way up into, what looked like, an entrance parkade… and low and behold, discovered the Me-heee-carn shebeen!

Think hot dog stands, big screens, foosball tables, a mechanical bull, a live DJ blaring the Bump 205’s biggest hits, hilariously out-of-time cheerleaders remixing Shakira‘s “Waka-waka” and last but not least, the sweet mother’s milk that is Coronas!!! It’s wonderfully, successfully, comfortably trashy.

And manic as it was, what amused me further was the DJ’s public apology for their “quiet Sunday night”, in a room so full that beer acquisition required covert navigation.

Mexican Shebeen is a real, rowdy, ass-out World Cup experience and I’d recommend it a thousand times over.

For those of you that are rolling stones to our Cape Town rowdiness, reach on over for the phone and call 17 on Loader bed and breakfast (021 418 3417)  to ensure a safe landing strip post-party.

Sushi and Chinese please!

It’s Friday! And given that we’re on the precipice of a weekend, this post should come as divine enlightenment…

Late-night-Chinese-food

On a very merry excursion to all sorts of central city venues for debauchery, jollity and merriment, we found ourselves quite under the weather/influence on the taxi trip home. Doing the route back to le loov-leh 17 on Loader (Cape Town’s chic bed and breakfast in De Waterkant), the heavens opened and revealed a luminous red sign, on Seapoint Main Road, reading - “Xiang Yuan”. With the excitement of teenage girls at the mall, we begged the cab driver to pull over and poured in to Xiang Yuan.

Now my love of  the place may seem ridiculously evangelical but, given that the time was almost 3AM, finding somewhere OPEN was a feat unto itself.

Xiang Yuan is simple, almost a little dingy – but definitely clean. The fresh sushi and authentic, hot Chinese food went down like glassful of YES PLEASE! – despite our bellies not being in the most alkaline of states.

The miso soup was well-balanced, warm and more-ish. Crispy duck – an enormous portion, great value for money and obscenely delicious. Lastly the sushi – fresh, unusual and beautifully presented. All in all, we left Xiang Yuan high-fives and smiles and spent the next day better for it.

So for all of you nocturnal and post-midnight movers, wanting out-ness, warm Chinese food or some sushi, be sure to add Xiang Yuan to your list of late-night hang-outs.

The Waterfront Wine Affair

Cape Town’s been very quiet this week – we’ve been nursing our once-flourishing social calendars and wishing for sunburn. But what we have fast forgotten is that winter brings wine, fireplaces and excuses for shared body-heat… 

Until Friday, The V&A spends the week swaying with the inebriated influence of dozens of boutique and reserve wines. With curling leaves and early evenings comes the annual V&A Wine Affair. The backdrop of a Table Mountain-marked cityscape makes The Waterfront’s look out a perfect rooftop for some indulgent-out-of-doorsness. 

This well-loved tasting/sipping soiree is a palate party.  Think sushi, oysters, imported cheeses and charcuterie… the menu boasts the best elements of The V & A’s award-winning restaurants. And for the refined gourmand masticating on the fantastic, a selection of wildly well-reputed wine farms wets the appetite and injects some jollity to the “affair”.

The Waterfront Wine Affair runs from 17h00 – 21h00 everyday until Friday 7th May. Tickets are between R90 and R110 thereafter, inclusive of wine / deli tastings and a brochure guide. 

All in all, merriment in low harbour lighting is a wonderfully warm, cosy way to snuggle into the week’s wintry weather.

Stadium Stories: Durban

For all those cheeky Capetonians arguing that “we have the best stadium” don’t be fooled - us Durban-born girls disagree. Besides the fact that as a host city, Durban will be the SAM-HELL warmer than Cape Town, a recent visit has convinced me that eThekwini has the best stadium to boot. An unimposing testament to symmetry, this pillared structure is perfectly placed in the heart of the Durban skyline – with cable car providing a literal bird’s eye view.

 
The 70, 000 seater stadium is named after KwaZulu Natal-born Moses Mabhida – a unionist called upon by Oliver Tambo to develop the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Mabhida is remembered for his contributions as chief political instructor of new military recruits,and for later becoming the commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Rich in African heritage even in its physicality, the stadium takes its design inspiration from the South African flag – with a distinct high arch representing the unity of a sport-loving nation, in the two branches which converge from the ground up. While I am a touch nauseated with unnecessary immersion in South African history, it is undeniable that the Moses Mabhida has all the sass of Greenpoint stadium, with all the elegance and greandeur of the parthenon.

Most importantly – the people-pleasing feature in the cable car. Along the archway runs a cable car combining the technologies of an elevator and a railroad. This cable car affords visitors a peeksy at stadium and city from a staggering 106 meters above the pitch.

Photographs by Kirsten Pirie

Die Antwoord

With no pretenses about the conviction of their message, self-named group, Die Antwoord, is an Afrikaans translation of “the answer”. As of February, this fresh South African act has been “taking over the interweb”. Their Enter The Ninja music video went web and kicked up more bandwith fuss than anything our sweet sovereign SA has seen before – making Die Antwoord a viral phenomenon so seductive that it temporarily disabled South African host Hetzner, before being taken on by the big boys at Google. 

Yolandi Vi$$er and Ninja

With fan followings based on twitter, myspace or facebook, and Youtube as their broadcast medium, Die Antwoord has harnessed all the heat of online campaigning to become one of South Africa’s most distinct popular culture icons. If Yolandi’s haunting voice chanting “I, I, I, I’m your butterfly” sounds familiar at all, then you’re probably aware of this mass musical movement being called “Zef-rap”. They’ve become so big that another South African superpower, director of District9, Neill Blomkamp, has agreed to direct their next music video.

Die Antwoord’s three stage personas include Ninja, classically trained Yolandi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek. While Ninja and Yolandi are a husband and wife team, Yolandi is fairly new to the scene, while Ninja (AKA Watkin Tudor Jones) is infamous around these parts. 

A snapshot from the Enter The Ninja music video

Watkin first tasted fame as part of Max Normal and later Max Normal.tv and The Constructus Corporation. He’s known for constructing entire stage personas around his current musical projects, and this time around he’s gone with what’s being described as “prison-hardened, foul-mouthed white trash”.  

Die Antwoord’s become epic and, while they may they may rub the conservative up the wrong way (ie. like a tractor in the bedroom), it’s ostrich-living not to know them. Having just toured Los Angeles to gain some world-wise-eyes and business savvy, their welcome home gig happens at Stellenbosch’s humble Klein Libertas Teater, this 30th of April. Be there to witness the controversy that slammed South African bandwith, and seduced online-lovers worldwide.

Balkanology

Fortune tellers and flying carpets are the fan fare of Balkanology, 26th April 2010. Again the magic of Gypsy/Balkan music is made manifest in the carnivale festivities of a massive, manic party – A one night only affair. Here today, gone tomorrow – as the caravan children do. 

Balkanology – the deliciously devilish circus spectacular – will lay love loose on the new Cape Town venue of spectaculars – whispered as a replacement to the infamous Madame Zingara’s –  the wonderhouse that is Vaudeville. Think magicians, balkan bass and bare-bellied beauties, with the wonderment of dream and hallucination. The insatiable line-up lists tempos from Toby2shoes, Maoriginal, Hopa Banda and the Nomadic Orchestra.

Tickets are R120 pre-sale and R150 at the door. I’m told there’s no party like it.

Time to shine.

SA cheese festival

Next weekend, the South African Cheese festival returns to us in all it’s stinky goodness! In truth, I’m still not convinced that Cheese festival is a and adequate name. While I dare not blaspheme against the quality and variety of cheeses at the SA Cheese festival, the name shneakily hides the incredible array of other appetizers and palate-pamperers on show. 

In the sanctuary of Simondium, somewhere between Paarl and Franschhoek, the SA Cheese festival returns to Bien Donné farm from the 24th until the 27th of April. The Cooking Pot is the cheese festival’s cookery corner. By now a renowned space for innovative cheese use (no, really), The Cooking Pot is great place for gourmet gurus and closet chefs to convene. 

And for those carting around kids, who have nothing more than “eugh” and “blegh” to say to an abundance of cheeses, the Kids Corner saves the day. Life-size cartoon characters, balloon artists and magicians will keep kids captivated and distracted from the banging smells of blue. 

Now for those who are olive enthusiasts, the Olive Experience sports rows and rows of table olives, olive oils, olive james, tapenades and i-love-olive-type dishes.

Last, but certainly not least, SA cheese festival will be where a wonderful whack of Western Cape (and other) wines are waiting for tasting, to be paired and compared. 

For those of you meandering into town just for this smelly, savoury sanctuary, be sure to find some sleep in 17onLoader’s beautiful B&B. 

All in all SA Cheese festival promises to be a mouthgasm. Be sure to check out the floor plan, program and grab some tickets!

Afrika Burns

22nd-27th of April, Afrika Burns is up next on the South African social calendar. And for those of you thinking trance, dance and liquored prance, you should know what sets Afrika Burns apart:

Founded on the principles of the United States Burning Man Festival, Afrika Burns is all about the gift economy and the freely expressed community. To quote their mission statement:

“This “gift economy” means that there is no commercial exchange at the event – no vending, no cash bars and no branded promotion of services or products – the aim being real social interaction. It is an exercise in total self-reliance: participants camp for four days and provide entirely for themselves, including all their water, shelter and food needs”.

In addition, every camper is asked to gift something to the community – be it a drum solo to the full moon, freshly squeezed juice to those braving the scorching sun or a sculptural artwork to be sacrificed in flames. In a nutshell, Afrika Burns is community-orientated cultural communism. What you need you bring, or source from the community. Money is no good on the long stretch of road marked by an absence of anything.

All in all, Afrika Burns is not for those that snigger at tambourines or recoil at the idea of dirt up their skirts, but it is said to be a life-changing experience and one worth the wash-less nights

Jack Parow

Referred to as “Bob Dylan of the northern suburbs”, “pirate of the caravan park” and “an Afrikaans Eminem“, Zander Tyler is more popularly known for his on-stage persona as Jack Parow – one of South Africa’s most prominent popular culture icons.

As “Cooler as Ekke” has monopolized African airwaves, Afrikaans, Mothercity-made Jack Parow, has become one of South Africa’s local loves.

At the early end of the decade, musical movements that tore Afrikaans music apart from religious zeal, resulted in the Belville Rock city phenomena – and so spawned bands the likes of Fokofpolisiekar, aKing, and Van Coke Kartel. So while Afrikaans music was once ripe with religious evangelism, the noughties saw it slowly became synonymous with grunge garage-sale outfits and angsty rock ‘n roll. 

Lucky for us though, the the latest revolution is Afrikaans music seems to be an all-fun Afrikaans rap movement. Die Antwoord and Jack Parow are core examples of Afrikaans music moving away from rock tracks, toward electro back beats and theatrical rap personas.

Die Vraagstuk: Die Heuwels Fantasties feat. Jack Parow

Zander Tyler first fell under spotlight for the song, Die Vraagstuk, which he produced for another Afrikaans-admiration, Die Heuwels Fantasties. Since then Jack Parow’s sharp tongue has earned him critical acclaim: Think Afrikaans social criticism – gratefully disguised in shock-worthy colloquialisms and boundary-pushing humour. Feeding the Afrikaans youth’s need for upbeat and bass, Jack Parow’s jerk-quirky lyrics and crazy costuming set him apart from South African acts.

Cooler as Ekke by Jack Parow

Their latest success – the Cooler as Ekke music video – conveys Jack Parow’s crazy contagious stage presence.  Be sure to catch them in Cape Town live!