My Year of Meaningful (2011)

Man, saturday night was (how long has it been since I used this phrase exactly?) THE BOMB!

I forget sometimes how deeply my love of live music really does run. I forget it because I've been starved for way too long. All my non-irish friends have always somehow been under the impression that Ireland was some sort of mecca for music lovers and that I should surely be soaking up the waves of unbelievable prodigy laden talent on every street corner, every day of the week, while we were there. But trad sessions and droning dum-deedleedee behind the roar of an otherwise non-interested binging crowd doesn't cut it. For 4 years I was deprived (with the exception of 1 BAD Bob Dylan gig in a circus tent, 1 ace Robert Plant gig in the same circus tent, and 1 semi-o.k. Dwight Yoakam gig in the . . . same circus tent) of affordable live shows within a 3-hour driving distance. But the drought is over......... my muse has returned...... I feel like myself again........

Thanks to Freshlyground. OK normally I'm not a huge afro-pop fan but how can you NOT be, when you see a gig like this!?!?

First off, the venue: the same outdoor campsite-style joint where we had the Queen's Day celebrations with all the cheeseheads.

Secondly, the company: There were the usual suspects, i.e. Miss Light-of-my-Current-Social-Life, queen of all things dreadlocked (Petra), F&Lil, Sj&Mar, the Mr. (of course), & Kate.

And the extra special factor of meeting new people, REALLY GREAT new people. Uba... my 2nd new favorite person ever. She's originally from Somalia but basically lived most her life in Sydney. My age, fun, hilarious, yoga-doing, married-without-kids, Aus-loving, restaurant-dining, gorgeous Ubs. Pictured below.

We also met Ross, another aussie who is currently in the midst of bicycling from the top of Africa to the bottom, with his new bride. They started up in Ethiopia and after 4 months of some serious peddling, are here in BW for a brief stopover, because they're friends with Robin so they have a bit of a place to rest the butts and get a bit spoilt. Wifey wasn't at the gig though as she opted to go to Joburg to pick up Robin from the airport instead. Hearing the story of the bike trip makes me desperate to do something similar. It's been amazing so far, but they've had lots of challenges and drama... just like I like it. Not to mention being FIT AS HELL. yowza. All that aside, he's just a really nice guy and hella fun to drink beers, talk Aus, and generally hang around with. Too bad they're off again on Wednesday.

Thirdly, the MUSIC. OMG it was perfect. Under the stars, surrounded by fun people, a smoking braai by the bar, and FOUR bands (total surprise to us). The 3 warmup bands were fantastic, but especially the 1st one, which was a traditional Botswana group complete with traditional dancers who ATE THE FACE OF THE PLACE! Fantastic! (bad photo)

When the main act came on, the place went mad! And the vibe these guys have is unbelievable. The lead singer girl who's this pint-sized in the true sense of the word (i.e. shorter than me!?) amazing chick with vocal cords like I never heard just blew the place up with her charisma, showmanship, dancing, AGH! It was fabulous. They play all sorts of instruments and their music is just . . . I don't know, full of good vibes. Upbeat, fan-friggin-tastic to dance to, and totally MADE for playing live. I dont know how often I'd listen to a CD by them, if I had it, but what I do know is if I EVER get a chance to see them live again, I'm so. there.

Did I mention this little Xhosa powerhouse on the lead vocals?! I think I'm in love with her. Seriously. And their flute/sax/percussionist dude was a hottie too. Didnt get a photo of him though. Damn.

Anyway, I'm just too enamoured to even go on. I see why people listen to these guys, it's just... you know, music that makes you happy. Dare I say "extatic" even?! I dunno, but it's DEFINITELY great festival music. Definitely one of the best live gigs I've seen in, like, forever.

The crowd was really amazing too. Probably the biggest multi-cultural crowd I've been in since we've gotten here. And what a difference that makes to the overall vibe. It's weird, but I dare say it had a wee bit of a "love-in" feel to it.

Me and P.

Anyway enough of that. Sunday we hooked back up with P. and Ross and they came over to our place for coffee before we all went to a lecture on Snakes of These Parts. I can now confidently identify a Puff Adder, African Rock Python, and Spitting Cobra. I also learned that only 7 out of the 70 species of snake in Botswana can kill you. Amen to that!

Then we said good bye and farewell good luck etc to Ross, and the Mr. and I went on a really lovely bike ride to the old abandoned Lion Park, and back through the bush to our place. The trail we found would make an absolutely amazing running trail once I get back into shape again. It goes through some beautiful savannah and along the foot of the local kopjes.

Zoe is going back to the SPCA for adoption today. They think she'll have a better chance at getting adopted by someone if she's still in her gorgeous puppy phase, before she gets all leggy and awkward and adolescent. Which I totally agree with, and was kind of worried about from the beginning. But I'm going to miss her. She was really sweet, and we were *nearly there* with the house-training (which I won't miss). Honestly I dont even think Sech will notice she's gone, he's settled WAY too comfortably into the house. I even find him sneaking off into the bedroom to drape himself across the bed. Which is a big no-no in our house but he's just moved himself right in and dubbed himself King of the castle. AGH! Oh well, the main thing is that his leg is getting better and I love him to bits! He's completely low-maintenence, completely loveable, and 100% good... ALL the time. The best-behaved foster we've had yet.