By Marley
Ziggies the night club, what I can tell you about it? Nothing much that Vanessa and Keli haven’t told you already. I know where it was because my big brother and his friends used to hang out there as well. Not as intensely like some but they used to go there. However, the Ziggies reunion that happened on a hot and sweaty Friday evening at The Pub was just the thing.
(photo by Small Town Music)
The 90’s for me as a kid was filled with all kinds of influences like watching the original Jurassic Park, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. So when I arrived at The Pub I had to shake the hand of the famous Tannie Susan, I didn’t know what to expect but I felt welcomed by her presence. Next, it was finding a cold one and having my first of many Peach Archers shots of the evening. Meeting up with my two contributors to the Ziggies articles was actually the highlight for me. I realised early on that many people will be feeling a lot older than they are in their hearts. But that didn’t stop them partying like it was 1998.
What I loved about this crowd against the youngsters at Jock Pub and Grill is they are who they are. They told me to wait until they were a little bit drunker, love it! The Archers were again in my hand and I think I still smell it. One woman told me she met her husband at the club one night and they are still together. A lot of memories of the late Lloyd Loram was shared, cheers to him. He created a home for these people that despite being older still felt like they were 19 years old.
(photo by Small Town Music)
Many of the attendees were way underage to have been in the club. But that didn’t stop them, it was part of growing up in Nelspruit. I was a complete nerd in a way, I decided I would wait till I was 18 and matriculated to go to clubs. In a way it shaped me differently, I was little more gullible still by then. A little more innocent but I was no different to the friends that were dancing under the laser lights. All that was missing was a strobe light and a mirror ball. I overheard just so many people say “It’s great to see everyone but everyone has gotten so old”. Yip, that’s how I felt at Woodcrock back in August.
As the 90’s tunes pumped through the speakers of DJ Wikus I asked him what he does. He pointed to his computer screen that has the songs lined up “This” he said. “I do this every weekend at weddings and parties”. Creating a vibe he did, it was a nice change to hear the old songs that I know. Hell at a stage you could pop in the Bump CD and no one would have known the difference. But not Wikus, he is a nice lad that still holds the Ziggies memories close to his heart. Songs from Nirvana, The Wamdue Project, Perez, Blur and much more were played. As the night quickly flew by in a blur and the last Archers bottle was cracked open the people suddenly realized that they needed to go home.
(photo Small Town Music)
And just as quickly as the evening started, the evening ended. It was past midnight, and the traditional “Closing Time” by Semisonic was played. The last bittereinders were on the dance floor and I could feel that no one really wanted to leave. You could smell the Peach Archers everywhere. It was this bubble that was created in the last few weeks surrounding Ziggies that has just burst and suddenly you are back in 2016. I felt like I just stepped off the DeLorean that landed in the future. By the time we bought some late night Chippos I got a message from a friend “Thank you for tonight, it was great to relive the good times”.
(photo by Small Town Music)
Thank you for The Pub for creating something so special as this evening.
