It's been close to two years since the Nudies played together. Last time I saw them was at MyCoke Fest 2007. They were awesome then and they are awesome now. It's funny though that I'd actually spent the earlier part of my evening trying to convince a friend that local is lekker and not just cos I'm seriously patriotic and optimistic about this country's potential but because local bands (well some of them) have some major talent. All he needed to do was be there at the Assembly to bear witness for himself. Unfortunately he had other plans.
We missed Jackal and Wolf or rather walked in just as they were completing their set so went and grabbed some drinks, after which Ruth realised that the batteries in the camera were about to give in. Option A was to say forget pictures, it's just the Springbok Nude Girls. Option B was to down our drinks and speed off to my flat in search of batteries. Naturally we went with Option B.
We made it back just in time for Fokof to get the mosh-pit going. I've seen Fokof and Van Coke Kartel live a number of times now and I know this is gonna sound really dof now, but I didn't realise Francois was lead singer in both bands and Wynand played in both as well. I did think it was an uncanny resemblance though. Fokof were great. They sent the crowd into a frenzy as Francois crowd surfed from time to time. I almost almost lost a shoe and was breathless before they were done. We decided to sit on the floor (not because we particularly like the floor, but because there was no space anywhere else). We did manage to sing the "Fokof, fokof polisiekar" chorus while waving our arms in the air.
We rose soon afterwards to prepare for the Nudies - preparation consisting of dancing on the dance floor to the excellent tunes being played. This is what people tend to do at these gigs, they dance. And by dance, I mean sway hips, move around - feel the music run through your body etc etc. We were unfortunate though to have some seriously aggro lady neighbours who found our frivolous behaviour absolutely appalling (appalling I say!) as our swaying bodies sometimes collided with their rather stationary ones. While we were having fun (being girls n all), they were getting their knickers in a knot. They soon decided they'd had enough of all the bumpin' n grindin' and poppin' n lockin' and shoved us (seriously) across the dance floor. I had to hold Ruth back from opening up a can of serious whip-a$$. We then proceeded to resume dancing as our feet just couldn't be tamed even by nasties such as those. Perhaps they thought it was mosh-pit time - a bit premature there ladies... Here's some friendly advice for when you oldies decide to give your bottoms a breather from the couch and visit a venue that's jam-packed with super duper excited fans - don't act your age, it's really unbecoming.
We stuck our tongues out at the buzz killers and weaved our way closer to the stage. Springbok Nude Girls rocked Assembly. A mosh-pit broke out and sweaty body parts were seen and felt everywhere. There were crowd surfers, head bangers, booty shakers everywhere. They played, among others, "Genie", "Little", "Giant Love Affair" and rocked the encore with "Blue Eyes" and "Bubblegum on my Boots". Arno's still got the goods and the band sounds like they never stopped playing together. Even the sound quality at the Assembly was a headache of the past. It was perfect.
Everyone had a great time, perhaps besides the party-poopers who were probably driven over the edge when everyone put on their dancing shoes.
Another gig to check out this week is Dear Reader (formerly known as Harris Tweed). They're playing at Assembly on Thursday, 26 March. On Friday, 27 March Francois plays in his other band, Van Coke Kartel along with The Slashdogs. Also look out for Voice of Destruction on Saturday, 28 March as they reunite after 10 years for a national tour.
For more details, visit www.theassembly.co.za.
