Beer's origin is in the fertile crescent (hint: not Germany)

Now I've stopped being a pedantic, what's on offer in terms of beer here? Ice cold Castle Lager? Warm Castle Lager? Micro brews?

This is going to be awesome. Does anyone know if tickets are available at the door?

X-rated Bob wrote: Beer's origin is in the fertile crescent (hint: not Germany)

Now I've stopped being a pedantic, what's on offer in terms of beer here? Ice cold Castle Lager? Warm Castle Lager? Micro brews?

From http://www.sa-venues.com/events/westerncape/brews-and-blues-festival/

We have few local and international breweries including, Darling Brewery, Camelthorn, Mitchell's Brewery and some international Erdinger, Liefmans and Duval just to name a few.

So something a bit interesting on the beery side of things.

beery nice Bob ?

I went and was a bit disapointed. Not with the bands or the beer, they were great ?. It was however poorly attended. The tent was set up all wrong with the wind howling over the stage and through the tent making it a bit miserable, especilly towards the end when the sun went down and it got really cold. The sun started setting in mid afternoon and was heading behind the stage so we had a few hours of looking straight into the sun and the shade of the tent dissapearing.

As usual, things were running late and it took a long time for changeovers. We managed to see Albert Frost & Gerald Clark; Boulevard Blues and Dan Patlansky and their music was fantastic. I am a Patlansky fan and just loved his set.

During one of the breaks we tried to get some food but the one stand had run out. The remaining stand sold us some steak in a roll. It was really tough. The beer was however great and plentiful.

The thing that upset me most was the general attitude of the crowd. While we had world class performances on the stage, we had people who were standing right at the front of the tent, in front of the sound desk and getting in the sound guys way. And they were not paying the slightest bit ot interest in the band. And there were several groups just like them so I am not singeling them out. This is such an insult to the bands who are pouring their souls into the music and being ignored. There were people who were actually looking the other way! You certainly would NOT go to the cinema and stand round in the middle of the cinema, blocking peoples view and smoking so why does it happen with these music festivals?

People were smoking everywhere, even under the tent where it should be illegal and allowing their smoke to drift up outher peoples noses. Really unhealthy and in with little regard for other people. It also happened at the previous festival at Bloemendal where I had to leave for my health sake as people were smoking right next to me and blowing the smoke in my face.

So a few inconsiderates spoil the event for everybody. This is something that organises need to pay attention to. They could face serious fines if they allow smoking to take place where it is illegal and people will stop paying if they can't even see the performers.

Sorry to hear about that, Don.

So I take it that a beautiful set by BB King in a smoky little juke joint next to the Mississippi wouldn't be your idea of a good time? ?

Unfortunately not Bob . You would hardly believe that I was a heavy smoker from the age of 16 till my 50th birthday, smoking up to 60/day and strong ones at that ?. Now after 6 1/2 years of no smoking, my lungs have cleared and I have become very sensative to the smell. I have no problem with people smoking where it does not affect me (as in a smoking section in a a pub/restaurant) but it is very unpleasant to have someone stand/sit right next to me and have the smoke drift up my nostrils. I have a right to attend such events without having to suffer the smell of smoke (it lingered on my clothes and I could smell it when I got home) and the consequent health risks, especially if I am paying for that privelage.

Having said that, I doubt if there are many smokey juke joints left in the states. I was there on business many times before we had smoking regulations here and stood outside in the snow or crowded into stuffy smoking rooms before we ever started with regulations.

bloukie wrote: Sorry to hear about that, Don.

So I take it that a beautiful set by BB King in a smoky little juke joint next to the Mississippi wouldn't be your idea of a good time? ?

I'm not sure there are many venues left in the USA that allow smoking. It'd be the same there as in the UK - you want to smoke? Go stand outside and do it. There's a better than even chance that even if the club did allow smoking then the artist would request that the actual auditorium be kept smoke free.

DonRoos wrote: The thing that upset me most was the general attitude of the crowd. While we had world class performances on the stage, we had people who were standing right at the front of the tent, in front of the sound desk and getting in the sound guys way. And they were not paying the slightest bit ot interest in the band. And there were several groups just like them so I am not singeling them out. This is such an insult to the bands who are pouring their souls into the music and being ignored. There were people who were actually looking the other way! You certainly would NOT go to the cinema and stand round in the middle of the cinema, blocking peoples view and smoking so why does it happen with these music festivals?

I think the reality is that a blues and beer festival, like a lot of outdoor Cape Town concerts, is not quite the same thing as going to see a music performance under normal circumstances. A significant proportion is out there to have a picnic, drink some wine or beers, eat some food, and enjoy the outdoors with some live musicians playing in the background (for the atmosphere as it were). I think the musicians largely understand that.

You've got to ask what proportion of the crowd listens to blues, specifically (which is the brand attached to a lot of music outings in Cape Town), at home. I'm guessing not over 50%. It constrains to a large extent the blues standards that bands play. Many stick largely to the best known tunes that people will probably have heard in movie soundtracks. It's a divers crowd and the musicians are pleased to get up there and try to make sure everyone enjoys themselves and make sure they give the most to the pure music fans. But I guess it can be a bit annoying for some of those fans.

What I'm saying is that even many of the smokers in the crowd would not be thrilled to find themselves watching B.B. King in a smokey juke joint. ?