Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Plugged and unplugged
I have never seen as much mud as I saw this Easter weekend at Splashy Fen. But porridge-like mud and somewhat unsavoury ablutions could not discourage the torrent of music lovers that slid into the music festival. I have always thought of myself as something of a prude when it comes to the types of music that are available to our ears these days. I don’t like screaming, I don’t like wailing, I don’t like musical folk tales, I don’t like panpipes… or so I thought, until this weekend. There is something about watching a musician in action that is quite mesmerising. You find yourself involuntarily tapping your foot, and after a few shots of sherry you start to bob your head, and then before you know it you’re “full-on jamming bru” (quote by red-eyed, male matriculant) without a care that someone might be pointing and laughing at you because everyone seems to be doing the same thing. It got to the point where I was jumping and flailing about furiously to a heavy metal Christian band. Clearly my previously plugged, conservative ears had been unplugged and to my amazement I found myself, and many others like myself, opening up to all things musical. Heavy metal gospel, pop folksong, electronic jazz, and pop punk bombarded me in true post-modern speed and multiplicity. I came away from splashy feeling alive, and eager to keep refilling this feeling by supporting as many musicians as humanly possible. So I returned to Pietermaritzburg bespeckled with mud, reeking of smoke, desperate for the loo and quite broke. Was it worth it? Definitely.
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2 comments:
Splashy Fen definitely showcases a huge variety of music. I think the atmosphere influences how you take to the music. With people dancing all around me and my friends having such a good time, I could not help but "jol" along with them!
At Splashy you are able to experience a great amount of various sounds packed into a long weekend. Being exposed to so many different sounds has definitely changed my taste in music.
I also feel music being performed live has a positive effect on you and encourages you to listen and be drawn in. Especially if the people around you are enjoying it. The music and performing artists can definitely be appreciated more as one can see how much work and enthusiasm is going into the performance.
hmm... there must be something about music that unites and entrances people. In a normal setting, people would not typically enjoy getting covered in mud and having to brave dodge loos and hordes of drunkards, yet Splashy seems to unite and draw thousands of people every year.
Through a common enjoyment (and sometimes passion) of certain music and bands, we are all connected and share something in common. Music has a way of uniting people, as well as altering their normal behaviour and causing them to let loose!
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