Hammeron wrote
singemonkey wrote
I've seen some really good bands in Cape Town recently. Bands that plaster a grin on your face from the get-go and keep it there throughout. I think there's something happening here at the moment. I don't expect any of these bands will become global successes, but things seem to be a lot better than they were a few years ago. That's really what you can hope for: that if you go to see live music you don't stand there checking the time.
There also seem to be more venues and more events.
Why don't you expect them to become global successes?
Because they are South African? If you, of all people, think they are good then they are plenty good enough to go the whole hog.
90 % of commercial international acts that have 'made it' are, in my humble opinion, shite.
There are many many SA bands that are plenty good enough to become a great success, trouble is South Africans are good at putting themselves down.
Because American, British, and European cities are packed with bands that are really exciting - otherwise they don't get to keep playing. SA still allows mediocre bands to continue for years, and a bill full-to-the-brim with great acts is actually the exception. So these bands are good, but they're only as good as a lot of international acts that won't themselves make it. The rare exceptions among those international acts that are truly superb will benefit by being where the action is and pushed by the intense competition and commercial circling of the record companies. Our acts will have less competition, less pressure, and are very far from where any record A&R people are looking.
When people say "we have tons of world class acts" (in the rock scene), I'm always, "what are they seeing that I haven't seen?" Then they start listing bands and it's face-palm time. I don't think people are being very objective in their comparisons. So some of these new bands are exciting enough that they'd get a warm reception in a Boston bar. But are they exciting enough to beat out those other bands in Boston? Not likely. And even if a great band does emerge, there's no industry ear to hear it.
Being open to local music does not mean letting our biases run away with us so that every band that plays a good show becomes "world class." We should enjoy the bands that are good, but continue to push them to be great. I've seen lots of bands with great stage energy, but no songs that you remember even after having seen them five times. Or good songs and energy but a weak or shy vocalist. Or a great vocalist and guitarist with a poor rhythm section so that there's no groove. Or great songs and energy with insipid clichéd lyrics that ruin their otherwise great work ("Roses are reeeeed! Violets are bloooooo!....")
