My Coke Fest 2008 report

I spent most of yesterday milling around with the many thousands of other people who turned up en masse for the Cape Town leg of My Coke Fest.

How was it?

In a word, fantastic. Here’s why:

I’ve been to many a music festival and although I love them, they’re usually a tad exhausting because of the necessary roughing they involve. Not so with this fest! Plenty of toilets, super-fast service at the bar, enough food offerings (including a healthy option, believe it or not!), and shaded areas to sit down and chill. That was impressive. But not nearly as impressive as the people walking around offering suntan lotion and (this is the real winner for me) water and soap to wash your hands. Wow.

The turnaround time between bands was quick. Really quick. And the MCs, who are (in my opinion) usually totally obnoxious and wanting to steal the stage, were informative but not overbearing.

The bands. All in all, a great line-up. I’m not a big fan of Good Charlotte, but they did a lovely cover of The Cure’s Lovesong that won me over. 30 Seconds to Mars have a beautiful lead singer. That’s all I can say about that. Kaiser Chiefs were great fun. Chris Cornell was so, so great… He’s the epitome of rock-star style, as far as I’m concerned. He owned the stage. And he sang Black Hole Sun, which I thought was a very generous move, considering how many millions of times he must have sung it! Very cool.

And then … then there were Muse. Before this concert I liked their music, but it was a bit crazy for me (they start off sweet and lyrical and then they rock out). Now I think they might be one of the best bands in the world. No exaggeration. I have never seen a band so tight, so musically skilled and so awe-inspiring (and I lived in the States for three years, so I’ve seen quite a few bands). They were unbelievable. What a show! Lights, images, sound — and that voice! I was quite sure they wouldn’t sound as good live as they do on CD, but they were way, way better. Every song was an anthem. They blew me away. Bordering on life-changing. Uh huh. That’s what I said.

(The only complaints I have about the festival were the dust and Korn. The dust! Lordy Lord, was it filthy. I came home covered in dirt, including teeth, nostrils and inside my ears. And Korn were … well, a let-down after Muse, to say the least. I can only imagine they had to get a hard-rock act in because it was a rock festival. Not my cup of tea, thank you very much!)

What about you?