Table Mountain Blues Summit 2008
Review by Linda Evermore
One of the best Cape Town live music festival type events I’ve attended, getting back to the musical roots of the hard & heavy, was the 3rd Annual “Table Mountain Blues Summit”. We were pleased to note that even the sky had turned out blue! The venue, Bloemendal Wynhuis, was an idyllic setting for the event, giving that out of town, freedom of nature feeling. There was ample room to relax on the grass in the sunshine or sit at a table under the shade of the marquee tent, enjoy the view of the rolling landscape & the soulful sound of Blues/Rock.
Organised by the South African Masters themselves, the Boulevard Blues Band (of course!), the Blues Summit peaked with seven of the cream of Blues/Rock bands. There were initially eight & I was most looking forward to seeing the Paris Hillbilly outfit perform…but alas, they were cancelled due to a 'Happy Ending' of sorts…
Gerald Clark (Delta Blue) opened the gig, setting the mood for the Blues, holding people in awe with amazing show of slide guitar. Black Cat Bone, an energetic band hailing from Pretoria, picked up the tempo next & wove their Magic into the music, making an incredible impression….they definitely must have a mojo…
There had been a steady stream of people flowing in & by this time the place had filled up substantially. Dave Ferguson & the Lonesharks followed, Dave strutting his stuff & singing amongst the crowd on the grass, much to their delight – something about being close up & personal.
Johnathan Martin & No Quarter, also from Pretoria (Johnathan – vocals/guitar & Tertius – Bass, both from Jack Hammer), rocked into the sunset, with Wim.P of Black Cat Bone featured on drums…yes, he is a great drummer, as is his fellow Black Cat Bone band mate, Kobus, a great vocalist/harmonica player, who also made a guest appearance.
Prize giving ensued, with a fantastic array of prizes for the lucky winners, the main one being a brand new Fender Guitar. Other top of the range prizes from Fender included a guitar tuner worth a small fortune, guitar cleaning kit, guitar strings & straps.
That done, it was time to rock again, & I mean rock, to a real Rock band: Southern Gypsey Queen. This time the majority of people got up to dance. Maybe the crowd became less inhibited because dusk had dawned, but I firmly believe it was for the band. Southern Gypsey Queen, originally from the Eastern Cape & now from Jo’burg, simply kick-ass! They have so far played at every Blues Summit & I understand why they’re invited back each year, also making for a good diversity in tone.
Needless to say, they were called back for an encore.
Hotted up, the crowd were now hungry for more & the Boulevard Blues Band was there to feed their hunger. The crowd swelled to the largest of the night, fans screaming for Dr John, a legend in his own right – living out his passion for the Blues. To many of the fans there, Boulevard Blues Band ARE the Blues & believe me, they sure do rock!! Boasting a large & varied repertoire of many an original number, with some covers in-between, each musician in the band contributes a unique, varied blend of style & exceptional talent. If they don’t get you rocking it’s because they’ve got you mesmerised.
Headlining the show was Dan Patlansky, with due reason. Smelly, the Bass player was on stage in his trademark socks, something I believe he never plays without…though nobody could say they’ve ever been close enough to say they smell bad…& I’m quite sure they really do smelly very fresh….tho’ that’s not the due reason. Dan Patlansky, in his late 20’s…about 27 or so, has become somewhat of a guitar hero. After hearing numerous people absolutely raving on about him, I was in total suspense to see him play for the first time. This man makes the guitar speak like no other, bringing it to life at every emotional level & even bringing some to the verge of tears in the depth of passion. Added to his amazing ability to do this, is the ferocious speed with which he can play, hand a blur & perfect sound! Another encore!
Ending the night was the 'All Stars Jam', hosting various members of each band doing their thing together in random intervals. Credits to Ari & co. for fabulous sound engineering. Gotta hand it to the guys & all who worked there: a very well organised festival, with merchandise on sale, food & beverage in abundance & well maintained toilets that stayed clean.
Certainly one of the rare large local events where EVERY musician is top of the range!