On Monday the 31st of December 2012 we first had a braai at a friends place at around noon and then made our way to Die Eerste Nuwe Jaar’s Party at Arcade Empire about 4 PM.
Die Eerste Nuwe Jaar’s Party at Arcade Empire was a fun filled affair, packed with awesome performances by SA bands and DJs. More than 2,000 people made their way to Gauteng’s premier live music venue to celebrate the dawn of 2013.
Ask anyone that attended this party in Pretoria and they’ll tell you that it was one of the best ones they’ve had in recent years. I’m pretty sure that @BaasDeBeer, @RuanHaha, @ArneCPT, @die_rebel, @wyngaardt, @Deeglik, @Vicky_Jkwicz, @MargaAgenbag, @ch2rlie, @JWGoosen, @estiaanv, @A3ana_dB and many others that attended the party will agree with me.
In case you forgot, Die Eerste Nuwe Jaar’s Party at Arcade Empire featured appearances by Man As Machine, Gangs of Ballet, The Plastics, Wrestlerish, Taxi Violence, Zebra and Giraffe and Civil Twilight and DJ Sets by Dubsidia (from Spain), Haezer and others. One of the awesome things about this New Year’s Eve party was definitely the ticket pricing – online tickets via Ticketbreak cost only R100 and tickets at the gate were priced at R150.
Man As Machine showed just why they’re one of the current up and coming bands in Gauteng and Gangs of Ballet show cased some excellent Durban rock ‘n roll. I saw the Plastics live for the first time and their blend of Indie Rock just blew me away. I now consider them as one of the most underrated bands in the country.
Wrestlerish kept the party going in front of their local crowd, Taxi Violence tore the crowd a new one with their hard rock, Zebra and Giraffe kept the party pace going and Civil Twilight proved why their signed to an international label. Haezer had me strutting my stuff at the electro stage into the early hours of 2013. There wasn’t a performance that I didn’t enjoy at Die Eerste Nuwe Jaar’s Party at Arcade Empire.
I’m looking forward to 2013 at Arcade Empire. Things can only get bigger and better from here. Despite some issues with bar queues there wasn’t a reason to complain on New Year’s Eve. Kudos to Chris, Robert, Christo and the rest of the Arcade Empire team for pulling off one hell of a party. I’m actually already looking forward to the next one.
I took photos at the event. Check some of them out below or view the full album on the Henno Kruger Photography page on Facebook.
Were you at Die Eerste Nuwe Jaar’s Party at Arcade Empire? What did you think? Leave a comment and let me know. Feedback is appreciated and welcome here.
Watch this space for regular updates in the Photography and Music  categories on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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