MUSIC: Johnny de Goede
THE power of her voice and stage presence alone have ensured Heather Mac a prominent place among South Africa’s rock luminaries. I remember being spellbound by one of her performances with Ellamental in 1984, after which the band went to Europe, basing themselves in Ireland. They even got to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Since her return she has performed in Hair, in cabarets and with Jazzart Dance Company, but her performance at The River Club in Cape Town last weekend signalled a significant change of direction.
Mac’s avowed intention was to “reintroduce an element of magic” to our lives, and she went about this in an imaginative way. For her the stage is essentially a space where ideas can be explored. These included a soprano sax and African drumming piece, a choreographed routine using two dancers, two a capella songs, numerous costume changes, proper stage lighting and her own graphic, long-limbed movements.
In The River Club’s new Swimming Pool Room, with its mottled underwater paint job, they combined to create a sense of drama and spectacle.
The songs were by Mac and Tim Parr, plus one each by Robbie Robb and Edi Nederlander. Nederlander, a superb songwriter, was also lured out of seclusion to play her unique style of guitar. Steve Howells was given an opportunity to reveal the more textured side of his drumming. His approach worked well with Ilne Hofmeyr’s melodic fretless bass sound and the strong vocal harmonies of the three women.
The dominant theme of the lyrics appeared to be things magical and mystical, and this tended to come across as a little overstated. After all, the attraction of mystery lies in large part in its subtlety and our sense of discovery. This aspect of the music would also have been helped by a softer sound mix.
These gripes aside, the show absolutely deserved to be seen, primarily for its adventurous spirit.
Watch out for Heather Mac in performance at Cape Town’s Jazzart Dance Studios next week during the run-up to the Gay and Lesbian Parade on Saturday December 10