The best thing about working at a live music venue definitely is being able to watch live music. We all have come across the debate that Durban doesn't have enough places to showcase talent, and some even going as far as saying Durban has no talent but those people clearly have never seen Fruit and Veggies play at Live before.
My first memory of Fruit and Veggies was a few years back when I saw them playing at Splashy Fen. I was walking along the camp sites with a friend, this girl with green hair riding on the bonnet of a car came past, looked me in the eye and told me to come watch a band at 17H00 that night, that was Purity. I first saw Purity at GMT a few weeks prior to that. I had a few Black Labels in my system, saw this girl with red hair and decided I was gonna go dance with her. Her was someone so freely flowing in that room that it was impossible to miss her. She had the kinda energy about her that made people take notice. I never got her name and really didn't think I would ever see her again and so she was forgotten. My friend's and I referred to her as Red Hair. To this day, I haven't had as much fun as I did that night with a complete stranger. Seeing her with green hair was just the icing on the cake, I was definitely going to watch this band they spoke of. We would go to see Green Hair. We all made our way to the main tent, beers in hand and waited for this band to come on. There were a few people gathering around and I can't really say I remember much that happened, besides the fact that I was sold on these people on stage. It was an early set and people were still getting themselves kitted up for the night to come but they played a set that would have me scouring around, trying to find their stuff wherever possible. I remember being a little brave after a few Labels later that night and speaking to Purity, she seemed to remember GMT which made me feel a little better but also quite embarrassed.
You can't speak of F&V without mentioning Loopy. Now there is a strange character that is of the top shelf. I also remember Loopy from my first Splashy experience, she was walking around and I was with some new-found friends who explained who she was and what her orientation was too. I remember watching her play the bass and being certain that that was one person who probably had no confinements. I cannot imagine the world throwing any form of constraint on Loopy. It's as if the normal rules don't apply.
Having worked at Live for a few months, I've gotten to see all the band members in their various state of inebriation and I've seen them play some truly electrifying sets. To me, they are Durban's favourite. They play with an energy that doesn't belong in the straight edge world we like to return to in the morning. They play from a place that doesn't have any worries, from a place that has seen so many red stamped letters but couldn't care for crap because they're doing what they love. You see so many bands playing with this kind of invisible monkey on their back. They try too hard to be crowd pleasers. They try too hard to be big top bands and they miss the mark by a mile and end up alienating the crowd. You don't get that from F&V. I still get excited every time I see them on the bill because I know a raucous party is about to come. Their new additions have taken them even higher than they were before. The last set they played at Live, which was for Riot Fest, completely blew me. It was as if I was listening to them with new ears. I don't know if they have a new sound or if I really hadn't payed enough attention before, but what they did on that stage was something else. I was completely mesmerised. I knew what they were capable of but I really wasn't expecting that. They didn't have Cameron with his mystic guitar shaman scissoring skills but Hezron and James combined to make some completely mind numbing sounds that made me do my knowing my knowing smile.
I've seen Bloc Party live, I have seen my most favourite band in the entire universe and nothing could ever compare to that. I have seen a lot more acts since then and this is the first time I've been impressed by any performance. I know they have a lot more energy than what they put on display, they had a short time to play and had to get to another show, but for me, they really did bring it.
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