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VNV Nation live in South Africa
VNV Nation
June 4th & 5th 2004
Zeplins Nightclub, Pretoria
Words:// jon monsoon
Southern Africa. A part of the planet you might hardly expect as having any sort of major alternative or underground electronic music scene.
Because of, or more correctly, in spite of, the country’s turbulent past, it doesn’t seem like the best place to throw a party. Or does it?
It might surprise readers here to learn that South African electro-heads have been leading a quiet yet forthright revolution on the continent for the best part of 20 years to get their music, their clubs and their parties exposed on the global scene. The South African trance scene is rated as one of the best in the world and all the top DJs regularly queue to go play Cape Town. Year round good weather means the big outdoor, forest and beach parties are legendary. Under the shadow of trance, the alternative music scene is fast flourishing as more and more prominent international bands look south for inspiration and new, exciting tour opportunities.
Renowned South African EBM record label Alter-Ego Records recently started the trend of bringing out EBM, goth and punk bands. Since November last year Diary Of Dreams, New Model Army, Sanguis Et Cinis, Entombed and Soulfly are just some that have packed their bags and come on safari. This month it was the turn of EBM legends VNV Nation.
This is what happened…
The band arrived on Wednesday, June 02. Ronan Harris arrived straight from DJ’ing at WGT in Germany. No sooner had he landed in the crime capital of Johannesburg then it was off to press interviews and to perform a DJ set at the venue where they would play that weekend. Meanwhile, back at Alter-Ego HQ, the mood was somber as the Cape Town leg of the tour was suddenly cancelled due to late ticket restrictions. The band agreed to play an extra show in Pretoria instead. Such was the demand for tickets that the Saturday night show was sold out so adding another show would give more fans the opportunity to see the band.
Ronan gave the crowd a small taste of things to come with his trademark hard-as-nails DJ set that saw the dancefloor rocking until the sun came up.
The band had the next day off for recovering and exploring a variety of South African beer. Friday and the first gig. About 200 people assembled in the mega-club that is Zeplins in the capital city of Pretoria and were summarily blown away by the band’s energy and on stage antics. Although playing to a more intimate crowd than they must surely be used to, Ronan and Mark held nothing back and delivered a stunning performance. 3 encore’s later and they returned to their hotel, smiling.
Saturday night was the BIG gig. Tickets had sold out within a few weeks of going on sale and a queue of excited fans snaked its way down the street from early on that evening. Goths, metal heads, hippies, rockers, ravers and rivet heads gathered in excited unison. A TV crew arrived. Instead of having a support band on, the promoters staged a DJ War, which saw the Johannesburg DJ crew called Existanz go up against a rival posse from Cape Town called Comunik. The blazing battle of the beats lasted 4 hours and kept the dancefloor pumping ‘till it was time for the band to take the stage. VNV’s trademark classic intro set the scene and the excitement in the air was palpable. Ronan Harris exploded onto stage and launched straight into Genesis (C92) like a man possessed. The rest of the set was a blur of waving hands, pounding beats and sonic heat that left the entire crowd screaming for more. Women wept at his feet and implored saint Ronan to touch their outstretched hands. Mark did not stop grinning once throughout the marathon-long set and after 2 encores, sweat-drenched and still smiling, they left an ecstatic crowd with promises that they would return. The responding roar of approval from the crowd would surely mean they have to.
Afterwards Ronan hit the dancefloor and we knew then that not even the rising sun would stop this party.
VNV Nation rated their 2 South African shows as amongst the top 5 gigs they have ever played…
We cannot wait to see who is next…
VNV Nation Saturday set-list:
Genesis (C92)
Kingdom
Further
Fearless
Standing
Solitary
Honour 2003
Darkangel
(1st Encore) Beloved (with "The Sing Along")
(2nd Encore) Electronaut
Photo's supplied by www.electrogothic.com
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