Benguela Reunion gig
Brydon Bolton of Benguela circa 2004
Last night, being the first of April of 2009, brought another instance of what a friend of mine jokingly dubbed the ‘Springbok Nude Girls syndrome’; ie the recent tendency of South African bands who had already split up, to play reunion gigs. As an aside, i suspect this is happening for the simple reason that perhaps audiences have become more receptive to what said bands have been doing in the past, and by reuniting now these bands can bask in a popular acceptance they might have been denied previously. For all the lamentations of stagnating creativity that such a phenomenon might bring, what this does demonstrate to me is that there are shifts happening the perceptions of South African audiences. Which is by all means a good thing.
Of course, the reunion gig of the amazing improvising trio Benguela is no mere rehashing of old material, so to call this an example of that syndrome would be short-sighted in the extreme. If anything, it was gratifying to see this group, who had the profoundest impact on me personally when they were going about 5-6 years ago, perform again. After several years of musical development outside of the group, it was interesting to see whether Ross Campbell, Brydon Bolton and Alex Bozas would find their common ground on stage. The first track they played displayed a certain trepidation, which nevertheless translated as a beautifully atmospheric piece. It didn’t take long for the trio to reestablish the chemistry, however, and before long the band were dazzling in their intensity and inventiveness, particularly in a mindblowing piece in the middle of the set, which put any notion of Benguela being an ‘ambient’ band to rest.
I sincerely hope there are more of Benguela’s gigs to come; if the adage about The Velvet Underground, which said that ‘everyone who saw them started a band’ ever rang true about a South African outfit, it would be them. Well, in my experience at least.
Mp3′s from Benguela available here
