It was not the first Ocean Race legover. What of course I meant was the first stopover after the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Anyway… with a line-up of top SA bands – Holiday Murray, Them Tornados, Jack Parow and The Wedding DJs – it’s no surprise that the Puma/Volvo Ocean race party was a huge success.
Puma’s boat, Mar Mostro, unfortunately dismasted en route to Cape Town when its 31-metre tall rig broke into three pieces, but through the great seamanship of the team it managed to stay in the race and get repairs. Not to be deterred by such a setback, Puma is currently third in the race. Their next stop: Abu Dhabi.
When I arrived at the party, hosted at Quay 4 at the V&A Waterfront, Holiday Murray was getting the crowd into the swing of things with their distinctly South African folk rock. I was amazed at how the venue managed to hold so many people. The soundstage was placed outside, with the audience facing the water. With a graciously full moon and no wind to speak of, everyone enjoyed grooving on the outdoor dance floor. The bar was a problem, because the place was packed and it took about an hour to get a drink. I got the impression that the bar staff were unprepared for the onslaught, because they were muddled and bordering on rude. A warm beer gets no points in my little black book, no matter how busy you are.
Them Tornados were a great addition to the line-up, because their old school rockabilly/punk sound is so unique and their musicianship is unadulterated. Each band was different from the last, so there was a bit of something for everyone, which is quite refreshing for a change.
Of course, Jack Parow brought everyone outside with his original Afrikaans rap. I’m sure he offended about 100 people, but love him or hate him, there’s one thing Jack Parow does better than any other Afrikaaner – entertain with gusto. He has a great knack for capturing the spirit of the Afrikaans language and SA culture, which is probably why he calls himself “the international rap superstar.”
The party could well have peaked at Jack Parow’s hip-hop beats, but the organisers had the brilliant idea of placing The Wedding DJs last on the line up. This took the party to a completely different level. Playing only 80s and 90s hits (a trend I’m finding Capetonians are digging more and more), they had everyone doing the Sprinkler, the Robot, the Running Man…you name it, we did it. At one stage I had to stop and take it all in as a group of young guys embraced each other and sang Celine Dion’s “All Coming Back to Me Now” into each other’s eyes. This was Puma’s stroke of genius. Mine was to ignore the increasing pain of my high heels (bad choice!) and party on regardless. No-one left before the end, and we’re still talking about it as the party of the year.
Kate West
The Puma party for the Volvo Ocean Race took place on 9 December 2011.
