30 Seconds To Mars @ Grand Arena, Grand West is POSTPONED to 23/11/14 @20:00
USE SAME tickets for NEW DATE or REFUND @ Computicket till 23/10.
Info: 08619158000
More as we get it…
News24 reports that it is because of a “private medical issue”.
There’s nothing on the band’s page about this yet. The Cape Town concert was to be the opening of a 69 concert tour, taking in Europe, North and South America. That tour was due to end on October 24th. It’s not yet clear how many of these concerts will be postponed as well.
The Western Cape Education Department’s warning that children must not miss school simply because they are going to see (or have seen) the Justin Bieber concert in Cape Town on Wednesday evening has been widely circulated.
Paddy Attwell, WCED spokesman, said that the Education Department had no problem with kids attending the concerts but if any students chose to miss school, they would be dealt with internally based on the individual school’s code of conduct.
A crowd of around 50,000 is expected and many of them will be children, so it could be that Paddy et al will have their work cut out for them.
However, less well publicised was the similar warning from another Western Cape Department regarding the Bon Jovi concert on Tuesday evening at the Cape Town Stadium. We’re here to put that right.
The Western Cape Department of Geriatric Affairs has become aware of many requests to Old Age, Frail Care and Retirement facilities across the province regarding the temporary removal of patients and residents from facilities ahead of the upcoming Bon Jovi concert at Cape Town Stadium, Tuesday 7th May 2013.
We are aware that due to the nature of this concert and the artists playing, the uptake from our patients and residents will be high.
While the Department appreciates the efforts of the families and friends of patients taking them to cultural experiences, it should be noted that guardians should remember that due to their advanced age, patients and residents may experience confusion, bewilderment and/or death as a result of the excitement of seeing one of the great rock bands of 30 years ago.
However, those persons responsible for the elderly should please remind their charges that this is no longer the 1980s and that their cardiovascular systems, joints and energy levels will have diminished significantly since that decade.
Extra paramedics,resuscitation equipment, defibrillators and frail care facilities are being laid on at the Stadium to cater for the those of advanced age who are expected to make up the majority of the audience for this concert.
In addition, we are aware of plans to take many Zimmer frames from our facilities for a promised special version of the song “Wanted, Dead or Alive” featuring the line “I’m a cowboy, on a steel frame I walk”. Residents and patients are reminded that removal of Departmental equipment from our premises is not permitted and will not be tolerated even in these exceptional circumstances.
The Department wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable experience on Tuesday evening and looks forward to seeing all their patients and residents back for a nice cup of tea and some biscuits on Wednesday morning. Shall we say 10ish?
This just in ahead of the Lady Gaga concert that no-oneeveryone is talking about:
I can only guess that this is in reference to the incident at the Linkin Park concert in Cape Town last month in which a scaffolding tower blew over and killed a woman. And forewarned is forearmed, right?
But are people really more at risk of injury and/or death from objects being blown over at events occurring at the Cape Town Stadium?
If they are then how comes there was no warning on the Dating Buzz SA twitter stream for patrons heading to the recent Cape derby on November 23rd? True, almost half a million football fans survived the World Cup 2010 completely unscathed, but that was before the Linkin Park incident, which showed just how dangerous events at the Cape Town Stadium can be.
Look, maybe it’s not a Cape Town Stadium thing. Maybe it’s a wind thing, but in that case, the apocalyptic Friday 30th should have been a bit mental for tweets from Dating Buzz SA. But it wasn’t. There were a couple of Lady Gaga tweets and a retweet of someone asking how Matt was.
I’m not sure who Matt is or what happened to him – perhaps some sort of wind/scaffolding related injury?
Tenuous at best.
All in all, I think that the tweeted warning is pretty much needless. Like me saying, “Don’t get run over tomorrow”.
(Although, don’t.)
I’m not saying that people shouldn’t always be on the look out for large tubular metal structures crashing down on them, but it seems to be a bit of a stretch to suggest that they should be specifically more alert at tonight’s concert. Common sense should prevail.
Oh, and it certainly doesn’t deserve three exclamation marks. Nothing deserves three exclamation marks.
Propped up by Corenza C and Red Bull, I made it out to Grand West last night for the first OMD concert in SA since 1994.
This isn’t likely to be the most impartial review you’ve ever read. It was never going to be, because I could listen to 80’s synthpop forever and a day and still enjoy every single second of it. And when it comes to 80’s synthpop, OMD were.. are… it.
No pretence from Andy McClusky that his dancing style is bizarre at best, nor that he’s getting on a bit.
On the the crowd’s reluctance to get involved:
Don’t be scared. I’m 53 and I’m still dancing like an idiot.
And then after a particularly energetic effort to Maid of Orleans:
It wasn’t dignified 25 years ago and it’s not got any better.
But at least I can still do it!
And he could. An admittedly generally sycophantic crowd were transported back to earlier times as they knocked out hit after hit, Paul Humphreys repeating those electronic riffs which kept us entertained on cassette all those years ago.
Considering this was “soulless” electronic music, there was passion and, strangely, almost a spiritual element to the performance.
Oh – and the new stuff isn’t bad either. This was a very pleasant surprise.
OMD wrote Electricity when they were 16 – a fact that a quick glance at the lyrics will confirm. But as we’ve mentioned before with these 80s bands, those lyrics worked back then. And, as Kraftwerk showed, the singing was rather incidental to the electronic beats and the keyboard themes.
Thankfully, OMD have moved on lyrically since then. But their recent stuff still holds true to their musical roots – and for me, that’s just great.
We got back from the UK to find that 80’s legends OMD were performing in Cape Town next week. It’s this sort of post-holiday bonus that makes the air travel all worth it. Even with that baby on your flight.
A quick look at their discography is like a Who’s Who of 80s synth classics: Enola Gay, Electricity, Tesla Girls, Locomotion, Souvenir. But they also had hits in the 90s too: Sailing on the Seven Seas and Walking on the Milky Way.
I’m now playing catch up with their latest album, History of Modern Part I.
So yes, we’ve got our tickets and we’re off to see them.
As with all bands from previous eras, their line-up has changed over the years. But unlike other “old” bands who have been to SA recently this touring line-up is the “classic” one from 1980-1996 (Humpheys, McCluskey, Cooper and Holmes). They may all be in their early 50s now, but as the video above shows, there’s no shortage of energy.
Linkin Park, Schminkin Park. I cannot wait for next Thursday.
OMD are playing at Grand West in Cape Town on Thursday 2nd August and Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th August. Tickets at Computicket.
