Prime Circle Rocks Cape Town into 2012!
Posted in Live Music on January 4th, 2012 by Yolanda Saayman
Kirstenbosch
31 December 2011
Prime Circle proved once again why they are South Africa’s Number 1 Rock Band!
Some people have been queuing for the best seats in the house since 12h00 on New Year’s Eve-day, so when the gates opened at 19h00, it took less than 30 minutes for a crowd of 5000 people to fill the grass terrace in front of the stage at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – a natural amphitheater under African Skies!
The vibe was electrifying and the air filled with excitement. The line up for the evening was No One’s Arc, Elvis Blue and Prime Circle with a special guest appearance by Dan Patlansky. Radio Goodhope’s Guy McDonald acted as MC and kept the crowd entertained during band changing, the Amarula Prize Draws and the Count Down to 2012.
Although the support bands are phenomenal in their own right, the crowd was there for one reason: Prime Circle!
I’ve had the privilege to photograph this outstanding band before, but Saturday night’s performance set a new benchmark and left me in awe…again!
Ross was belting out the songs off the group’s latest Platinum Album, Jekyll & Hyde, and throwing in previous hits like She Always Gets What She Wants and Let Me Go, to the crowd’s delight. He describes drummer, Dale Schnettler as: “A machine behind the drums!” and I am sure that Dale’s energy could have backed up any power cut in the Western Cape. As for lead guitarist Dirk Bisschoff - he is a performer who knows how to entertain the crowd and in sync with the fans, giving them more than the face value of their tickets. Together with bass guitarist Marco Gomes and keyboard player, Neil Breytenbach, they have the chemistry that produces the one hit after the other – winning them a SAMA award for Best Rock Album and MK’s award for “International Breakthrough Act”! So it is only fitting that they brought the show back to South Africa on a Summer Tour around the country, ending it off on a highlight with the New Year’s Eve Concert.
As for me: Photographing Prime Circle while they rock Cape Town into 2012 has been an adrenaline rush!
ROCK ON!
Yolanda Saayman