Deftones at One Night Only in Cape Town, Aug 2013

There’s nothing better than starting a long weekend with your girlfriends and rock n roll. Truth be told, I’d never heard of Manchester Orchestra and I don’t know Yellow Card nor Deftones very well. None the less, nothing will convert you to a band’s music more than seeing them live. That’s if they have any talent which this line up was expected to have.

Unfortunately, because I only finished work at 6 and the show started at 7, I missed Manchester Orchestra. What a wasted opportunity! Unfortunately the Grand Arena has to close by midnight so every show starts much earlier these days.

None the less, I managed to catch Yellow Card who played a punk rock set that was lively. They expressed their appreciation to those in the audience wearing their merchandise and singing their lyrics. They acknowledged that they were a long way from home and really appreciated the audiences’ support. And I’ll never dismiss a band with a little humility! I’d be happy to watch their show again.

The Deftones were the headliners and bless the audiences’ heart. Every time a sound techie came on stage or the backdrop changed, the audience would go wild under the assumption it was the band. By the time the Deftones did come on stage the audience was super excited and ready to rock.

I wondered if Chino Moreno (lead singer) had any idea how many 30-something men had changed their Facebook profile pictures to his or his band’s image in the week leading up the show?

Although I don’t know the Deftones’ music well they were one of the biggest rock bands from the 90’s and their show proved why. The group were totally comfortable and in the moment. It’s not often that one gets to watch a band where they come across as the act being who they really are opposed to “just another day at the office”. They were very convincing and that surity transferred to the audience.

Ironically, the only song that I did feel was slight work for them was their big hit Change. This was the only one I knew well! But I can’t blame bands who are sick of singing their hit for the 1 millionth time – we are all human after all! I heard some mixed reviews from Oppikoppi but in my experience The Deftones were high energy, professional, convincing and committed who put on a fantastic show. The most convincing band I’d seen since Enter Shikari – funnily enough at One Night in Cape Town last year.

The only two downfalls I can say about the evening was the alcohol selection. Although the Grand Arena has more than enough bars and an efficient pay and collect service in one of the banqueting halls, not being able to buy alcohol that one actually wants to drink is a bit of a pain. They only seem to sell Redds at the venue which isn’t my drink of choice and yes, I’m getting grumpy like my Pops – I wanna drink what I wanna drink!

The second thing was attendance. I suspect most of Cape Town had gone away for the weekend but the fact that there were only about 3000 at the most is ridiculous. Sooner or later companies are not going to be able to afford to keep bringing internationals to Cape Town if the city doesn’t support. If that happens, it’ll be no one’s fault but the city’s. So I urge everyone to support the arts and attend these events. It’s for our own good!