The dust may have settled after Oppikoppi 2014 Odyssey, but the memories of this epic music festival will remain engraved in my brain until I decide to kick the bucket one day. This was my 16th Oppikoppi to date – if you want technical: it was my 13th Oppikoppi in August – the other 3 were Easter Koppis in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The festival was well run and I didn’t have any major issues, just my usual complaints about my “festival knee” condition (or maybe that’s just part of being over 35).
This article features one photo of every local act that I photographed at this year’s festival. You’re welcome to read my full review, but I guess I can safely repeat that SA Music is alive and well (and anyone who was at the festival this year will agree with me).
Spoonerman: This might have been the first time in history that I see a guy in a goldfish suit performing on a stage.
Trevor Rebello: I was pleasantly surprised by his catchy lyrics and the perfect act to slowly easy my way into festival mode on Thursday.
Dave Baudains: I’ve seen this oke at Rise & Shine Festival before, but I was once again surprised by the amazing sounds that were coming out of his guitar.
Wrestlerish: This was pretty sad but memorable at the same time. It was fun to sing along to “Oliver Tambourine” and “Bad News” one last time.
Dead Lucky: These Cape Town rockers blew me away with their no-bullshit style of Rock ‘n Roll. I really hope they decide to play more songs in Gauteng in the near future.
Squeal: The second the band struck the first cord on their song “Long Pig” the whole of Oppikoppi was instantly transported back to the 1990’s. It felt like I was learning to mosh in Shaft all over again.
Boargazm: I’m not the biggest fan of heavy metal, but you have to admire these Pretoria okes with their pig masks and their cover of Sepultura’s “Roots”. PS: I made it through two whole songs Heine and Chris.
Wonderboom: This band transferred me back to the early days of SA Rock. It felt like I was at Tuks Rag for the first time (way back in 1997). Sidenote: Cito can still move on stage like a spider-monkey, even though he turned 40 earlier this year.
Bittereinder: Even though their set started at 1 AM on Friday morning, the Oppikoppi faithful pushed the envelope and were completely blown away by no less than 9 brand new songs from their upcoming third studio album. Two words were etched into memory after this set “Klank Anatomie”…
David Beretta Owens: Hearing someone from legendary 1990’s rock band Lithium singing some tunes that slightly creeps into your soul one lyric at a time was pretty sweet. Hearing your friend Lizzy Mills on vocals for the first time in three years: Priceless.
The Olympic: I only watched a bit of their set, but it was great hearing this Pretoria rock band’s song “City Streets” while I was there…
Urban Creep: Like The Olympic, I only saw a few songs by these SA Music legends, but I was impressed. It was great seeing Chris Letcher on stage.
Matthew Mole: It was the first time that he played on the James Phillips stage at Oppikoppi and the huge crowd (most consisting of girls) was thoroughly impressed. Hearing almost everyone singing along to his song was pretty epic too.
Mr Cat & The Jackal: These okes put on of the best shows of the festival and had the crowd singing along to their unique blend of Gypsey Rock before you could say “Where is my shoes?”
Gangs of Ballet: These Durban boys put on one of the best shows of the weekend and the Oppikoppi crowd were not disappointed. It was great to hear more than 10,000 people singing along to “Hello, Sweet World”.
Zebra & Giraffe: This Gauteng based band (who played their first EVER show as a band at a previous edition of this legendary SA Music festival) celebrated their 6th birthday in style by treating the Odyssey crowd to a great set, choc-a-bloc full of amazing tunes.
Taxi Violence: People got exactly what they expected from Taxi Violence at Oppikoppi 2014 Odyssey this year: Pure un-electronic in-your-face rock ‘n roll with a kick. Plain and simple.
Van Coke Kartel: One of the best acts of the weekend. Sadly I missed the part where Kobus tackled a naked guy on stage, but apparently that’s included in the music video for “Sweef”, so I guess I’ll watch it to see what happened.
Springbok Nude Girls: Another highlight of Oppikoppi 2014 Odyssey. The style that they played in took me back to the rugged and rough mid 1990’s when SA Rock was still in its infancy.
PHFat: I have to admit that I would’ve liked to see their full set, but unfortunately the top bar was calling my name at the time. The 10 minutes that I did watch of their show were truly epic though.
The Sunday Punchers: These blokes like singing about drinking a lot and I have to admit that this was one of their better shows. Well done to Francois Mostert and the lads.
Bandoleros: Picture this: Andre Kriel, Gareth Wilson, Albert Frost, Tammy Wilson, Jaco Mans, Jonathan Peyper and a few other great South African musicians playing bluesy / folky and acoustic rock ‘n roll. Enough said.
Lucy Kruger: This lady played one of her best sets to date. She’s grown a lot since I first watched her perform at Rise and Shine Festival last year. Things can only get better from here on forward if you ask me.
Jonathan Peyper: Hailed as a must see act by many Oppikoppi festival goers, this maestro of electric blues was a pleasure to watch at the Ray Ban Top Bar stage. It was also great to watch Chris Van Der Walt, Tammy Wilson and Jason Hinch enhance his performance.
Liela Groenewalt: Referred to by many as that “girl that always sings with Koos Kombuis”, this brilliant Afrikaans artist played an excellent solo set at the top bar.
Hugh Masekela: The multiple Grammy award winning artist stunned the Oppikoppi crowd with a brilliant performance choc-a-bloc full of amazing Jazz sounds – definitely one of the highlights of this year’s festival.
Albert Frost and Dan Patlansky: Two of the best electric guitarists in South Africa played an epic sundown set at the Wesley’s Dome stage, pulling one of the biggest daytime crowds at this years festival. It was something I’ll remember forever.
Shortstraw: One of my favorite acts in SA Music, these kings of Indie, entertained a massive crowd at the James Phillips Stage. Another highlight of the show was seeing the Grind Radio’s own Crazy Jay on stage during their performance of “Bikini Weather”.
aKING:: Jam packed with almost all of their tracks off “Dutch Courage” these Bellville rockers proved just why they’re considered to be one of the best live acts in the country. Hearing more than 12,000 people sing along to “Safe As Houses” was really special.
There you, all 30 the local acts that I watched performed this year at Oppikoppi 2014 Odyssey. Feel free to check out more pics on Henno Kruger Photography and the Running Wolf’s Rant Facebook page.
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