The Foo Fighters

In one of my classes in high school, I sat next to a guy who was Nirvana devotee - his pencil case was devoted to Kurt Cobain, he doodled Nirvana logos all the time, and etched Nirvana on desks. This was still a few years after Nirvana disbanded, but I was introduced to Nirvana and related bands such as Foo Fighters through him. Although I really got into Nirvana, I only occasionally listen to Foo Fighters; thus when the concerts were announced, I didn't rush to get tickets.

I did however read about their amazing concerts, and given that Kaiser Chiefs were also on the bill; I sourced some tickets via gumtree (at cost - so no scalpers prices required). The concert itself was sold out of standing and golden circle - but quite a lot of the stadium seating remained open.

I am glad I went - this was one of the best, if not the best, concert I have attended. It did not have pyrotechnic effects, or amazing lighting effects. It was just a long and energetic performance with amazing crowd rapport from Dave Grohl.

I have avoided parking at the FNB Stadium previously - but the park and ride options this time around were not ideal. The parking itself was easy to access, and well controlled; getting out however was a nightmare with very little co-ordination and control of traffic flow. Once inside the stadium, the food and merchandise stands were equally badly managed with long queues, so much so, that we ended up missing most of BLK JKS.

The last performance of Kaiser Chiefs I attended also involved Jared Leto's 30 Second to Mars, and featured Jared Leto climbing up scaffolding "to see the crowd better". Clearly front man Ricky Wilson (who also donned the Kaizer Chiefs jersey with his name on the back) learnt something - the performance was amazingly athletic; with him running across the stage, and climbing scaffolding a few times. I haven't heard much of the new album; but the performance was a combination of some of the great hits together with the new album and it was great to hear them live again.

After a couple of songs from the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl commented that they are not "a 1 hour 30 minute band, not a 1 hour 45 minute band ... not a 2 hour 30 minute band" but rather, they will play until they can't play no more. This is not a new claim by headline acts - but for once the band delivered. For close to 3 hours, with no breaks in between, the Foo Fighters went through their repertoire - songs from every album, a song from Queen, and even a song with Dave Grohl drumming (cover of a Cheap Trick song).

The performance was a perfect example in how the live performances can be so different (and in my mind better) than the recorded albums. From additional chorus renditions, to leading the crowd through singing choruses, to long musical interludes within the song - it was an amazing concert performance.

Movie: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Of the three Hunger Games novels, Mockingjay is the most complicated - but I don't think it warranted a split into two parts; especially when the first part of the story is basically a set-up towards the finale. The acting is mostly mundane (including very wooden performances by actors such as Julianne Moore), and nothing really happens - although the experience does feel a bit short-changed. I think movies like these, should really be released close to each other, or just combined to be one large movie.

Cape Town Tango Ensemble @ The Orbit

The Cape Town Tango Ensemble (or at least a part of them) flew up to give a recital at The Orbit last night; with support from some local musicians (Elena Zlatkova on violin and Tambinkosi Mavimbela on double bass) with Melanie Scholtz providing vocals. The ensemble is featured quite often on Classic FM (and the Cape's Fine Music Radio), and their live performance did not disappoint. The performance was a mixture of "classic" tango music, heavily featuring Argentinian composer Astor Piazolla, as well as the ensemble's own compositions.

JPO's 3rd 2014 Season, 2nd Concert: Azerbaijan

For the 2^nd and last concert of the season, the JPO had a special concert on the music of Azerbaijan, sponsored by the Azerbaijani Embassy. Earlier this year, the JPO was the orchestra for the Gabala music festival, and the return leg featuring music from Azerbaijan was a good showcase of global music.

Every piece performed was a good departure from the traditional fare. Quite a bit of the music felt like film scores - of a piece trying to tell a tale. The cultural influences of Arabian and Western European musical styles made a great contrast - and was very enjoyable to listen to. I particularly enjoyed the Piano Concerto - which had amazing contrast between the Western and Arabian styles; for both the orchestra and the pianist.

This is the type of concert that the JPO should perform more of. Unfortunately, the marketing seemed to be a let down once again, and the attendance was very poor. A pity - it was a great concert. I would actually go as far as saying, it was one of the best JPO concerts I have been to.

Program:

Amirov's Azerbaijan Capriccio

Tchiaikovsky's Variations on a Rocco Theme

Hajibeyov's Caravan

Amirov & Nazirova's Piano Concerto on Arabian Themes

Ibramimova's Confession for Cello, Piano and Strings

Garayev's Adagio & Waltz from the Seven Beauties Ballet

Conductor: Yalchin Adigezalov

Cellist: Aleksey Miltykh

Pianist: Saida Tagi-Zadeh

Movie: Interstellar

It is part a movie about extinction - of humans, part a movie about exploration and the bravery of explorers of the unknown; and partly a movie about mysticism and time travel paradoxes. Interstellar is visually stunning, with an amazing cast and script that manages to narrate what survival of the human species beyond Earth might actually mean. 

In a near future, Earth's agriculture is failing, people have died in mass from starvation, and it is clear that the end is nigh. Almost as a last ditch attempt, Matthew McConaughey leads a team to a different galaxy via a mysterious wormhole to try find a new world for humans. Others have gone before to try identify potential worlds - now is the time to pick one so that humanity can continue. The plot, with its twist and turns is amazing (complete with the very well known time travel paradox) - and the only negative I have is the last few scenes before the finale as Matthew's character re-connects with humanity. If it was to be done, it should have been done a lot better. I am not sure if it needed to be done in the first place.

The visuals are spectacular - not only of the strange and alien worlds (much filmed on Earth, not necessarily effects); but also of Earth itself, as it grinds to dust. This is a movie that must be watched on a big screen - the bigger the better. With only two Imax cinemas in South Africa, the choices are limited - but it is certainly worth it.

JPO's 3rd 2014 Season, 1st Concert

To call it a 3^rd season is overly generous - after all, there are only 2 concerts!That said, the line-up for both concerts is quite interesting and some shows are better than no shows! Last night's concert, in some ways, encapsulated two of the big problems with the current state of the JPO - poor communication and poor attendance. I am a subscriber, but I only got a SMS about the concerts the day before - certainly not the best way to advertise at such short notice. There were apparently emails, but quite a few people didn't seem to get them. There were apparently a few radio ads also - but in the age of so many communication mediums, it is quite sad that the JPO can't seem to get the word out that that there are actually performing! Poor attendance obviously flows from poor communication and marketing, and it certainly doesn't help the JPO's financial position, sponsorship and ultimately its future prospects.

Starting the evening off, was Grieg's Holberg Suite. I have heard most of the individual components a number of times on radio - especially Sarabande and Rigaudon - but this was the first time I have heard them all together. It was a fun piece, and very easy to appreciate - and certainly a good piece to kick off a concert!

Multiple competition winner, Russian pianist Andrey Pisarev, played a double concerto bill of Chopin's First and Second Piano Concertos. Like the performance last year, Andrey Pisarev, seemed to be in his own world; looking only at the piano or the conductor during his performance. His fingers flew across the keyboard - something that was quite fun to watch, especially in the virtuoso parts of the performance - but he was far more reserved. It was a great performance, and I think I am getting to like Chopin more and more - but not necessarily as personable as Alexander Lubyantsev last year.

Movie: La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty)

Lavishly set amongst some of the finest art and architecture in Rome, La Grande Bellezza, or The Great Beauty is a visual masterpiece - but with seemingly no plot and no real storyline. The film revolves around a great (fictional) Italian author, Jep Gambardella, who starts to question his lavish, partying lifestyle upon his 65^th birthday - but doesn't really come to any meaningful conclusions. It is a visual masterpiece, backed by an amazing sound track - and in a few places - some amazing dialogue (his assessment of the failures of one his ego-seeking friends is probably worth the ticket price); but there is no meaningful story, and in the end quite unsatisfying.

War Horse

The UK's National Theatre's performance of War Horse has had rave reviews and the marketing hype for the South African performances has been like no other theatre performance. The hype is definitely warranted - this is certainly one of the best live performances (of any genre) I have attended.

Part of the spectacle, is off course the puppets - especially the large horse puppets - whose movements are so well crafted, that the puppeteers blend into the background; and are completely unobtrusive. This is not Punch and Judy - the puppets manage to convey amazing emotion, and natural movement; and presence -  that it is sometimes easy to forget that these are actually puppets.

 Backing the puppeteers amazing craft, is a superb cast of actors and lighting and stage effects - that manage to completely portray the horrors and cruelty of war. It is a visual feast, that sucks the audience in completely. It is a great story - but it is amazing creativity that has managed to translate the story so completely for a stage performance.

Johnny Clegg - Best, Live & Unplugged

Johnny Clegg's current tour is more than just a musical performance of his best hits, arranged acoustically. Yes - all the big hits are there, including performances with Sipho Mchunu - but there are also a few obscure pieces. But more than the music - it is a discourse on South African culture.

In between the songs, Johnny Clegg discussed difference in instrumentation, the impact of migration on the change of culture and its eventual impact on new styles of song and dance. It was not just a speech, but as he put it a "show and tell". Off course, this is all wrapped up within the wider context of South Africa's history - not only apartheid, but going further back to colonial times such as the Battle of Isandlwana and its inspiration for Impi.

20 years into South Africa's rainbow nation - the discourse in cultural roots, transformation and amalgamation is still missing. While this is a very personal discourse from Johnny Clegg, it provides a glimpse into how various traditions of culture and music have influenced South African music.

Movie: Dracula Untold

There have been a few "origins" movies in the past few years - movies to explain the origins of a famous character (or in the case of Planet of the Apes, an entire species). And in most of these, a feature has been to humanise the characters even more. 

In this regard, Dracula Untold, boldly ventures forth into turning one of the major villains in modern English literature to, not only a hero, but one that should be applauded and revered. The movie does manage to expand the powers of Dracula, and how he comes to actually save Europe from being taken over by the evil Ottoman empire (where the emperor seems to have an army similar to Game of Thrones' Unsullied); and eventually becomes a vampire in order to defeat this army and save "his people".

Plot holes aside, there are two impressive acting performances by Luke Evans (in the title role) and Charles Dance (as Dracula's sire) and great visual effects. It is a fun action movie - but ultimately, it is different to the original concept of Dracula - and thus ends up making a new anti-hero, as opposed to rehabilitating a villain.

Movie: Gone Girl

M has been raving about the works of the author Gillian Flynn since the beginning of the year. Based on Gone Girl - I can see why. The plot is superbly paced, with some great twists - and enough ambiguity in its ending, to cater for multiple versions of "why". The acting is superb, and this is an excellent twist on the "whodunit" genre. Perhaps, I should read the books ...

Adapt or Fly

Pieter-Dirk Uys' new one man show, Adapt or Fly, currently on at the Market Theatre, feels like a farewell show - a compilation of his time in South Africa's theatre circuit. I haven't seen his full one man shows before, so the format was a bit strange - the combination of political commentary, various characters and impersonations and personal reflection did not have a cohesive theme - but that is not to say, it was a bad show. It was not a stand-up comedy routine, but it was not a play. But it was funny, often serious in its subject matter, and sometimes poignant.

It was just strange - but completely worth it.

Movie: Roadmap to Apartheid

In Roadmap to Apartheid, shown in the recent Tri-Continent Film Festival, the film-makers compare the Israel to Apartheid South Africa, with the Israelis taking the position of the oppressive regime. With the recent war in Gaza, it was a timely documentary, even though the movie was released in 2012.

There are striking similarities - but there are just as many striking differences. For example, the Apartheid South African economy was almost slavery, while Israel does not depend on Palestinians for its economy. Likewise, the demographic differences are more equivalent - unlike minority oppression in Apartheid South Africa.

That said, the Israeli occupation is brutal - and this is a great documentary in providing context to a number of key issues - such as what exactly is a settlement, or what are the 1967 borders, and for that matter, what was the original border. It is in the brutality, and the exposure of the brutality that the movie is at its most powerful. It does not require equivalence to other immoral regimes to be itself, a immoral regime. It is also one sided - not that it excuses Israeli oppression - but at very least, the context of Palestinian movements has some foundation other than political rhetoric.

The documentary ends in a surprisingly upbeat tone - focusing on the BDS movement, which has gained increasing prominence in the recent past. While I think the BDS movement has laudable aims, unfortunately, it will require political will to actually reverse the scenario. Sanctions against Apartheid after all were political in nature - not just at individuals and companies. For the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to end, it requires compromise from both sides, and it requires visionary leadership from both sides. Fundamentally, I think the conflict is fuelled by, what is effectively racism, on both sides. For it to end, it will require a Mandela, or a Gandhi, on both sides. 

What it means for the interim, is just more conflict.

Movie: Miners Shot Down

Miners Shot Down (IMDB, website) is possibly the most important social documentary on South Africa in the past 20 years. As per the director's comments after the screening yesterday, this film is unequivocally about the miner's story - and it pulls no punches. 

It is actually mind numbing to realise that there is no re-enactment - that the videos; pulled from news organisations, Lonmin, the police and the commission of enquiry - is all real. And it does feature footage and interviews with most of the key players in the story - the miners, the mine bosses, the trade union leaders, the police and journalists. And it is an indictment on the failure of broad based economic transformation - in the words of one of the mining strike leaders - the sons of the miners continue to be relegated to mining, while the sons of the mining bosses continue to be their sons' bosses. It is a cycle of poverty and damnation that has not been addressed where it matters most.

Ultimately, what puzzle me most is, not the question of police brutality - images of Ferguson etc. shows that this seems to be an universal trait when the police are militarised. It is not the question of pressure from Lonmin either - after all, private citizens and corporates have every right to request for political intervention and support of their side of the story. It is rather, how the decision that was made by unnamed persons in the police hierarchy was arrived at. After all, it is clear that the police were instructed to disarm violently - but in the haze of the tear gas and gun smoke, it seems that there is no clear explanation on why and how the decision was arrived at.

The repercussions of the Marikana massacre have already started, and will continue for years to come. Sadly, as the 5 month strike this year has proven, the engagement between miners and the mining bosses continue to the toxic. And while Julius Malema's assertion that Cyril Rapamphosa is a murderer responsible for Marikana is difficult to directly justify - the moral culpability seems too strong to refute.

All in all, it is a great tragedy - for all of us.

Movie: Boyhood

Boyhood is one of the most critically acclaimed movies, ever. Artistically, as a project, there has been very few with such a grand vision, and even fewer that have pulled it off. 12 years in making, the movie follows the story of a boy as he grows up from age 6 to 18 - with all characters playing the same part, and growing up together. 

But it is not only the concept. The story is simple - the characters, are no superheroes or specifically special; but it manages to stitch together an amazing story, with effectively everyday events. It is a story of a modern family I suppose - divorced parents, remarriage, step siblings, moving homes, changing friends, changing environments (from cellphones that could only text to smartphones for example) and changing music. 

As an artistic endeavour, it is amazing and deserves all the accolades it has received.

Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy

I did not know anything about this Marvel franchise - and to be honest, I was not expecting much more than a standard superhero movie. It has all the trappings of superhero movies - heroes with difficult pasts, villains that want to destroy everything, and helpless innocents to protect in between. What I was not expecting was a comedic gem intertwined with 70s and 80s music hits. Guardians of the Galaxy is not an amazing movie - but it is different to other superhero movies, and great entertainment.

Movie: Lucy

I wanted to watch Lucy after the trailers, and expected the standard sci-fi plot line - a person gains super-human powers, and there is some ticking timebomb that the heroine needs to stop. That the powers come from ingesting a new synthetic super drug, and the timebomb is a set of a Korean gangsters makes this plotline a bit mundane. But where, the movie really fails is in the pseudo philosophy discussions it tries to disseminate as what holds the movie plotline together. It is scientifically dubious (to put it politely) and nowhere as compelling in other sci-fi plotlines that have tried similar tricks (Matrix comes to mind specifically). Even Morgan Freeman, as the aged genius scientist cannot really rescue this movie - the trailer is the only really good thing about it.

Initial Thoughts on Apple Pay

There is not much detail available on Apple Pay, announced at Apple's keynote yesterday - but my first thought, was that it resembles an update of Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). Like Apple Pay, SET theoretically allowed for a system where a payment transaction could be conducted without the merchant knowing the payment details and the bank knowing what was purchased. SET and other token based systems (such as a credential based payment system I developed in my PhD) haven't really taken off - although one can argue that Bitcoin is also an evolution of such a system.

The advantage Apple Pay does have, over all others before it, is the massive install base of iPhones and the Apple brand. As long as Apple itself does not fall prey to payment card breaches (and Apple Pay's design of keeping card data on the phone itself, mitigates this risk); Apple should have better success compared to previous attempts. Furthermore, if Apple Pay does work, extending the service to include non-credit card type transactions - such as integration with bank accounts - should not be a challenge either.

The Otter Trail - Day 5

In the various guides I have read about the Otter Trail, the details of Day 5 seems to be particularly brief. This is a great pity - while the walk itself is relaxed and relatively easy; it was some of the most scenic parts of the hike.

The walk starts off with crossing a gentle stream - Kilp River - that runs next to the rest stop. The biggest challenge in the day's walk is the steep climb up the gorge to the top; a strenuous walk in context of the previous days' efforts.

Most of the walk from here is on the top -  mostly flat with a few ups and downs - along the coast. There are absolutely gorgeous views of sea as it crashes into the rocks below at the bottom of the cliffs, lots of sea birds and the fynbos and proteas in bloom. It is a very scenic walk.

The hike ends with a very steep decent on to the beach of Nature's Valley - a long golden stretch of sand. It is still a bit of a walk to the car park, where we thoroughly enjoyed the hot showers on offer. We finished off our stay at Nature's Valley's (only?) Restaurant with some burgers for lunch - before starting the trek back home.

The Otter Trail - Day 4

Day 4 of the trail is the longest and most strenuous (so far at least). The day is complicated by the crossing of the Bloukrans river, and unfortunately low ride was around 07:30 this morning (or at 20:00). The river itself is a grueling 10km hike from the 3rd day rest-stop - which is itself longer than any of the other day's hikes.

We started at 04:00, and it was quite disconcerting  to hike in the dark, while hearing the waves crash into the rocks below. With a spotlight, it was easy to see the bottom of the cliffs, and the path was often quite high up. 

Although the trail is well marked, it is quite difficult, with rocks and mud; and I lost my footing quite a few times. I was also quite tired - although not in pain as such - and unfortunately ended up slowing my friends quite a bit.

We made it to the river by 09:00, and the tide was coming in. We further managed to miscount the number of survival bags (2 less), and although RS and D shared a survival bag, they had to come back with a bag to get me. By this time, the crossing was even more difficult, but we did manage to get across safely - although my bag managed to get wet (courtesy of a few holes from rocks) and I managed to loose my glasses courtesy of a wave that was well over my head.

After some coffee and rusks on the other side, and some rudimentary attempts at drying (I was not the only one with a wet bag) - the hike to the next stop started. The 4km was even more strenuous given the exertions already undertaken; carriage of wet items, and some fairly steep climbs. We arrived at the stop in dribs and drabs - but were having lunch by 14:00 ... And complaining of all the pains and aches.

The Otter Trail - Day 3

Day 3 was rather short in distance, and quite relaxed - we only started after 9:30 and made it to the next rest stop by 14:30. 

Unlike the previous two days where the hike was through forests, most of today's hike hugged the coast, through fynbos and grasslands. The coast is quite rugged, making for some amazing scenery.

The day starts by crossing the Geelhoutbos river, which flows right past the rest stop. The crossing is simple - just walk across a the river resembles more of a stream than a river. The next two rivers are harder - for the Elandsbos, we had to wade through at ankle height, and the beach was a good place to stop. The Lottering river, right next to the next rest stop, was a harder affair, with the water at thigh high (although there was deeper parts). 

Later in the afternoon, a large pod of dolphins swam past the river mouth - adding to the whale we saw earlier in the day to our marine mammal count for the day.

The Otter Trail - Day 2

I woke up this morning with, what I thought was the wind howling outside. It actually took a fee minutes to realise that it was just the waves crashing into the rocks below the cabin. Relieved that I didn't have to trek through wind and rain, I strode outside to try catch the sunrise. Unfortunately east was more behind a hill, spoiling the perfect sunrise on the water imagery!

I managed to get a cellphone signal on the edge of the rocks, where I managed to update my blog. But I also got unfortunate news of an attempted fraud on my credit card - and so spent the next few minutes of my flaky signal canceling the card!

After a decent breakfast of oats so easy and instant cuppachino (our standard breakfast for the hike) we finally got walking. The second day route features a number of climbs, and is hopefully the most strenuous day of hiking. 

The climbing starts immediately, and quite difficult at that - and is only the easiest of the three big climbs. After the first climb, there is an amazing rocky lookout point overlooking the area. 

As we were leaving the outcrop, we met some rangers who were doing trail maintenance who assured us that only the final climb was bad; and it was actually pretty easy going until then. Our experience was unfortunately the opposite - and I certainly feel that the section between the outcrop and the bottom of the last major climb was the most difficult stretch. 

Just over the 75% mark, at the bottom of the last climb, there is a well marked detour to an amazing sandy beach. We spent a good couple of hours; and even though I am not a big fan of beaches; I think. The beach itself was worth the hike.

The final climb was actually not too bad - and the final lookout point had some amazing views. The way down to te second night huts, once again on the beach, was a bit steep - but otherwise unremarkable (in otter trail standards I suppose).

We had dinner of Chinese instant noodles; with some biltong; and even had a visitor in two genets that seemed to be very friendly. They were pretty easy to photograph - and it seems that at least some of the hikers feed them.

The Otter Trail - Day 1

About 14 months ago, D and I were chatting, an I mentioned that we should do the Otter Trail. D took the initiative, and here we are. There are 6 of us in total, with R, RS, Ju and Je joining us.

The first day is pretty relaxed, walking down from the park gate, through some fairly dense forest,  until hitting the sea, with a small cave to the right. The rest of the route is pretty rocky, especially to a spectacular waterfall; which is the end of the day trail. The overnight trail continues through more forest, before ending at the first overnight huts; where we could spy two whales frolicking in the sea.

The scenery has been amazing, with the combination of sea and forest. The weather forecast was for clear skies and sun; but it has been a cloudy day so far.

Dinner was a combination of classic camping food (smash and baked beans) with lamb chops and boerewors on the braai. That's it for luxurious food though; carrying that much weight for two days was never on the cards.

Storms River Village

In 2007, when I was traveling from Cape Town; Storms River Village was my first overnight stop. Not much has changed in this rather quaint village, although it does seem to have more accommodation, including 2 backpackers, than what I remember it having. It is stil quiet, and sleepy town - a nice start to a holiday.

Port Elizabeth's Beachfront

It's my fourth time in PE, and this is the first time I have actually spent any time at the beach front area. There doesn't seem to be much really - a paved walkway, some restaurants facing the beach, and the beach off course.

The Broadwalk Casino is one of the better casino complexes; with a wide open promenade and a number of restaurants. It isn't much; but somehow it seems to be better than the beach.

JPO's Fundraising Concert

In collaboration with University of Stellenbosch Symphony Orchestra, the JPO held two fund raising concerts last week; featuring soloists Pinchas Zukerman and his South African born, Canadian wife Amanda Forsyth. The tickets were on the expensive side - this was after all a fund raising concert - but both nights were sold out; although it was not as full as the Joshua Bell concert from a couple of years back.

The evening started with Pinchas Zukerman conducting Beethoven's Egmont Overture. It's a lively piece to start off, especially as Beethoven manages to fill a rather short piece with great symphonic orchestra elements - and the performance was simply superb.

Amanda Forsyth strode on to the stage in a regal flourish, dedicating the performance to her late father - Pietermaritzburg born Malcolm Forsyth - the composer of the cello concerto; Electra Rising.  For the first 3 movements, the piece (to me at least) was the tantrum - of a irate queen for instance, aided by percussion; while the orchestra plays the part of someone desperately trying to calm her down. This scene was further added to, when Amanda Forsyth asked a mother and her small child to move, due to the child's distracting movements in the front row! The last movement is very different - it is as if the tantrum is over, and everyone is ready to sing in happiness together - the symphonic movements are so different, that it is hard to believe it is the same piece! Officially, the piece is meant to mirror the fight against apartheid culminating with the dawn of democracy - but I prefer my interpretation :) As a modern piece, it was actually quite brave for the JPO to put on a concerto of this nature - especially in the context of a fund raising concert - but this is something the JPO needs to do more to survive.

After the break, Stellenbosch University's Corvin Matei conducted Pinchas Zukerman's performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1. It was one of the best violin concerto performances at the JPO, and hands down the best performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1, that I have attended. The performance was simply mesmerising, and fully deserved the standing ovation. 

The fund raising concert had a bit of everything - a very popular piece, a piece from one of the most feted composers, and a modern piece - with very impressive soloists. Hopefully, the JPO has many more!

Buskaid Community Concert

Every year, Buskaid hosts a community concert at the Dutch Church in Diepkloof, 2/3 weeks before their annual concert at the Linder Auditorium. As I can't make it to this year's concert; I decided to go to the community concert instead. The program is the same; but the atmosphere is remarkably different. Unlike the Linder, the audience is far younger - with a lot of young kids; even babies. In fact, it was quite amusing to hear a few of them hum the recently played tunes during the interval, or to see them mime conducting together with the music. Unlike previous concerts, this year's program features complete pieces - which I think is a good move.

In keeping with Buskaid's tradition of playing lesser known composers, the concert started with Georg Muffat’s Passacaglia - a baroque piece from the 1680s. On YouTube, it seems that the piece is mostly played as an organ piece - and perhaps the richness of the sound is lost when converted to a string orchestra. Perhaps, it is also because the music seems to be background church music - something quite appropriate for the venue; but without the cavernous cathedral, it just didn't seem to fit.

Keeping with the time period, but a far better known composer, the following piece was JS Bach's Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins; except it was played with six soloists (two per movement). Buskaid performed this piece (with the same configuration) at the beginning of the year, and was once again a great performance. 

Completely different in mood, and somewhat appropriate given global events, was Elgar's Sospiri - composed 100 years ago at the start of World War 1. The piece featured a harp played by a young harpist, Jude van der Walt, and the intro is absolutely amazing. It is a somber piece, but the performance was quite magical - and received an enthusiastic applause.

The first half concluded, with a piece written for the Buskaid - Sancho’s Dance Suite by Julian Grant, who arranged a set of dance pieces by Ignatius Sancho - who is quite an interesting person in his own right. The music itself is contemporary of the period, although the start of the piece is quite interesting (and rough) - and it ends in quite a joyous note. I don't know whether the piece is meant to signify the trajectory of Sancho's life (born on a slave ship, emancipation and thereafter renown) - but I will keep that as my narrative of the piece  :)

The second half featured two virtuoso performances by three of the senior members of the Buskaid ensemble. Starting the half was Tiisetso Mashishi's performance of Max Bruch's Romance for Viola and Orchestra. His previous performance at the Buskaid concert at the beginning of the year, was the highlight of the concert, and once again he didn't disappoint.  

This was followed by  Pablo de Sarasate's Navarra for two violins and orchestra, played by Kabelo Monnathebe and Simiso Radebe. It was as much fun looking at them play, as it was to hear the piece - the communication between the two during the performance was amazing; and it is certainly a piece that commands the audience's attention on the soloists. It's a fun piece, reminiscent of a Spanish dance/song and a fitting finale for the "formal" part of the program. The encore for the formal part of the orchestra was a short, lively piece by Mussorgsky - but I am not sure of the title. 

Buskaid's informal part of the concert is probably what makes their performances so special. It also highlights the difference in audiences - here, as the gospel, kwela and afro-pop songs started, the audience joined in, dancing - and not the young members only - it was the mothers and perhaps even the grandmothers. But that was only in the front - the dancing was in the aisles, and at the back - it was a celebration. 

I am quite convinced, that it may even make sense for Buskaid to link up with one (or more) afro-pop bands - and produce an album; with Buskaid performing the music, and the singers singing. One of the great things about Buskaid, is the variety of types of music performed - today's performance spanned almost 350 years of music. Buskaid always manages to balance the classical with the contemporary; and looking at the packed hall, it works.

Buskaid's annual concert in on Saturday, 6 September at Linder Auditorium - and highly recommended.

Carlo Mombelli's Stories Quartet

I am not completely sure of how I came across The Orbit - a newish live music and restaurant venue; focusing mainly on Jazz. It has been a while since I last went to a live jazz performance, and Carlo Mombelli's Stories Quartet looked quite promising - both with the inclusion of prominent performers and the streaming music on the website.

The first experience at arrival was not great - they had managed to lose the dinner reservations - but they recovered quickly; finding us a good table. The menu was not extensive - but the food was good, with attentive but not overbearing service. 

The music was the highlight - a mixture of amazing energy, with many moments of individual brilliance - as well as slow and mournful. Mbusa Khosa, who sung almost entirely in Zulu, has an absolutely amazing voice - and was in itself an instrumental performance in its own right. It was captivating, and magical - fully deserving of a standing ovation at the end of the night.

City Press' African Women Feature

In a first for me, I went out and bought three different newspapers last Sunday. It was interesting to note the diverse range of coverage of news stories and opinion - but I didn't get through all of it on Sunday! 

City Press had a feature on African Women - a profile of 60-odd notable African women in diverse fields; as part of Women's Day commemorations. As a South African publication, there was the expected high proportion of South Africans on the list - but what was notable for me, was who was left out. There was, for example, not a single opposition party member from South Africa featured, neither were notable leaders of African countries like Joyce Banda or Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. 

It does seem a bit one sided in selection. I am not saying that those that were profiled were not warranted to be included in the profiles - just that the selection seems a bit odd.

FTL: Faster than Light

About 14/15 years ago, E, discovered this abandonware DOS based game that involved piloting a cargo ship between various ports of the world. It was part Transport Tycoon (build up a shipping empire) mixed with some slow manoeuvring as the "auto pilot" for docking didn't work every now and then.

I discovered FTL: Faster than Light, via a Kickstarter newsletter. The concept is deceptively simple. You are a pilot of a ship carrying sensitive information, across the galaxy pursued by rebels. Your mission is to hand over the sensitive information, and then defeat the "mothership". Along the way, there are pirates, rebel scouts, aliens who don't like you, lost civilians, storekeepers, mercenaries, abandoned planets etc. which you must help, fight, or flee. The right outcome will provide with opportunities to upgrade your ship; and the wrong outcomes could end the game.

The game is simple to play; and incredibly difficult to beat. Even on the easy mode, I have raked up over 15 hours to beat the boss just once. There are some tricks - but the game's random generator can be brutal. About 5 games before I finally won - I did get the boss to 1 health bar - but then a strike from the boss, caused a fire in my weapons room (when I still had about 40% health), and my weapons just couldn't recharge fast enough to finish the boss off. There are no save points to recover from - it's either finish it, or restart.

It is addictive, and an absolutely impressive strategy game. Like the shipping game from years past, the graphics aren't amazing. It is the gameplay and the strategy that makes it worth coming back to; over and over again.

Movie: Mr. Pip

The brief synopsis of the movie does not really capture the social tensions, the brutality, and the beauty of this movie - it is one of those that you walk in expecting something, but leave after watching something quite different.

Set in early 1990, in Papua New Guinea's Bougainville island/region - the movie, based on a novel of the same name, explores the civilian village life in a fairly brutal civil war for autonomy/independence. The story follows Matilda, and Mr Watts, who takes up teaching the village kids; primarily through Dickens' Great Expectations - but also weaving in other villagers who bring their own expertise in exchange for staying to listen to the story. Matilda's imagination leads her to reimagine Pip in the context of her own people (but strangely still in Victorian clothing) - but this leads to a rather disastrous end as the army captain decides that Pip is really an important rebel being hidden by the village.

In the end, Matilda's life runs parallel to that of Dickens' Pip - in that she is a person of which there are great expectations, and one that eventually is (partially?) fulfilled. But it is not so much the parallel - but the sheer beauty and innocence of village life that makes this a compelling movie. In the context of current world events in Gaza, Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere - it really captures the dichotomy of experiences and wishes of the fighters and the people caught in between.

Movie: Dawn of the Planet of Apes

The reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise has now got the possibility of tracing the full story of how the apes come to dominate a planet that was previously dominated by humans - a decade at a time. The movie is actually damn good - both from the perspective of story and effects; but it does degenerate to some clichés - the vengeful, backstabbing lieutenant, the good samaritan doctor, the great leader - but it is the packaging that makes it a good movie.

Missing ...

I think this was the first time that I saw a live performance by the legendary John Kani in his new play Missing ..., currently on at the Market Theatre. The story charts the story of a fictional (but quite believable) loyal, intellectual ANC activist who ends up in exile in Stockholm. There, he marries and raises a family - but when the new government arrives in 1994 he is apparently forgotten. But, with his daughter's upcoming wedding, and a longing for home - he decides to go back to South Africa and at least confront the ANC leadership on being forgotten.

It is funny, and poignant - and above all a critical dissection on some of the ails of the new political class. Quoting Orwell's classic "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others", the second act is a stunning criticism of politicians in general - but the play is also a reminder of what political service and self sacrifice actually means.

The performances, especially that of John Kani, are impressive. It is a different angle to cover politics and the anti-apartheid struggle; and a performance that needs to be watched - and fully deserved the standing ovation.

Movie: The Railway Man

Set in WW2, The Railway Man tells the story of a railway fanatic, who was a POW in Burma, building the railway line for the Japanese. In part, it is a story of the history - of effectively being a slave, and of torture - but it is also a story of redemption and forgiveness; when he goes back to Burma to confront his captor. It's a touching tale with great performances from Colin Firth in the lead.

SAA - 11th Best Airline in the World

I have always maintained that South Africans and SA media is overly critical of SAA. Yes, it is not as good Emirates or Singapore Airlines; and its financial management has hardly been stellar - but its service is good and usually on time. In the 2014 Skytrax awards, SAA was ranked 11^th in the world - better than Turkish (crap in my experience), Cathay Pacific and Etihad. And the airlines often mentioned as better than SAA - British Airways and Air France - do not even feature.

Defending the Caveman

Defending the Cave Man has been a hit show in South Africa for 18 years, with Alan Committie performing the show over 800 times. M & I had bought tickets about two years ago, but didn't go as I was out of town on a business trip. For a show that was written in 1991, it manages to stay quite relevant - and Alan's many performances means that the performance itself is very slick. It is surprisingly interactive, and that does lend some level of uniqueness for each performance.

The show is a funny, tongue in cheek set of observations on men, women and their relationships. Ultimately, it proposes that all actions that separate men and women are actually rooted in the past - in caveman behaviour to be specific. Many comedy routines build on the differences between men and women in their act - this is perhaps the finest exponent of that genre.

Movie: Maleficent

It has been a while since Angeline Jolie commanded such presence in a movie. M has been wanting to see Maleficent ever since we saw a trailer a few months back - and Jolie's amazing performance is reason enough to see it. The movie, tells the backstory for the classic children's fairy tale - Sleeping Beauty; motivating that the curse laid upon Sleeping Beauty is not as it seems. The visuals are spectacular, and Sharlto Copley plays, yet again, a deranged character - this time, the king - and the twist with the meaning of "true love's kiss" was a nice touch. However, the rest of the movie - especially some of the dialogue, acting and general story line is quite bad at places; but then again - it is based on a children's fairy tale.

NSA's Operational Security Failures

In the May issue of the Communications of the ACM, Bob Toxen does a thorough examination of the operational security failures of the NSA in the Snowden leak. Snowden, as an administrator did have privileged access to many systems, but the scale of the leak, and the access control failures that allowed for the leak points to wide scale operational security failures. 

I do not agree with Bob Toxen on the ease of detecting smuggled USB sticks (in or out of the organisation) - modern USB drives are far easier to smuggle in, and it is even easier to smuggle in SD cards and the like. I do agree with his assessments on the scale of logical access control failures: administrators in any large organisation should certainly not have access to all systems; and users with higher classification accounts should require multi-factor authentication to access highly sensitive information. These are not new dangles processes or controls, and in fact the NSA helped write some of the key theory and practical guides in this area.

The learnings of the NSA's failures extends to most organisations. Unfortunately, unlike the NSA, most organisations do not have effectively unlimited funds at their disposal.

Movie: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Like super hero movie franchises like Superman, Spiderman and Batman - which have all effectively retold the same story in slightly different ways; the X-Men franchise was seemingly going in the same direction - especially when X-Men 3 killed off so many characters, and X-Men First Class and the Wolverine movies started telling back stories. Days of Future Past is effectively the best way to extend the story without retelling the same stories. 

At its heart, this is a time travel story - the current X-Men universe is over-run by killer robots that want to exterminate mutants; and so the solution is to send the ever-green wolverine back to the past to stop the extermination starting in the first place; and hopefully the mutants and humans will live happily ever after. The story now leaves lot of scope for new stories to be told - since the universe is effectively reset.

As an action, super-hero movie it is great entertainment. The opening battle scene is frenetic and the prison break scene is a touch of genius.That said, I hope future X-Men movies do with fewer characters - and really explore the myriad of great characters - instead of just throwing so many of them at the same time on the screen. In a battle for survival, it made sense (even though the mutant cast is substantially reduced) - otherwise they would just like become X-Men 3 - garbage.

Jon Stewart's Extended Interview of Timothy Geithner

The Daily Show, and especially the extended interviews are not easily accessible outside the US; and that's a pity - as Jon Stewart is an amazing interviewer. The interviews are far more in depth and in detail than many news channels - especially those that are seemingly "constrained" in their ability to get news; despite the fact that news is their business. The extended interview of former US Secretary of Treasury, Timothy Geithner - on the bailout and financial crisis is amazing. It was one of the clearest discussions on the motivations, constraints and ideas that shaped the US bailout. There is no real conclusion on whether it was the best way, but the discussion is definitely worth watching to at least understand all the various pressures.

Unfortunately, I think the full interview is only available on torrent outside the US.

JPO's 2nd 2014 Season, 4th Concert

The 4^th and last concert of the 2^nd season, was sponsored by Hollard, who also gave away tasty purple macaroons in the lobby - a great branding exercise I think! The concert was conducted once again by Adrian Parabava, who conducted all the pieces of the night from memory - which I don't think I have seen before at the JPO!

The first piece was the overture to Carl Maria von Weber's opera Oberon - which was also the last composition by Weber. The piece starts of slowly, as if drifting through the clouds - but does pick up in pace and excitement as it continues. Definitely a good way to start a concert!

Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1 is one of the most popular violin concertos, and it's a piece that is played often on radio. I have attended at least one previous performance, and last night's performance by Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts was quite mesmerising - and certainly more memorable than last year's, closing off with an impressive virtuoso encore.

Sibelius' Symphony No 1 finished off the evening. The piece had an interesting byplay between various woodwind, percussion and string instruments which made it quite an interesting piece to listen to. Compared to the Bruch, I don't think I have heard either of the other pieces from the evening, and they were certainly very interesting pieces and performances!

ITWeb Security Summit 2014

ITWeb Security Summit in 2009 was my first "industry" security conference, and after a long diet of academic security conferences, ITWeb was a huge let-down. There were some interesting talks - especially the key notes, but a lot of the others were a big waste of time. So much so, I did not bother going again until last year - and even then, it was for half a day.

This year was slightly different - I was presenting in the afternoon, and so took the opportunity to also attend the keynotes in the morning and some of the other topics in my own track. The organisation was a bit sloppy: for a conference in its ninth year, starting late due to traffic is inexcusable - rather start late given that traffic in Sandton at 8am is bad! Likewise, the opening remarks were a long ramble with no particular purpose - especially given that the conference was already behind schedule!

The first keynote  by Jacob Appelbaum's was definitely worth attending; covering a number of interesting topics related to surveillance. A bulk of it related to a primer of the NSA surveillance techniques, and especially on how these techniques are leveraged and integrated to provide a holistic end-to-end capability to intercept, inject and siphon data. His observations were scathing - not only of the US government but also of the general attitudes - and called the European/US/Canadian stance effectively "deep seated racism" - that they see themselves as superior, and thus it is ok to be doing mass surveillance on other people. I particularly enjoyed his argument, that it is not so much the NSA that is wrong - but the fact that this capability is provided for, and accepted. His view that even court authorised targeted surveillance without informing the target should outlawed is extreme - but was logically sound in the context provided. Sadly, he did not have much in the way of solution - and his approach of effectively open source (not necessarily commercially free) software and hardware will take a long time to really mature to be usable by the masses.

 Christopher Soghoian's keynote continued in a similar vein, focusing more on the, almost willing, corporate participation in the NSA programmes. Some of it, such as major service providers like Google and Yahoo not forcing SSL connections for email logins by default inadvertently helped programmes like those run by the NSA. Although he did comment on the business models employed - effectively targeted advertising - I think part of the issue, that these services are free to the user could lead to undue expectations - after all, you do get what you paid for.

Unfortunately, I can't make day 2 - but at least the keynotes were well worth attending. The track I was on was ok overall - a wide diversity in the level of content presented; and was generally well attended.

Online Trust and Jihadi Forums

Back at RSA 2012, Mikko Hypponen gave a very interesting talk on the IT platforms used by various terrorist groups - not only Islamists, but also white supremacists etc. I have seen sporadic articles since, but most are quite superficial without much detail.

A fairly lengthy academic research paper on trust in online forums, specifically Islamist Jihadi forums is therefore quite impressive - not only in the breadth of the article's coverage; but also in the author's conclusions.That trust will be difficult to achieve, especially in an online forum about terrorism, is not hard to fathom; but the fact that overall trust has declined and been supplanted by social media is harder to understand (although the period of research was before the NSA revelations).

The paper also doesn't discuss whether the issues of trust appear on other forums - both private and public on the Internet. The discussion points on why trust is difficult to achieve on the Internet would apply to all forms of Internet forums - not only Jihadists; and would these findings apply to forums for open source developers, car enthusiasts, media pirates and Hollywood gossip mongers?

That said, the paper is very interesting reading and covers a subject matter that is rarely discussed in any real level of detail. Even if it is ring fenced to a small Internet community - the methodology should be easy to transfer to other groups, and see if this is a general trend or not. If it is a general trend, there are interesting implications for telecommuting and perhaps even open source communities and other mostly digital communities.

Last Night of the Proms

Richard Cock's annual colourful spectacle in support of Lifeline, had the theme of "Movie Blockbusters" this year. There were some great musical pieces, with Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission was my personal favorite. The song selection was somewhat dated - but still generally well known. 

The sold out shows are a testament that classical music does have an audience in Johannesburg. The shows also help two of my assertions on what the JPO should be doing - more well known pieces; and having shows on the weekend.

On the over reliance on "experts"

This month, The Economist's Intelligence Life magazine has an interesting article on convergence of opinion with regards to art works. The article argues that due to hype, marketing and just general overwhelming praise (or otherwise) - our own appreciation of art work will be tainted by these wider opinion. The result however is, when one does come across a lesser heralded work, one struggles to understand why it is not considered in the top 10 lists etc. 

This has interesting implications as art (and other things) are commented upon in great numbers via social media; and off course some things have just been condensed down to "Like" or some star ratings. Thus, with increasing number of ratings, is it really possible to distill whether the rating is genuine appreciation or just the convergence by the herd - i.e. since it is a 4.2 star, and I didn't like it, I will give it a 4 - instead of giving it a 2 ...

JPO's 2nd 2014 Season, 3rd Concert

Indonesian born conductor, Adrian Prabava, shuffled the seating for the orchestra; on a night of some welcome good news for the orchestra. The JPO has been invited to perform as the core orchestra at the Gabala Music Festival in Azerbaijan during August bringing some much needed exposure for the musicians and the orchestra. CEO, Duncan Gibbon, commented that this provides a stronger motivation on why the orchestra needs support from government bodies; but my opinion in the latter matter is more simple. The JPO  needs to attract more audience members more than anything else, and a half full hall witnessing an amazing soloist performance highlighted this very problem.

The current JPO season's fascination with Schumann continued with the overture to his only opera Genoveva; a lively piece performed at a frantic pace. It was not otherwise memorable but enjoyable none the less.

Scheduled Russian soloist Peter Laul did not make it to South Africa; but the last minute replacement - American born but local resident Bryan Wallick - did not disappoint. I have not heard Brahms' 1st Piano Concerto before, and it was quite a strange concerto. Brahms wrote it as a tribute to Robert Schumann; and the first movement is apparently meant to represent grief (of learning of his mental illness and subsequent death); and the movement certainly sounds like a horror/thriller soundtrack in places. The weirdness of the piece for me comes from the mostly segregated performance of the piano and the orchestra - one is almost whispering if not completely silent while the other plays. Regardless, the performance of both were amazing - especially the pianist, which was quite virtuosic despite the claim that audiences were disappointed at the lack of virtuosity  on the piece's debut.

The final piece of the evening, Beethoven's 3rd Symphony was too long for the program. With its long movements, the performance extended well past 10pm. It was a good performance, and I love Beethoven symphonies - but I was ready to leave after the second movement!

JPO's 2nd 2014 Season, 2nd Concert

Pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi is quite amusing to watch on stage - he is often playing with his eyes closed (lost in the music perhaps), his facial gestures are amusing - especially his eyebrows moving up and down; often with no relation to the actual music, and when he has a break and the orchestra takes over completely, he hangs his hands to his side as if he is completely exhausted. Over and above the amusing show; his performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto was amazing. I have heard it before at the JPO, but this performance was somehow far more engaging and interesting.

On either side of the Schumann concerto, were orchestral pieces by Mendelssohn - Overture to A Midsummer's Night Dream and Symphony No 3. The overture was fun, and interesting; and the symphony had its moments - but it was the concerto that was the highlight of the evening.

JPO's 2nd 2014 Season, 1st Concert

The 1^st concert of the new season, literally started with a bang - the opening percussion for Rossini's Overture to The Thieving Magpies. Bright, and upbeat (despite the nature of the tale); it was a great piece to start the new season. The JPO, led by celebrated South African conductor Conrad van Alphen, put on a great show to a nearly full house; a welcome change from the half full houses in the past concerts this year.

A crowd favourite, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2 followed the overture, this time being performed by another celebrated South African musician - Nina Schumann. It's a piece I love, and was performed expertly by the soloist and the orchestra. The orchestrated version of Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition finished off the evening - and was certainly a great selection of classical music.

CliffCentral and "new" radio

In a country where Internet access is still quite expensive and exclusive, Gareth Cliff's venture into Internet radio is a bold venture - but one that has made some innovative partnerships. There is a partnership with Tencent's WeChat (rival to What's App etc), a co-broadcast on Comedy Central Africa and now a partnership with MTN to bring this particular Internet Radio station at a more affordable price. The idea of having live auditions to set up new shows on the radio station (beyond the current morning show) also brings about a very different approach to radio; at least in South Africa.

I was not a big fan of the Gareth Cliff show on 5FM, and I have only listened live for a short while (though I have listened longer to some of the podcasts). In a crowded arena with other talk radio stations - such as 702 and Power FM, the competition is fierce; but many of these shows are not focused on the youth market - so perhaps CliffCentral will find its own niche.

In the past few weeks, I have been impressed with Power FM's coverage of politics, and its ability to get the leaders of various political parties to debate and discuss political issues. But I doubt, that even Power FM has managed to get a full hour interview with any politician - and Gareth Cliff's interview with Julius Malema is one of the best open discussions on politics in South African media. 

If the station can continue in that vein - it would be an excellent addition to the South African media space.

Movie: Philomena

Based on a true story, Philomena charts the story of an old woman trying to find her son - who was "adopted" against her wishes about 50 years back, together with the help of a journalist/ex-spin doctor - who initially has no interest in "human interest" stories. 

The adoption of Anthony is itself a story of effectively human trafficking. Philomena, a poor and unsophisticated Irish girl falls pregnant, and the catholic nuns effectively force her to do uncompensated hard labour for "taking care" of her and her son; who is then effectively sold to an American couple for adoption. 

Philomena's search has a bitter sweet ending; but beyond the ethical questions regarding adoption; Judy Dench's amazing portrayal of Philomena also challenges some very fundamental stereotypes of "simple folk" - that they were fooled into doing things; or that they are anti-gay etc. It is a profound story that features excellent acting, and a very sad story on the dark side of adoption.

Classical Musician Battle

Just wow! Link: http://youtu.be/w6ySSyrfJLs

Anthems of Democracy

One of my first memories of TV, is Gcina Mhlope reading children's stories, with some drawings. The stories were quite simple, but it was her storytelling that made it memorable. With Anthems of Democracy, her storytelling prowess was back in full force, melding together numerous languages in a flawless, enthusiastic performance that strung the disparate musical performances together.

In one of the introductions, Mhlope talked about the "blanket of song" that helped the nurture, grieve and celebrate the achievements and setbacks of the anti-apartheid movement. It was a disparate set of performers, who managed to blend in a strange mix of songs that were obviously about the apartheid struggle and others that were more personal, or more celebratory. 

For me, the highlight was Yvonne Chaka Chaka - her command of the stage, and her voice was simply amazing. But there were many more - Bright Blue's rendition of Weeping with the Soweto Gospel Choir was amazing; Sipho Hotstix Mabuse's energetic performance rolled back his years; and Joan Armatrading's soulful voice got everyone dancing in the aisles. 

It was a great evening - and although many more performers could have been added to the bill (Hugh Masekela and Johnny Clegg come to mind); it was a great show. And it was an appropriate celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa.