Indulge your Vice
16 Jul 2009
Vice magazine is a free international subversive pop culture magazine which will be hitting shelves in SA in no time if not already. To celebrate this they threw their SA launch at the Assembly this past Friday with the help of an eclectic mix of bands including, Inge Beckman, Ree - Burth, Ashtray Electric and UK band the New Young Pony Club DJ set.
Vice Magazine and the Assembly were giving out over 800 free tickets to the launch which was pretty cool and we luckily managed to get our hands on two of those elusive tickets. However at the door one was proclaimed invalid but using the powers of persuasion and the Jedi mind trick I managed to get myself and new flat mate and party buddy in. Phew.
Hmm I'm not too sure about the magazine though, perhaps it's an acquired taste but reading about pudgy Italians trying to get blowjobs and a Japanese cannibal describing his first kill and er meal not to mention a few creepy cartoons made me feel a bit yucky and left rather a bad taste in my mouth. One thing for sure I can say about Vice is that it is original and does take a look at popular culture from the other side of the looking glass. http://www.viceland.com/
Ree-Burth
Ashtray Electric
New Young Pony Club
Having missed Inge Beckman, (I was told she warmed things up nicely) Ree-Burth was the band that kicked off our night. Described as a punk band from Soweto, Ree-Burth is definitely not the type of band seen everyday. Formed by 4 brothers from Soweto who were into alternative rock they all but rocked out with their *ahems* out. Now a punk band that has a lead with dreads is not something that you see everyday...oh wait doesn't the dude from Hog Hog Hoggidy have dreads? Ok scratch that maybe it's actually quite common.
Ree-Burth leapt and strutted around stage like it was nobody's business and for the most part I enjoyed them but at times their songs became a little too heavy and shouty for my taste but I guess that's the nature of punk. I was going to write a little more about them but I can't seem to find any substantial info on the net, what's up with that not even a MySpace page?
After getting slaughtered by a power house Foosball couple in a few games. It was time to catch next band of the night Ashtray Electric. BizLounge had actually had an interview with them earlier in the day, click here to read it, and it was nice seeing the band perform after getting to know them a little better. No stranger to the Assembly stage they put on a rocking show as ever.
Two members of the UK outfit The New Young Pony Club wrapped up the night and played a DJ set that was both cool and trendy but also fun and danceable striking a balance that is not always easily made with dance music in my opinion and effectively ended the night on a high.
