Entertainment editor Candace Whitehead.

Loyiso on stage at Symphonic Rocks 2011. Neal Tosefsky/EntertainmentAfrica

Neal Tosefsky/EntertainmentAfrica

Symphonic Rocks - hard

Article By: Candace Whitehead

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 8:54

Seven of South Africa's leading artists backed by a 65-piece symphonic orchestra. Two-and-a-half hours of some of the biggest local hits across different genres. This is Symphonic Rocks.

The brainchild of Andy Mac (of Flat Stanley fame), this is the second year that Symphonic Rocks has been on the local stage. Last year it was billed as a "once-off" experience – but 2011 saw another massive show, and an expansion to Johannesburg.

CrashCarBurn, Arno Carstens, Loyiso, Tumi and the Volume, Macstanley (formerly Flat Stanley), Ard Matthews and Zebra & Giraffe – an impressive, eclectic line-up by any standards, and one that had me bouncing up and down in my chair with excitement. Awesome on paper, but how did it turn out? I bundled along a friend, found a colleague in the VIP area (sponsored by Heineken, how could we say no?) and readied myself for one of the biggest musical fusion events in South Africa's history.

The evening, hosted by Cassette rocker-turned-5fm-DJ Jon Savage, kicked off with CrashCarBurn rocking out three of their biggest most recent hits. I've seen the boys live a couple times – even when they were Tweak – and so I knew they were quality. They rocked – hard – but for the first two tracks their guitars overpowered the orchestra entirely. It was on their third track, the massive Twisted, that the orchestra shone with a beautifully arranged accompaniment to the chart-topping single. It was a massive, high-energy start to the show – and my colleague wondered how the other acts would match that.

After CrashCar there was scarcely time to breathe as frontman Garth Barnes ushered in local music icon Arno Carstens. He opened with safe bet Another Universe – but if anything was worth the trip out to GrandWest, it was his cover of Blue Eyes. Perfectly matched with the orchestra, his rendition was breathtaking and moving – and proved that he is still one of South Africa's best.

Next up was Loyiso, and after a relatively mellow set from Carstens Loyiso managed to get the room vibing. His allotted three songs were super-slick, and he had the crowd bumping to his hit Maybe. Even the conductor, the superb John Walton, seemed to be getting into the groove of things. Loyiso wrapped up his set, then called – or tried to call – the next act. However, it appeared that Tumi – frontman for Tumi and the Volume – was otherwise occupied. Savage took to the stage to proclaim loudly that Tumi was "having a poo" and got the crowd to form their "own symphonic rocks" – splitting the crowd into drums, symphony and "Nirvana". Cool! I've always wanted to be Nirvana! Tumi eventually appeared on stage – accompanied by guitarist Tiago (all drums on the night were performed by the house drummer). Can I tell you, I would have waited even longer for Tumi's set – it was by far the highlight of the show for me. I'd never seen them perform live, but their rendition of Asinamli was superbly high-energy and Tumi had some of the best stage presence of the night. He had the crowd chanting back at him "I can't decide if it's the money" in one of the slickest performances of the night. The first-half of the show was gone in a flash – and before we knew it, Savage had called for a 20-minute interval and it was off to the bar with us.

Opening up the second half was Andy Mac from Macstanley, who was visibly moved as he said his thank you's and explained how his labour of love – which took six years to come to fruition the first time round – has now expanded to a show in Jo'burg, too. He then launched into one of the finest vocal displays I've seen – ever – and not just at Symphonic Rocks. His set was perfectly controlled, perfectly emotional and perfectly scored – and his rendition of As I Am had the girls behind me (who seemed to be the biggest Macstanley/Flat Stanley fans in the world) in hysterics.

He introduced Ard Matthews who quite sheepishly asked the crowd "Have you forgiven me yet?" before saying softly and chuckling half to himself, "Mi scusi". Whether or not you've forgiven him, there's no denying that Ard is one of the biggest talents South Africa has produced – and boy, does he know it. He played up to the cameraman, flashing peace signs and working the stage like the seasoned pro he is. The arrangement of the iconic Just Jinjer track Shallow Waters was another of the night's biggest successes – it was goosebump-inducing material. He then made way for local favourites Zebra and Giraffe – who I wouldn't have closed the show with. They played a slick and impressive set and rocked – hard – but their instruments totally overpowered the orchestra and dumbed down the whole idea of Symphonic Rocks. I would have switched the acts around to end with Ard's Shallow Waters – which let the orchestra shine and would have provided a stirring end to the show.

The orchestral arrangement was nothing short of incredible. Conductor Walton also scored the entire programme – something he had been working on since April this year – and the orchestra was, as expected, polished to perfection.  The lighting and background visuals were world class and the entire production, for the most part, ran smoothly.

Symphonic Rocks was, without a doubt, one of the biggest highlights of my year. It's a superb showcase of some of the biggest talents in South Africa. Johannesburg, prepare yourselves. You're in for one hell of a night.

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