Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to Endless Daze festival in the West Coast of Cape Town. The event presented by Psych Night and Vans South Africa included International headliners Place to Bury Strangers (USA), Dead Meadow (USA) and WITCH (ZM + EU).
Sadly we were only able to drive through on the Saturday, but since arriving after a short 45 minute drive to Silverstroom Resort. We quickly set up our tent and headed on a short walk to the festival (one of my favourite things about these small festivals is that you do not have to walk for miles to get everywhere). This particular festival is reminiscent of a mini Oppikoppi- with its small dusty roads, leading to the different camps sites with road signs to boot. We checked out the market which included the most tasty pizza stand and divine looking soft serve ice-cream cones which I swore I’d try yet- amid all the excitement- forgot. We started off with an ice cold Newlands draught at the bar before heading to the stage to check out the bands.
Since arriving stage-front it was nothing short of eargasms. Standing out amongst the 28 amazing psychedelic rock acts that performed over the 2 days were Medicine Boy– the boy-girl duo that dubs the sound of ‘dream noise’ and with that very sound, they are taking over the world of alternative music. In fact Lucy and Andre will shortly go on a Euro-tour.
Kidofdoom came back onto the scene – I had last seen them live over 12 years ago when I lived in JHB, The Brother Moves On, Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys, Diamond Thug fronted by the sultry vocals of Chantel van T and Morena Leraba from Lesotho who fuses homegrown traditional Famo inspired vocals with electronic dance, reggae, hip-hop and everything in between. I was absolutely blown away with his stage presence.
A Place To Bury Strangers, synonymous with blistering “wall-of-sound” live performances – created JUST THAT… a memorable show that blew everyone away! At the end of the set they joined the crowd on the floor jumping and smashing what was left of a guitar.
We woke up the next morning to one of our friends calling non-stop looking for us and when we were finally about to pick up, the phone died. That was it, we thought “we’re getting left behind”…with a dead phone. Luckily Flat Mountain came to the rescue with a charger and some much needed caffeine and we finally reached our lift on the phone (we came in a full car of people to stay green and all that). Once we finally found our friends, off we went on a short drive back to town- with hangovers that were more than worth it… only to get home and reminisce about the epic moments enjoyed the 24 hours prior.
Limited to a decent 2500 person capacity, and set right on the ocean; Endless Daze is a dream for live music lovers. Complete with more amenities, luxury camping options, top quality food curated by The Neighbourgoods Market, ice cold beer from Newlands Spring Brewery, Sugarbird Fynbos Gin, Black Douglas Whiskey with Jägermeister and Red Bull to give you the energy to last the whole weekend. I only hope it stays as beautiful for years to come.
See you next year!
