Prime Circle, tighter than your average skinny jeans
You won't catch ‘em applying guy-liner, man-scara or wearing skinny jeans, but they sure are one of South Africa's tightest acts in the rock field. Prime Circle was let loose in Wynberg, Cape Town for the second instalment of the Sunshine Saturday's Concert Series last weekend, 19 December 2009. Again, crowd attendance wasn't exceptional, but they were definitely a lively bunch.
The Undefind
The Undefind aka The Undecided
Opening for Prime Circle were a lesser known Cape Town band, The Undefind (not The Undecided as dubbed by Prime Circle's Ross Learmonth). This hard/alternate rock act is very enthusiastic, led by female vocalist, Kendal Spinola and vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Gareth James. While they're full of energy and show plenty of love for their fans there isn't anything really defining about this band, funny enough, and perhaps this is exactly why I find them unappealing.
There isn't anything distinctive about the vocals, the lyrics or the bands' sound for that matter. James, however, does manage scream vocals quite impressively - similar to one of my heroes, Chester Bennington (Linkin Park). Spinola prances around the stage - a bit more than necessary - and they all get their head-bang on in unison - it's awesome to watch BUT, while they might be energetic they lack a very important ingredient, and that is ‘kewl-ness'.
View pics
Dropping the F-bomb
James accidently dropped the F-bomb onstage - this might have been fine at Mercury or the Assembly where cussing is necessary if you want to connect with your audience, but at a family-orientated event, it's a BIG no-no.
Prime Circle
What is the formula!?
Prime Circle was cheered on next by a front row of adoring female fanatics. The band started their set and a sea of golden blonde and brunette locks bounced freely up and down as the heads they were attached to moved with complete abandon.
Prime Circle has come a long way since Hello Crazy World. I remember walking into every music store back in Durban in 2003 looking for their debut album only to hear it was sold out in every store. I finally managed to nab a copy after much hoo-ha and have been an admirer ever since. They've seen super success with all three albums released and it's clear they've got the formula of producing commercial rock anthems down to the T.
Prime Circle are not just perfectionists in the studio; they're great entertainers as well remixing the classic hit Hello and new favourite, She Always Gets What She Wants. They have great stage presence moving around and interacting with the crowd and each other. Most animated on-stage, strangely enough, is drummer, Dale Schnettler, who's quite passionate in every song - you'll observe this from his extraordinary range of facial expressions.
Marco Gomes
Gomes, larger than life
While Learmonth is lead vocalist and primary songwriter, it's interesting to note that Marco Gomes (bass), Dirk Bisschoff (lead guitar) and Neil Breytenbach (keyboards) all play a supporting role in the songwriting process. Learmonth might have the front and centre spot, but Gomes makes his presence known with his larger than life rock-star attitude.
They played a fantastic set in Wynberg, leaving fans begging for an encore and it didn't take much to get them back on stage. Being the fan-orientated band they are, regardless of their superstar status in SA, they hung around for autographs afterwards.
All in all, it was a brilliant day out with an awesome band bringing their A-game out for their Cape Town fans.
View pics
Watershed fans can catch the band early in 2010 on 6 February same time same place. Also featured on the line-up are Kurt Darren and Johnny Clegg.
For more on the Sunshine Saturdays Concert Series, go to http://www.sunshineconcerts.co.za/.