Let me tell you something about the Daily Mirror: it's a terrible newspaper. It's a seedy cabal of worthless journos who do nothing but pick lint from their bellybuttons when they're not dreaming up scandals involving the Royals and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But you can't be wrong all the time.
Oppikoppi '09 was fantastic and it stood out for the right reasons: music, music, music.
Visual Highlights:
Videos:
Fokofpolisiekar burns down Oppikoppi
Thandiswa Mazwai Live
Cassette
The Arrows
Reeburth
Van Coke Kartel and Gerald Clark
Galleries:
Superheroes, smartees and Oppikoppi freaks
Oppikoppi's Friday Night Highlights
Saturday's Highlights in Pictures (Part 1)
Saturday night's Highlights in Pictures (Part 2)
Sunday's Stage Action in Pictures
Sunday Evening's Stage Action in Pictures
At the flashy end of the line-up, things carried on more or less as you'd expect.
Fokofpolisiekar had a tight, well-cheered outing on the main stage. As their professionalism grows, that unpredictable edge we've always found so endearing will fade, but that's just the cost of living for a band this established, with this much expectation, both musical and cultural, heaped on them at every festival.
Koos Kombuis still pulls in the crowds and finally decided to spring the cash for a proper backing band this year. The Parlotones had half of Oppikoppi singing along and the other half on their very last nerve. aKING's march to some imagined European tour goes forth, and with the festival-slaying melodies of Against All Odds now in their holster, they just might make it. Thandiswa Mazwai brought internationally-recognised star power to the Sipho Gumede stage but had only the beginnings of a crowd to work with.
Greg Carlin debuted his indie pop rock outfit Zebra & Giraffe at last year's festival. So one year is all it takes, apparently, to ascend to the top of South Africa's music consciousness (and the Oppikoppi main stage). On Sunday's evidence they deserve it. Atmospheric and sing-along-able at the same time, Z&G are gathering a loyal fanbase that will inevitably start following Carlin in malls and taking his lyrics way too seriously.
Afrikaans music has an interesting time ahead. I can't see the horde of mediocre rockers coming in Fokof's wake having nearly as much impact as the original angsty band. Who could shake things up? More and more, I'm being convinced that it's Die Heuwels Fantasties. Bellville's electro poets have hit all the right notes in recent performances, thanks to the fire in Pierre Greeff's belly and an uncanny resonance with Afrikaner existence, being... what, exactly? Maybe the answer has become denying that there is one.
Oppikoppi also had its first encounter with the snert rap of Jack Parow and Die Antwoord. Forsaking hip hop beats in favour of the hip-'n-with-it charms of electro (Parow) and the zefness of rave (Die Antwoord), these profane troublemakers shocked as hard as they rocked and could yet spawn a next generation of fire-spitting local MCs.
Other highlights included Janis Joplin-cum-Glenn Danzig acoustic stylings of Andra (again putting off some while having others in rapture), the ridiculously groovy rock 'n roll of The Shadow Club, seeing indie rock done right by The Plastics and the guitar work of The Sick-Leaves' Eksteen Jacobsz. Finally, I witnessed a completely unexpected acoustic triumph by Van Coke Kartel with Gerald Clark. Just a few weeks ago, I said that VCK should only play in bars. Now I can't wait to hear them strumming to another African sunset. If only being proven wrong was always as sweet...
Now, on come the challengers. After a bumper 2009, Ramfest is ever more upwardly mobile and even went so far as to sponsor a stage at Oppikoppi. Adding to the hype was an announcement by Foto Na Dans that Aussie giants Pendulum would be coming down for Ramfest 2010. Could any festival supplant Oppikoppi as the country's premier (rock) music destination?
Of course they could. But it won't be easy. Not with the kind of talent, value for money and history-making performances on offer at Oppikoppi so consistently for the last 15 years. For now, it really is God's gift to South African music.
* Image by Sean Brand