PRIVATE PRESLEY: A SALUTE TO THE KING

I can honestly say that this performance at The Joburg Theater was one of my favorite performances ever. Who would have thought you could take the King of Rock n Roll and add a genre of dance that is so beautiful and elegant to it.

Sean Bovim, did a fantastic job transforming 50's style of dancing to ballet, I can only imagine how man hours of rehearsal and bloody feet went into this performance.

Henk Opperman, played Elvis, and WOW what a performance from the dancer. He bought Elvis back to life with his amazing performance. His movements, emotions and expressions on stage resinatated so much with the deceased King.

The show played from the 9th to the 25th of October 2015. It was such a brilliant show that I would have loved to have seen it go on for so many more shows. It was the first time the show had traveled to Johannesburg from Cape Town.

My favorite thing about the show was that there were so many different aspects to the show that you would never get bored or ever accuse the show of being one dimensional. There were parts that would have you laughing your head off and parts where you would shed a tear at the shear beauty of dance.

I decided to write this piece after the show, just to show the effect the show had on people. The verdict is in, people loved the show, they were moved by the show and they wanted more just as I did.

Thank you Colab Network, Joburg Theater and Sean Bovim Ballet Company.

Slide Jozi 

I had the opportunity to attend Slide Jozi on the 17th of October 2015.

The layout was well planned and had a great vibe. There was a great variety for food and drinks. Chip n Dip, Mini Donuts, Prego Rolls and many other things were on sale on the day.

West Street was transformed into a party haven, with the three hundred metre slide, food, drinks, clothing and inflatable stores. 

THE SLIDE

The slide was, beside a few minor injuries along the way, very fun. The only thing i would suggest is making it mandatory to go down on an inflatable, I did get stuck along the way a few times. The length of the slide was like nothing I've seen before and was great that it wasn't just a quick slide and it was over and done with. The colours were great and popping, it gave a great vibe for summer, despite the threatening rain.  

Below was the time slots available, and there wasn't a spare minute where there was not someone waiting in the line to go down the slide. 

The event was such fun, it was great to go somewhere in public and be safe, have family time if you had children, have fun with your friends, if you were there with your friends and lastly just have fun, safe fun in general. 

Slide Time Slots:

Slot A – 10am – 12pm
Slot B – 12pm – 2pm
Slot C – 2pm – 4pm
Slot D – 4pm – 6pm

The entertainment line up was huge hit, if people were not there with children they could slide, relax and go dance the day away down at the main stage with fantastic DJ's. 

 ENTERTAINMENT LINE UP

10AM - MARK STENT
11AM - FELIX BRENDEL
12PM - DJ JC1PM - SHORTY ON SAX & SISCO UMLAMBO
2PM - HOUSEHOLD FUNK & APOLLO
3PM - TIMO ODV
4PM - KYLE CASSIM

5PM - VIN GROOVIN  

A HUGE thank you to Slide Jozi and their partners, Dragon Energy Drink, City of Johannesburg, Ecomobility, Spice Productions, Jose Cuervo, Flying Fish, Natcorp and Four Fire Productions. 

My Favorite part of the event, was that it was in the middle of the street and the robots were still working. 

The Sound of Light- Robin Schulz

Naserec Center was home to the Sound of Light, Johannesburg 2015. When I first saw that it was going to be there I thought to myself, I wonder how many people could actually go see the show, as I had seen the venue before. Boy was I wrong. I had clearly never seen it like that before. The expo center, Hall 5, was packed with excited people all looking for a good time.  Thousands of people came out to show their support and love for our South African artists and Djs as well as The Robin Schulz. (Who rocked the stage by the way).

The line up was as follows: 

Vin Deysel,

HouseHold Funk,

Pascal & Pearce, 

GOODLUCK,

ROBIN SCHULZ,

Ricardo da Costa,

Ryan Murgatroyd, 

Kyle Cassim.

I have to admit Goodluck came pretty close to being my favorite act of the night. The energy that had was absolutely mesmerizing. They didn't stop once and they were the only live band. Having backtracks and their own Dj, to dance to, they fitted in with the Dj scene; however they brought that something extra. Plus if the saxophone wasn't enough to get you going, then you were defiantly at the wrong place. They killed it with their performance and really got the crowd going before Robin Schulz came on stage. All of the South African performers were great, and all of them made us proud of South African talent, but Goodluck, really proved why they are so loved by so many fans and why they would be directly before the main act.

I have been to many concerts and festival in my time, but I must say the change over time was really one of the best I have ever witnessed. We as the crowd didn't have to wait for the roadies and tech guys to change all of the equipment and do a quick sound check, as so many do have to. They were doing the changeovers of certain equipment during the shows before them but it was really not noticeable. As soon as one act was done and introduced the next one, the next act came onto stage. We didn't have to wait 15- 30 minutes for the changeover. Furthermore, when Goodluck had a few technical issues in the beginning because of the computer bugging out, they still got through it professional and without any sign that they were stressed or worried, and put on a better performance because of it.

The lighting and stage set up was also just phenomenal. It was great in the sense that the stage and the backdrop was two screens with pictures, videos or logos on them, continuously moving and keeping the crowd intrigued. The special effect lighting was amazing. There were laser lights that made patterns across the whole center. There were dancers who at one stage either had hand held smoke machines or lasers on their hands. The lights spread so far and moved according to what their hands did. These were all effects that made the night that more enjoyable.

At first the coupons for the drinks was a bit confusing and didn't make sense, however knowing the business, I realize that having that many staff working an event, it is safer and easier overall to have just a few people working with cash and the bar staff concentrating on the drinks.

It was such a fantastic event; I haven’t had so much fun dancing and singing, in such a long time. It was a place where you could let go and dance like no one was watching, because they weren't, everyone was dancing and having a good time. 

Written by Shannalee Doran 

Parklife 2015

Parklife 2015, held at Marks Park, was an unforgettable experience. The weather, nice and warm, turned out to be perfect for saying goodbye to summer. The vibe was great, the food filled the air with delicious sensations and the music kept everyone happy.

With the musical line up being as great as it was, it was hard to not want to go this festival. With international headliners such as American Authors and Modest Mouse and local artists such as Connell Cruise, Prime Circle, Jimmy Nevis, Monark , Yorke, Gangs of Ballet, Jeremy Loops, Kahn, Jesse Clegg, The kiffness, Vin Deysel, Vimo and many others, the day kept getting better.

Three stages rocked Marks Park, one being the main stage, another a Dj stage for those enjoyed the electro, club vibe and the second main stage. This was brilliantly placed as there was always music going. The two main stages were close to each other so when one artist was busy another could set up and vice versa. The stage where the Djs played was near the food stalls and kept the crowd dancing.

Vega School has placed some of the artwork that people students from the school had painted. These images were so beautiful; they captured the heart and soul of lives in South Africa.

The Gourmet food stalls smelled so good, making everyone hungry. The tastes of the different foods were out of this world. Although some of the food was a bit over priced, one needed to remember it was gourmet, which made paying for it and tasting it even better. The highlight was the cupcakes with caramel coated mini doughnuts, with a chocolate gonash centre.

                             

21 SONGS FOR 21 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY

If you need one reason to be Proudly South African, MUSIC is that one reason. Before freedom was what children were born into, the government tried to take away homes, education, unity and lives but they couldn't take away their music. Even now we go through tough times as a country, but we will always have our music. The main acts of the nights included Kurt Darren, Steve Kekana and Johnny Clegg. Among these were other new and older acts that lit up the stage with passion and drive.

Victor Masondo, the Musical Director, was the bass player as well as the MC for the evening. He inspired the audience with his wise words.  Throughout the evening, there were songs of many languages, Victor said, we need to 

“learn different languages to understand each other rather than let it divide as we have so done before.”  

He even joked about one of the songs “Kahulesa” which was sung by Mama Dorothy Masuku, meaning hurry up.  He joked saying that back in the day they used to sing it to hide their beer away from the police when they came. A few of them would sing and dance for the police singing Kahulesa, mean while the guys in the back would hide their beer from the warning of the songs.  Every story he told was light hearted, funny and non-political or racist. He had a passion for music and South Africans as a united front.

One of the songs that stood out the most for me was one of the Reggae songs, with the words saying

“Different colours, one people.”

Kurt Darren rocked the stage with crowd pleasers, mainly Kaptein and Loslappie. This really got the crowd going. Johnny Clegg, started off the second half, with Sipho Mchunu, bought the crowd to their feet. Ending off with the legends was Steve Kekana, came on stage and showed South Africa how it’s done. After he sang, Victor said had spoken to Steve and in their conversation agreed that they do not feel sorry for those who cannot see, but feel sorry for those who have no vision. I agree with them. If we do not have vision we cannot move forward nor can we embrace change for the better.

It was truly an honour watching the legends of South Africa. I would never change my experience for anything. If there is ever one thing that will bring us together and proudly so, music will be that uniting factor.

Always has been and always will be.  It is my personal opinion that if you need a glimpse of hope, faith, passion, reason (and not just within our country but within yourself) go and see the show.

 Below are some people's view on twitter about the show

Written by Shannalee Doran 

Daniel Baron2nd Album Launch

Daniel Baron, together with La Toscana in Monte Casino, pulled in the masses with Daniel’s second album launch. The second studio album titled Apollo was brought to life with Daniel’s outstanding performance of his latest songs, a few well known covers with a twist and a couple of old songs.

The night was full of fun, dancing, amazing lighting and fantastic music. 

The South African trio of the night, including, guest appearances by Marc Lottering and Vin Deysel, made the night a worthwhile trip. Marc Lottering started off the evening with laughs and Vin Deysel ended it with an unforgettable finale.

The sponsors of the event included, 947, Redken, Toms, uber and. Dermalogica Dermalogica pulled out all of the stops with free goodie bags with samples inside, and a photo booth styled area to take pictures with a card to have the opportunity to win prizes. The first three hundred guests who came through the doors, got a goodie bag upon entrance.

There were albums and t-shirts on sale at the door. Both, the album and shirts, were something worth buying. There were two different styled shirts, for men and women. The men’s shirts had the artwork that is on the album cover.

The second album has music that pleases to all moods and speaks to girls, boys, men and women alike who have been through heartbreak and trying times but who have also overcome those difficulties and faced them head on. It is an album everyone can relate to and feel the passion that resonates through Daniels lyrics and emotion. However it is has “feel good” elements to it as well, leaving no stone left unturned.

According tp Daniel Baron’s website, “Baron’s music has received recognition from the highly acclaimed Patrick Magneralla (Manager of Green Day and Goo Goo Dolls). In 2014 Baron recorded a song at AfterMaster Studios in LA with the team behind the Lady Gaga album, The Fame Monster.”

“In 2013 he was selected to open for Bon Jovi as a part of the ‘Because We Can’ World Tour.
Daniel performed with his band to a crowd of 60 000 at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. Over and
above his local success of album sales, touring, playing at festivals and performing to large audiences
and corporates, Baron has also achieved on an international level. “

For more info go to http://danielbaron.co.za/

Written by Shannalee Doran