Durban music picks: September 10 2010

Alex Sudheim

10 SEP 2010, 10:36

4 min read

Durban offers up its usual blend of rock and classical this week.

One of the many exciting new bands to emerge from the burgeoning Afrikaans alternative rock scene is Foto Na Dans, the five-piece from Cape Town who are currently touring the nation in support of their debut album Die Vloed. With keyboards and trumpet playing a decisive role in their guitar-driven modern rock sound, it’s no surprise the band list Springbok Nude Girls as an influence, but their heavier and slower songs are also redolent of Rammstein, Incubus and Muse. Further audio analysis reveals the itchy indie edge of Bloc Party and Phoenix although the band’s soaring songs are truly singular creations not only as a result of the Afrikaans lyrics but their refreshing absence of self-indulgence.
Burn, Walls Avenue, Friday September 10. R40 from 9pm. Tel: 082 071 9238

Another excellent contemporary rock band from beyond the borders of KZN is in town this weekend to shake the Durbanian booty. The Shadowclub is a sweaty, swamp-rocking beast from Johannesburg whose sultry stew of blues, punk, soul and old-school rock ‘n roll is as much born in the bayou as it is raised in the mean streets of the big city. The juxtaposition of the band’s raw, earthy rock and the shredded-velvet vocals of frontman Jacques Moolman creates a marvellous Little-Richard-meets-Lynyrd-Skynrd musical meltdown. With their ferocious sound and unhinged live shows, The Shadowclub have been electrifying audiences across the country.
Friday September 10, Unit 11, 8pm. 10 Oldham St, off Stamford Hill Road. Email unit11info@gmail.com Tel: 083 378 1237

The Spring Season of the the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra’s World Symphony Series kicks off its 8-week and, in keeping with the high standards maintained by Africa’s only full-time professional orchestra, features a top-drawer selection of internationally acclaimed soloists, conductors and choirs to complement its own considerable musical prowess. The opening concert sees renowned conductor Victor Yampolsky lead the orchestra in a stirring all-Russian repertoire with Swiss violin virtuoso Sibylle Tschopp as the evening’s soloist. On the programmes are Mussorgsky’s Khovantchina: Introduction (Dawn on the Moscow River); Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D Minor
Durban City Hall, Thursday September 16, 7.30pm. Tickets available at the door. Significant discounts for season tickets. Tel: 031 369 9438 Visit www.kznpo.co.za

The Durban Folk Club was founded by a scattering of local musicians in 1986 and, for past 24 has played an important, if somewhat intermittent role, in providing the cohesion for Durbans’ loose-knit community of minstrels, troubadours and bards. However, the club has been inactive over the last few years and, due to the logistical challenges of keeping it up and running, is finally closing its doors for good. However the DFC is going out with a bang and not a whimper with a Folk Club Finale featuring many of the city’s finest musicians from various generations this weekend. The line up includes Miriam Erasmus, Fiona Tozer, Richard Haslop, Will Wallace, Mike Raftery, Roly Struckmeyer, Nux Schwarz and many many more.
Centre for Jazz & Popular Music, UKZN, Saturday September 11, 5pm to 11pm. Entrance R20.

Leading Durban high school Crawford College La Lucia this weekend presents its Annual Classical Soirée in a gala musical event featuring two distinctly different elements. The first half of the evening sees the school’s top musical students performing a range of pieces dating from the Baroque music era. These complex classical pieces demonstrate both the virtuoso prowess of individual students as well as the capabilies of various ensembles. The second half features a show by acoustic guitar maestro and internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Nibs van der Spuy who is joined by Gareth Gale on drums and percussion and Kieran Smith on bass and cello.
Crawford College, Friday September 10, 7pm. Entrance is R60 and the evening follows a supper theatre fomat so bring your own food and drink. Tel:031 562 0050