While the Synergy festival was in full swing just outside Stellenbosch this past Saturday, the few live music enthusiasts that were left in Cape Town could be found at Zula. The only band worth hanging around in Cape Town for were on the bill – The Springbok Nude Girls!

As there were four bands in the lineup, things got underway rather early – Ashtray Electric were up at nine-thirty sharp. Having wasted a sizeable chunk of time at the bar to get drinks, we managed to arrive at the performance area as the first notes of  ‘Quite Overstared’ were sent through the building – good timing indeed. It was the drummer, Rupert’s last gig playing for the band and it seemed as if the setlist was particularly nostalgic for this reason – old favourites which I hadn’t heard at the last few performances I’d seen of theirs, were back – “Gallop” (which sounds so much better live than the album version) and “The Swing”.  I think it’s a mistake to ever omit these two tracks from any Ashtray Electric setlist as I hope they’ve realised by the audience’s reaction to these gems.

Next up were Foto na Dans. I’d never seen this band perform live before, nor am I familiar with their music. I was pleasantly surprised. I shall reserve more elaborate comments for my next encounter with these lads, which I hope will be soon. The guys did a Pendulum cover which impressed and I especially loved the trumpet sounds mixed in with their loud rock sound – it reminded me that the Nude Girls were on their way.

The crowd gradually grew throughout the evening and by the time the Nude Girls were due to start their set, there were quite a few people – all the while keeping in mind that Synergy had claimed about ninety percent of gig-going Capetonians. Had it not been for this mass exodus in the opposite direction of Zula, I probably wouldn’t have attended this gig. The crowd drawn by this band can get ROF (yes, this is the Afrikaans word for ‘rough’ but implies a higher degree of roughness ).  In spite of the huge amount of affection I have for this band, the irritation caused by some audience members at their gigs outweighs my affection at times.

I could hardly believe my eyes when all five original members made their appearance on stage to set up their gear. These guys have been going since 1994. For those wanting to grab a calculator, that’s almost 18 years. Hats off. No chopping and changing of members and even with one of the members not residing in SA at present, he is flown in for tours. All in the region of the 40 age mark, these guys still look damn good! They put some 20-something bands to shame – not even a boep in sight.

In addition to Adriaan Brand having a keyboard and a trumpet on stage, he also had an accordian this time around – I suspected for the tracks off their brand new EP, ‘Apes with Shades’. The first single off this EP titled ‘Weekend’ is currently playlisted on 5fm – the dudes still know how to get onto commercial radio without being perceived as a commercial band. Brilliant.

As on their live DVD, they started off with “Gang Gang”. I was already sweating like a pig at the end of this song. Hit after hit got blared out from the stage. The crowd went a bit madder than usual when they recognised the opening notes to ‘I Love You’. What do I mean ‘they’? Probably most of all, I went quite bonkers for this song – what a track with its reggae vibe!

Having convinced my entourage that the lyrics to “Little” are actually pronounced “Liezel”, that is indeed what we were shouting when the chorus came around on that one! “Giant Love Affair” had me losing what was left of my mind and of course ‘Blue Eyes’ had a similar effect.

This had indeed been one of the most civilised crowds ever to attend a Nude Girls gig. Even the band seemed to be a bit baffled. Once, in an attempt to rev it all up, Arno signalled to the rest of his band to throw in ‘Managing Mula’. Behind the drums, the look on Francious’ face resembled that of a person having just found out that he had studied the wrong work for an exam. A huge gulp of beer seemed to aid the retrieval of the correct sequence of notes for the song!

For any experienced SNG fan, it comes as no surprise that ‘Bubblegum on my Boots’ was the closing song. A mosh pit usually follows. You could see the smart people moving a bit back while hardened hard rock fans and oblivious novices moved forward. Luckily for the novices, things didn’t quite reach boiling point but the song still rocked!

Reburn were up last. Shame, I would not want to be in a band that followed the Nude Girls at a gig where they were the headliners. Fearing that my post-Nude Girl bliss would get shot to shit, I didn’t stay.

In spite of the word being casually flung around and our subsequent desensitization to it, the Springbok Nude Girls are true legends. They know how to bring it and they do – every damn time. Probably explains why this is the only band whose name I will wear on a T-shirt – even though I get looked at weirdly by people mistakenly thinking I have national colours in stripping when I do so.

Words by Liezel Thompson

Photography by Skew (http://skew.co.za/?p=4963)