By Marley
They have been to Nelsparta so many times, people actually think they are from here. They are the trio of rock ‘n roll, they can rock both Afrikaans and English. You can count on Saarkie to deliver you a classic memory of rock on stage, as they did on Saturday 22 April 2017.
With a new bassist (who also happens to play the keys) Erika Pretorius the Saarkie band have just returned from a tour through the Cape. Adele Fouche and Lila Botha, the two original members of Saarkie all delivered what can be classified as another rocking memory.
Being autumn the evenings tend to be a bit more chilly. For the Lowvelders this is cold and for the rest of the country, it still feels like summer vacation. Thus the attendance to the Saarkie show could have been a bit fuller. I’m not sure if this was because of a lack of advertising or because the Lowvelders lives to revolve around rugby. But I would say about a 100 people couldn’t be wrong as they paid their R80.
(photo by Small Town Music)
The evening was opened by Mr Brightside, this band have been opening for a lot of shows. Which lead to a question asked during the evening, how do they do it? There are of course other bands in the Lowveld that has played together for 2 years that can be opening bands as well. This was the buzz word at the show. Never the less, they played their set with one amazing drummer simply named Dan.
(photo by Small Town Music)
After a round of shots at the bar, it was the turn of the Saarkie trio opening the evening with “Beds Are Burning”, a cover that has also made them festival favourites. The support from the fans was there and again, why do you sit down during a rock show? To those who complained that the people were standing in front of the stage, get up next time and boogie with us. The band didn’t complain and in fact, they had some people dancing on the tables towards the end of their show. The band also performed some of their own songs like “Dullstroom”, “Reiserger”, “One Love” which was inspired by the streets of Pretoria, they also performed Jan Blohm “Groen Trui”. Another highlight was when Erica took to her piano skills and played Koos Kombuis song “Liza se Klavier”. Probably one of the best covers I’ve heard of this song in a long time. They closed off their show with Ryno Velvet’s “Ai My Lam” which had people jumping and begging for more.
(Photo by Small Town Music)
Another highlight of the show was when Lila invited Dan of Mr Brightside on stage to join her in a drumming duo/face-off. This was such a crowd pleaser! Amazing to watch. The last time Nelsparta saw a drum duo was when No One’s Arc was still around. Of course, the crowd asked for encore and Adele invited vocalist of Mr Brightside, Zandre Volk, on stage to perform the Rolling Stones song “I love rock ‘n roll”.
(photo by Small Town Music)
All in all, if you missed Saarkie, you missed out. If you never saw them then I do recommend you see them live. Make sure you get their album “Reisiger” online and follow them on social media. Till the next time, rock out.
Check out their video shot at STRAB in Mozambique last year “Over The Sea”
