Avicii Concert

“Avicci”. This name dominated itself upon the lips of thousands of young people over the last couple of weeks. Avicii, for those of you who refuse to keep up to date with modern music, is an up and coming DJ from Sweden. He has produced a number of hits over the last little while, including the popular song; Levels. This track, amongst his other mixes are played daily on radio stations, music TV channels, and they are slowly becoming the ‘national anthems’ to many night clubs around the world.

Truthfully, when I first heard Avicii was coming to Cape Town I had absolutely no idea who he was. I guess you could place me in the “refuse to keep up to date with modern music" bracket that I eluded to earlier. Through my social network ‘friendships’ I  had seen a number Facebook, Twitter tweets and BBM statuses devoted to the young up and coming Swedish DJ. I quickly became aware of who he was.  I like to think of myself as someone who does move with tides so to speak, and when it comes to modern music (the music that ‘us kids’) listen to I like to feel like I’m fairly up to date. In all honesty when I heard Avicii was a DJ my excitement levels to see his concert somewhat dropped. I decided I’d sit this one out and give Avicii a miss.

In the weeks building up to the much talked about concert, I found myself becoming very excited for an event I initially decided not to buy tickets for. I started hearing his songs everywhere and I slowly discovered myself becoming his biggest fan. His music started dictating the mood in my car as I blared a number of his tracks through my speakers. I decided I had to get a ticket. I had to see Avicii.

Through a dramatic turn of events (which is another story for another day) I managed to get my hands on an Avicii ticket. This rectangular shaped piece of paper buoyed me with emotions of excitement and anticipation. I had got my ticket at last. Life was good. The concert itself was hosted at Thunder City, a rather interesting venue just past Cape Town International Airport. It was my first time attending a concert at Thunder City and I was somewhat impressed by the efficiency and organisational levels in which it was run. There was more than enough allocated parking and because the concert only started so late (12pm) traffic was hardly an issue , largely due to the fact that people were arriving  at varied times from about 8 o clock onwards to support the numerous opening acts that would grace the stage before Avicii.

Although the allocated parking was quite some distance from the concert, getting there was no issue at all. Credit has got to go for the organisers who provided somewhat of a shuttle system that would transport people from the parking lot to the concert via buses. The ‘journey’ hardly took up anytime and before you knew it you were handing in your ticket to the ticket officer and queuing to appreciate the artist you paid to see. I found myself drawn to the dance floor on arrival. The music played by the opening acts was superb. They did a phenomenal job in getting the crowd pumped up and excited for the headline act, Avicii. Special mention has got to be made of DJ Fresh who did a great job in setting the scene for a tremendous night out.

By the time 12 o’clock came the crowd (roughly 5000 people) were frothing for Avicii and his songs which made him so famous. He opened his set with his biggest hit; Levels. This was the perfect way to ignite the party flame within the Cape Townians who came out to support him that night. Amongst me, were thousands of youngsters dancing, jumping around and singing along to our favourite songs. His set lasted about 4 hours. These 4 hours were jam packed with happiness, fun and sheer joy. Avicii did an amazing job and will definitely be the most thrown around name in schools, varsities and perhaps even an office or two off the course of the next couple of weeks. Whilst Avicii did a fantastic job on stage I think the real hero of the evening is the organisers and the opening acts. These people often don’t get the credit they deserve and we tend to forget about them. At the end of it all, if it weren’t for these special people there would be no event to speak of in the first place. The fact that it ran smoothly and problem free is commendable. They deserve a feather in their cap for this. Another aspect I feel deserves some form of recognition is the opening acts. In South Africa we often don’t give our local artists the support and recognition that they deserve. There are a number of our local musicians that tend to get overshadowed by international ones purely because of this reason. Saturday was a huge indication of the talent that exists within our borders and although an artist like Aviicii is world class in their own right, our local talent is very much there and there about. South African musicians are up there with some of the best in the world and whilst we are quick to buy tickets and support international artists we should perhaps take a step back and give our local artists the support, respect and recognition that they deserve.

Although it may seem like I ended on a bit of a sombre note, there isn’t a negative thing I could say about the Avicii concert. It was well organised, well attended, and most importantly it was a lot of fun. It was a night which I thoroughly enjoyed and it was certainly a night that I will never forget.