A touch of madness at OBZ Fest 2008

8 Dec 2008

OBZ Fest got off to a rather slow start on Friday night especially in comparison to a crazy and packed Saturday night. But bands, The Rudimentals and 340ml drew the crowds and instilled some of that Obz festival magic and madness which just seemed to intensify over the weekend.

One could definitely feel (that guy who just moshed you and stood on your foot), hear (whatever cool SA band was playing at the time and the appreciative woops and claps) and smell (beer, weed and hotdogs) those holiday vibes in the air and that rather crazy manic end of year let's get trashed mood was all around.

The Rudimentals

We arrived just in time to catch the much loved Afro-Ska band The Rudimentals. As always the Rudi's put on a great show and got those there hopping and groovy happily. They were the highlight of my night but unfortunately the amount of energy they instilled didn't really seem to be reached again by the following two bands, Rus Nerwich and 340ml.

Rus Nerwich

Rus Nerwich was up next and brought a lively mix of hip hop and jazz. Not exactly my cup of tea but they were entertaining none the less. Rus Nerwich is not the name of the band as I incorrectly thought at the time, but the tall dude on sax. I didn't really pick up that he was the main man as he played with many other musicians and was in fact somewhat overshadowed by them. Though I do recall him doing an innovative rap and sax combo that stood out from the rest of the songs.

340ml

The four pretty Mozambiqian boys from 340ml were the last band to perform on Friday and were quite lovely to see and hear. Their sound was a delicious mix of reggae and rock with a sprinkling of Latin influence. I hope to hear and see them live again sometime soon as I fear my energy was waning somewhat at that point, and I am sure we will as the guys seem to be back with a bang after their four year hiatus.