Halloween Jol w/ Peasant, The Klubs, Smokey Mercle
Date: 31
October, 2019
Hosted by: Roastin’
Records, Ender, Dystopia, The Local Band Scene, The JARR Bar
Venue: The JARR
Bar, Weavind Park, Pretoria, Gauteng
Line-Up: Smokey Mercle, The Klubs, Peasant
Halloween.
A time of the year rife with spooky shenanigans and paranormal parties. Now, us
here in Southern Africa might not be able to go out trick o’ treating like the
rest of the world, save for a few select areas that aren’t rampantly dangerous,
but we sure do go balls to the wall with our own hallowed parties. I’m talking
bars filled to the brim, people dressed to kill, and bands performing more so
than the usual once-a-month deal.
The
weekend before the 31st of October, I was sitting at a shitty little
dive bar on my side of town, blissfully ignorant to the rise of the Halloween
parties. Within mere moments of the dusk, I started to see the costumed masses
encroach upon the venue, like a horde of the undead. It was at this moment I
realised that Halloween fell on a weekday, so most of the events were happening
on the prior weekend. It didn’t have quite the same atmosphere, celebrating
something prematurely. That’s why when Mia
of Dystopia let me know that there was a gig on the Night of the 31st,
I was all to keen on celebrating the Night of the Winter Harvest, just like God
intended.
This
event, ‘Halloween Jol’ was part of a
series of events crafted for Peasant’s JHB tour, as these guys are Capetonians.
It’s always good seeing bands touring outside of their hometown, and I’m sure
these guys picked up a few diehard fans over this JHB tour. Following up right
after the JHB tour, they played at Brochella
Halloween Infestation alongside a few other big local names such as Weed Dealer, Hellcats, Dirty Moonshine
and Go The Rodeo. Peasant has been
hard at work to deliver Hardcore, right to your doorstep.
We stay
on the ass-end of the province, a place that hasn’t got anything going for it
other than air pollution and rampant crime, so far away from all the live-music
action that on average, we have to drive for an hour just to go watch a
three-hour gig. But sometimes it’s just so worth it.
We had
left for the Halloween Jol at sundown and, when we arrived at The JARR bar, it was comfortably settling
into nightfall. As we pulled into the parking lot, I remember thinking to
myself, “Is that the venue? Seems a bit… small?”. But good things come in small
packages. The venue was quite obviously a frequent for a multitude of musicians
and bands, as evident by the copious amounts of past posters plastered over the
walls. It’s a small venue, but it takes a lot of paper to fill an interior
room. That should have been my first hint at how well the place is received. We
then made our way to the seating area and, to my surprise, I wouldn’t have to
sit on one of those wooden benches that send my spine though my skull, no, they
had actual, leather sofas. God, I know I’m sounding more excited than I should,
but damn, it was a welcome change. Conveniently enough, that’s where I met with
Smokey Mercle, a band that I’ve come to thoroughly love for their unique blend
of Heavy Psych Rock. Soon It was their time to get up on stage, and boy was I
surprised.
Whether
it was the combination of padded walling in the stage area and the small,
interior venue, the sound was simply top-notch. We were seated at the back of
the room, with our backs to the glass door. Normally this would mean that the
sound is rather intense, with the sound bouncing off the flat surface behind
you, and generally giving you a case of tinnitus within minutes, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I could hear both the high end and the low end
without a problem. Good sound at a small venue, definitely a plus-one for me.
Now as
for Smokey Mercle, having the
advantage of good sound solidifies my enjoyment of this young four-piece. I
think I’ve probably seen these guys perform for 3 weeks in a row, and although
they might not have much in the way of material, they certainly don’t let that
hold them back. Heavy Psych with rather aggressive vocals sounds rather
contradictory, but the harshness of Andre’s vocals contrasts the waving,
effect-ridden guitars, and forms a comfortable transition into the heavier
doomy crescendo of their songs. Oh and Fuzz, a lot of it… I’m talking along the
lines of a Big-Muff-plugged-into-a-Fuzz-Face-into-an-Orange-Guitar-Amp-Head
type of Fuzz.
I was
already rather content with my night after just the first band, not every day
that happens. You know that mindset, that people only go to watch the
headlining act, and disregard the supporting acts? I call Bullshit. They’re
probably the same people that choose the same meal of a menu, like the freakin’
Hawian Pizzas of people. Live a little. Anyway, rant over.
Next up
on the list was The Klubs, a 3-piece
of post-punk in nature. These guys are high octane, loud and downright rowdy.
Everything a band with “Punk” in the genre should be. I dare even say these
guys fit the description of hardcore-punk, if not just straight-up hardcore. But
it’s pointless trying to categorize and sub-categorize genres, as they are just
straight-up chaotic. I even witnessed the vocalist shout at his guitar, like
literally lift the guitar to his face, and shout directly into the pickups.
Never seen that before, but it created a dope vocal effect. +1 point for
creativity. The Klubs pleasantly surprised me, and they pulled off some awesome
sounding punk-blowouts. I’ll need to see these guys again soon.
Now
onto the big one, Peasant. The reason
most people even came in the first place. The venue certainly became packed by
this point, with seating and even standing space becoming a rarity. During
their soundcheck, we found ourselves a seat, took a breather, spoke to some
person I’ve never met in my life about World of Warcraft, and headed back in.
Now I
should have guessed that Peasant was going to be good, just by the sheer number
of people present, but I was pretty gobsmacked by Peasant. From the little I knew
of them, they were tagged as hardcore, but what I was presented with was a helluva
lot heavier than my understanding of hardcore. Peasant was pure aggression,
condensed into punishingly heavy rhythms. Assailing vocals lead the sonic
assault on the crowd, as they in turn responded in frenzied headbanging and
moshing. This band, Peasant, has reignited my passion for Hardcore and its
heavier derivatives. Being in that atmosphere, the burdening beats crushing my
soul while heated riffs tear into my skull… Damn. Just… Damn. Peasant, whatever
you’re selling, I’m buying.
And
with that, we left. Got in our car and headed out, blasting Peasant into the
night, as we drove home on a Halloween night. Like something out of a shitty,
twisted, Germanic fable. It was a good Halloween.
A big
shout out to the sponsors and organizers for making the gig possible. Y’all are
the tits.
And a
big shout out to Dystopia for inviting me and letting me throw down a few words
about the event. You people are Saints.
Stay Doomed.
Smokey Mercle: https://smokeymercle.bandcamp.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/smokeymercleband/
The Klubs: https://www.facebook.com/theklubs/
Peasant: https://peasant.bandcamp.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/peasant/
Roastin Records: https://www.facebook.com/RoastinRecords/
Article by
J. Breytenbach.
Published
through Dystopia, The Local Band Scene.
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