Whether it’s rock or classical you’re after, big names are on the cards this week.
? Seven months late and rumours about their reliability aside, American Southern rock’s royal family, the Kings of Leon, are still scheduled to cruise through hook-laden power ballads off their latest album, Come Around Sundown. Sure, some critics have accused Nathan Followill (drums, percussion, vocals), Caleb Followill (vocals, rhythm guitar), Jared Followill (bass guitar, vocals) and their cousin, Matthew Followill (lead guitar, vocals), of forsaking the gritty garage-rock roots that earned them their reputation for a more middle-of-the-road chart attack. But the opportunity to tune into guitar-driven anthems about youth and young manhood is not to be sniffed at by local audiences starved of billboard chart-busting rock bands. The support roster boasts three homegrown bands: Black Hotels, Shadowclub and Afrikaans indie-disco darlings Die Heuwels Fantasties.
Cape Town Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, Green Point, Cape Town, on October 26 at 5pm. Band starts at 6pm. Entrance is R215 to R750. Book at Computicket.
? Some of the world’s most famous composers, from Beethoven to Rachmaninoff, are said to be left-handed. Acclaimed 20th-century southpaws include Glen Gould and Arthur Rubinstein. French pianist Maxime Zecchini is among their ranks — only he takes it a step further. Inspired by Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand, he has devised an extraordinary repertoire of overlooked works composed solely for the left hand. “The idea that the playing of just five fingers could sound like two hands seemed like an extraordinary wonder to me,” said Zecchini.
Capetonians will get a taste of his rich renditions of overlooked lefty compositions, alongside “ambidextrous” works by Mozart, Brahms, Chopin and more, in two concerts this weekend.
Baxter Concert Hall, Main Road, Rondebosch, October 22 at 8pm. Entrance is R125. Book at Computicket. Nederburg Manor House Recital Room, Nederburg Wine Estate, Paarl, October 23 at 5pm. Entrance is R150. Tel: 021 809 8106.