VCK and The Beams light up Mercury

Last Friday night, 29 May 2009, at Mercury saw The Beams open up for the ever increasingly popular Van Coke Kartel. It was a cold and rainy evening so I didn't expect a big crowd but was pleasantly surprised on arrival to see plenty of die-hard fans had made the effort. After a few foosball matches, and a few drinks later, The Beams kicked off the evening.

By David Francis

2 Jun 2009

It was the first time I had heard The Beams and, as with a lot of bands out of Cape Town nowadays, their music is more a fusion of various genres; for The Beams it's a fusion of rock and dance with a very British feel. Did The Beams rock the crowd? Did they have them dancing? Well, yes, the crowd certainly thought so, chanting for an encore at the end of the band's set. I should also point out that The Beams looked like they really enjoyed themselves too, maybe even more than the crowd did; this is something I think other up-and-coming bands should look into.

Next up was Van Coke Kartel, a three-piece Afrikaans rock band. If you enjoy Fokofpolisiekar, then you will definitely enjoy these guys. Once they hit the stage it didn't take too long for the mosh pit to get going and from there on the songs just flowed out of VCK. Even the little hiccup Wynand Myburgh (bass) had with his equipment did little to deter the crowd from going crazy. VCK seem to be getting better and better with each performance. Their Facebook group currently has over 5000 members and I'm sure this number will keep on climbing.

All in all it was a good evening out though, it could have been much better if Mercury would tone down its stage lighting just a bit. If you would like to know more about these two bands or when they're playing again go to www.vancokekartel.co.za for VCK or www.myspace.com/thebeamsband for more on The Beams.

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