The second year in Jo'burg wasn't as well attended, with a number of free seats. Carnival City, as a venue probably contributes to that, but the crowd did seem a lot more diverse than last year. The combination of the 65 piece Cape Town Pops Orchestra and leading SA pop/rock artists is not only great music, but as Ard Matthews put it so eloquently, a great way to preserve a dying art, an contribute to enhancing our culture.
After a short overture, aKing started the proceedings in rocking style with two of their popular radio hits. It was a good start, though the next singer ChianoSky, didn't continue the momentum. Her dance hits for well with the orchestration, but her squeaky voice just irritated me.
A noticably slimmer Zolani Mahola (of Freshlyground fame) was the best performer of the first half, getting great applause and support from the crowd, and there was even dancing in the stands! Freshlyground's music lends itself to orchestration, and I think it would be great if they released a full album backed by an orchestra!
Van Coke Cartel's Afrikaans metal worked with the orchestra, although at times the electric guitar riffs did overpower the orchestra. They kept the energy going, into the next act, Toya Delazy, whose dance pop hits were more well suited for the orchestra.
Ed Matthews confessed to being a "soppy rocker", and belted out two of his solo love ballads followed by the classic "What he means", which seemed to get the whole audience singing. Tumi & The Volume closed the first half, though I found his voice to be overpowered by the instruments.
The second half started with a medley of theme songs from James Bond franchise (cleverly following a Heineken ad featuring Daniel Craig); which got a rousing applause from the audience. Andy Mac, the organizer behind Symphonic Rocks was next with his band Macstanley. Andy makes a good MC (better than the actual MC) and did a good job in introducing everyone on the stage (and the credit for being the head honcho). I haven't really been a fan of Macstanley (or Flat Stanley in their previous incarnation) and they were certainly blown away by the acts that followed.
Fokofpolisiekar should make a symphonic Afrikaans metal album. More than anyone else in the show, their ballads were perfectly pitched with the orchestra and was a truly amazing result. Their standard, "Hemel op die Plateland"was amazing with the symphony and got everyone headbanging.
Multi SAMA winner Zahara was next, and the success of the show was evident in how all the headbangers just switched to jiving along. She has an amazing voice, and it was a great to see her perform live.
Mi Casa played an interesting set, where there didn't seem to be any break between the songs (as would be expected from a electro-dance group). The trumpet playing of Mo-T was impressive, and fitted well into the arrangements.
Ed Rowland, the lead singer of Collective Soul was the last performer. I have seen Collective Soul before, but I am not really acquainted with their music. It was a great performance and a fitting end to the show.
As a final comment, perhaps future shows should consider reducing the number of artists in favor of giving them longer sets. And move the show closer!
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