A war’s being waged in Durban, writes Alex Sudheim of the Battle of the Bands
Having witnessed the unspooling drama of Durban’s seminal Battle of the Bands from the various perspectives of contender, manager, spectator, judge and now journalist, I must say the view from each hill is remarkably different.
As contender I got pissed off with the judges for not choosing the band I play in; as manager I got pissed off with the judges for not choosing the band I manage; as spectator I got pissed off with the judges for not choosing the bands I like; as judge I became terribly confused because I wasn’t allowed to be pissed off, and now as journalist its time to look back upon the whole affair and lavish upon it sage and objective illumination.
I guess it seems I spent much time griping at the judges, but in turn they also felt no inclination to resort to diplomacy with me. This was one of the great things about the Battle of the Bands: politeness was cast aside, trenches were dug and shots were fired. This was, after all, war.
>From the outset the enterprise was, like Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, a bold and vast undertaking whose magnificence of vision was always under threat from the mundane constraints of logic and possibility. Those same features which charged and excited also vexed and frustrated: while the battle galvanised the Durban music scene like nothing else in a good while, it is also a symptom of an undernourished music scene when it takes crass competition to get the public interested; while making the competition broad-based and resisting genre- segregation made for some interesting tests of multiculture ideology, at times the judges were at a loss to weigh the worth of white, adolescent punk-rock band against smooth Pan-African soul-bop outfit.
Nevertheless, these intrigues were precisely what made the endeavour so interesting – the passions aroused, egos bruised and tempers flared showed there was something more compelling than empty umbrella rhetoric at stake here. The business of judging is, by its nature, innately flawed, and many potentially deserving bands fell by the hand of arbitrary fate. But again, despite the teeth clenched in bitter disappointment, this also made the Battle of the Bands all the more fascinating.
By virtue of a somewhat shambolic judging system, many surprise decisions were made, with sometimes the original-yet-unpopular contender winning the day, while at other times even scores of adoring fans did not ensure the passage of their idols into the next round.
Launched in Durban harbour at the revitalised Bat Caf over three months ago, the competition has since then been piling on the tension, which will eventually be resolved in the final clash on December 23. One amazing primary vital statistic of the event is that it attracted over 60 unsigned entrants – not bad for a town with barely a glimmer of a recording industry and a struggling live music scene.
Yet for the first time in a long while there was a genuine whiff of hysteria in the Durban air as legions of loyal fans pitched up to revel in the presence of the stage-borne. Bands like electrokitsch-tinged rap/rock/metal fusioneers Jimmy 12″ had no shortage of adoring young groupies, as did the more radio-friendly Pistolfish. Synapsis had the teenage punks moshing like mad while the smooth R&B grooves of Tan and jazzy ambient cocktails of 3SM reeled in a brigade of stylish hipsters. Metal merchants V had the headbangers in raucous ecstasy while Sakhula and Lalela attracted the more urbane element.
Like any good experiment, the Battle of the Bands blew up a few test tubes in the laboratory while perfecting the formula, with the biggest bang set to take place in the finals. Of the four bands taking part in the climactic concert, Jimmy 12″ and Lalela have already confirmed their places. The other two berths will be occupied by winners of the last semi- final (which took place on December 16): either soul sisters Tan; metalheads V; straight edge punk band Crossing Point; or alt-rockers Sideshow.
How the judges create an apparatus to decide between that disparate lot is anyone’s guess, so make sure you’re there on December 23 to find out who wears Durban’s barnacle-encrusted musical crown.