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November gig guide

It is Halloween, brethren. Now, normally we would scoff at these northern hemisphere festivities celebrating the start of winter and the night on which the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Point of Halloween was to spiritually prepare for the fact the old and sick would likely not make it through the coming freezing months, thus it’s not applicable down this side of the world. But things have changed. With global heating, it’s more likely the old and sick will die from heat stroke (see our page 1 story), thus now, at the start of our summer, Halloween makes a lot more sense. So: get your ghoul on. 
Music

You may be familiar with the incredible, soaring voice of Vusi Mahlasela. Well Vusi is getting on (aren’t we all) and seems to have been a bit quiet of late. Bongeziwe Mabandla is carrying that torch forward, ringing those bells we can come home to. If Vusi is ‘The Voice’ of South Africa, Bongeziwe can be dubbed ‘The New Voice’. He’s on a tour of South Africa and playing in Cape Town at The Factory at 80-60 Auckland St, Paarden Eiland on 15 November. He’ll also be playing at Guga S’Thebe in Langa on 17 November, and at the Daisy Jones Bar in Stellenbosch on 16 November (but see other 16 November gigs below before you rush off to Stellies). Tickets for the gig at The Factory cost R300 and are available on Quicket. Bongeziwe will be performing together with his producer and creative collaborator, Tiago Correia- Paulo, and Bruno Saranga. 

You can get all poetic when trying to write about Kyle Shepherd playing the piano. Notes flowing like water, melodies that loop and distend and reform like a shimmering hall of magic mirrors, images of silk and rawhide, time a dimension of his own making, etc. You get the picture. Then there’s bassist Shane Cooper who can make those strings sound like soft rocks rolling down an aloe-strewn mountain kloof, in time. Together with acclaimed drummer Jonno Sweetman, they’re playing at the Baxter Concert Hall on 16 November at 7.30pm for the launch of the Kyle Shepherd Trio’s new album A Dance More Sweetly Played. This’ll be a goodie. Tickets cost R250 and you can book through Webtickets

You have some hard choices to make that night, at Dumza Maswana is also playing on 16 November at the Homecoming Centre’s Star Theatre (can’t these producers get on the same WhatsApp group?). With his full band, the Eastern Cape artist’s voice will bring the sound of the Wild Coast hills, the barren inland peaks, and the lush kloofs of the ‘kei to our wind-blown city. You can get your tickets on Quicket for R350, or rock up and shell out R400 at the door. 

The next weekend, 22 November, the incredible jazz, blues, Afro-rhythm guitarist Louis Mhlanga is playing down south at Axminster House in Muizenberg. A relatively new venue and brainchild of Slow Life Paul Kahanovitz who has organised a few years of great gigs in the deep south, Louis Mhlanga is somewhat of a coup. This jazz lover first came across him on a deeply soulful album Song for Nomsa which he composed and played with Eric van der Westen. For Sunday morning come down albums, Song for Nomsa is to SA jazz lovers what Primal Scream’s Screamadelica and Massive Attack’s Mezzanine was to 90’s ravers and pill heads. Anyway, Paul’s not wrong when he punts Louis as “one of the supreme African guitarists of our time”.  Starting at 7pm, tickets are R200 on Quicket.

The heavy rock/metal band We Kill Cowboys has been gaining fans. If you’re into tattoos, growling, and grinding guitar, you can check them out free of charge at cowboy killer Andy’s birthday gig on 8 November at the House of Machines from about 9pm. Who doesn’t like a free party, right?

If you’re keen to go old skool and can deal with the Grandwest Casino, you can get your boogie on (but can you, because Grandwest is formal seating, like, isn’t it?) and get down on it with Kool and the Gang, together with Earth, Wind and Fire on 28 and 30 November. We’re sure it will be fun, although seeing the dudes may be depressingly nostalgic, what with grey hair and all. Your choice, but be warned, tickets are going for between R1,025 and R1,595. If you’re feeling rich, book through Ticketmaster.

Theatre

Theatre at this time of year tends toward comedy and music extravaganzas. Producers seem to reckon people don’t want to think too hard in November and December. There is one exception though, and that would be the Magnet Theatre. ManJE! MaNJe (an epic) should not be missed. Directed by the worthily acclaimed Mark Fleishman, it draws on the story of the ancient Greek super-engineer Daedalus, to stage a profound and prophetic lament on the human condition in the age of the machine, big data and the climate catastrophe. With a musical score by Neo Muyanga, set and costume design by Craig Leo, visual projections by Marcus Neustette and a large cast including the Magnet Theatre Youth Company, Jennie Reznek, Mwenya Kabwe and an ensemble of musicians and singers, this promises to be magnificent. It runs from 6 to 16 November at the Magnet Theatre at 1 St. Michael’s Road, Observatory. Tickets cost R100 to R200 but there are limited R60 Early Bird Special for performances on 8, 11, and 12 November (special ends tomorrow, 1 November). Book on Webtickets.

One of the silly season song and dance shows probably worth seeing is David Kramer’s Orpheus McAdoo in collaboration with Cape Town Opera. It follows on from the success of Orpheus in Africa in 2015 and tells the tale of an African-American choir – The Virginia Jubilee Concert Company – led by Orpheus McAdoo (Conroy Scott), which visited South Africa in the 1890s. Invited by the Governor’s wife, Lady Loch (Natalie Robbie), they introduced a unique style of singing that had never been heard in the Cape before. They were an overnight sensation and went on to tour the country for the next two years.

Orpheus McAdoo the musical, recreates how his choir sang the old spirituals more than 120 years ago. In addition to traditional songs, Kramer has created new music inspired by early American folk music, minstrel songs, early ragtime and opera. It is on at the Artscape until 3 November with tickets costing between R200 and R400. Book on Webtickets.

Text Me When You Arrive is a satirical and physical exploration of the plight of South African woman, but through the lens of a playful YouTube channel. The three women – You Tube ‘presenters’, presumably, explore how women navigate the unspoken rules set by rape culture, patriarchy and social media. From the blurb, it appears the efficacy of social media in combating gender-based violence is questioned, as are hashtags and and other digital ephemera, which have not impact on what actually happens in real life. Playing from 12 to 16 November, tickets cost between R120 and R150 via Webtickets. Shows are at 8pm, with a matinee at 3pm.

Also at the Masambe Theatre, Cape Town drag artist Ina Propriette has her debut solo theatre drag show from 20 to 23 November in The Blueprint. You’ll get the whole package: power ballads, vogue dips and spins, classic theatre cabaret and conceptual drag art. She is not afraid to push boundaries and challenge the status quo, apparently. We are, after all, talking about the 2023 Miss Sovereign Western Cape, the most prestigious drag pageant in the country. Tickets range from R130 to R200 and shows are at 8pm, with a matinee at 4pm. Book through Webtickets.

Film

There’s a little festival of Japanese film at The Neelsie in Stellenbosh this weekend, 1 and 2 November. If you know Japanese cinema, you are probably a fan. And while there’s a bit of petrol money to spend going to Stellies, tickets to the movies are free of charge. On the screen on 1 November are Only the Cat Knows at 2.30pm, and Show Me the Way to the Station at 4.45pm. On Saturday 2 November they’re screening four stopmotion animations by Takeshi Yashiro at 12.30pm, and Restaurant From the Sky at 2.50pm. There’ll be a closing ceremony at 5pm if you want to stick around for that.