Remember missioning out to Rondevlei with your Gran to see if you could spot all the birds on that little laminated sheet they gave you when you entered? And trying to spot that elusive hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) from the little wooden hides? No? Well I do. And it was awesome! I don't think I actually ever did spot all the different ones but I'm sure my Gran told me that I did. Ah - such fond memories. And right across from Rondevlei is Zeekoevlei, the expanse of water about which I am going to 'rave' - or rather the people who live around there, the people of 'the Vlei-bourhood'.  

Now I am aware that it has been a long time since a 'Rant & Rave' - I did consider an April Fool's post in which I would announce that I was leaving the Brothers. But the thought alone made me sad so I didn't. This post is more the retelling of a truly special Brothers Streep Duo gig that Simon and I had the privilege to be a part of. I guess if neither of us had been a part of it, it wouldn't have been a Brothers Streep Duo show at all. But you know what I mean.

So a while ago the band played at a festival run by The Barleycorn Music Club and a man named Lee came by afterwards and asked if we'd play at his 40th birthday. I hope he doesn't mind me spreading his age, but I guess it was pretty common knowledge at the party so it should be fine. Anyway, a few days before the party we visited his house to discuss the finer details of the night and to our delight, the water from the massive vlei literally lapped up onto their back lawn. Amazing stuff. I mean, they had a jetty and a boat and everything. Incredible. Not only this, but they had a large porch swing which Simon and I immediately decided would be the best place from which to perform. (I use the term 'best' loosely as it was probably the least ideal place to perform from, with all the swaying and moving, but definitely the most fun.)

We left the meeting feeling that his party would be a great night. And it would...

The big night came and preparations at the party were in full force. Great food, lots to drink and friendly guests. We soon made friends with a guy called Tony or 'Tonaaaaay'. He offered to help us move our equipment. We said 'Thanks, but no'. Too much detail perhaps? He later invited us to 'The Vlei-bourhood's' sunday braai's. Great guy! The first set went well and one girl even laughed at the Disney references in Waltz Disney. The second set was to then take place during Earth Hour by candle light. This is where things got a little crazy.

When we had discussed doing a set by candle light at the meeting, I had imagined sitting in a circle with blankets and guitars and maybe even someone running off and coming back with a Djembe or two. I'm not sure if Simon had a similar image in mind. This was not the case, however, as these guests were proper partiers. They may not have had electricity anymore but the party was still pumping! This left Simon and I with the taxing task of trying to be heard over the other singing and dancing and general party atmosphere that consumed the room. A challenging task - especially for me, the guy who is told after every single show; 'The show was sweet, but we couldn't hear your vocals.'

We somehow managed to pull it off by doing a half-shouting-half-singing thing. At one point I was singing at octave higher than usual. Simon and I started losing our voices. Tonaaaaay came up and helped us out with some background vocals on our Tears For Fears number. We even managed to get the whole room singing 'Imagine' at the request of a young-at-heart-oldish-at-age woman known simply as Mazz. All good fun! Later into the set we decided that sitting in one place was not good enough anymore and started walking around people and singing to them that way. This proved successful when we hit the last chorus of Anna Paquin and had a circle of partiers shouting along. Great moment! However the best moment for me was when I looked down and saw Simon on his back on the floor still playing guitar and singing. I did the macho thing and gave him the one handed monkey grip style pull up. Which he then gave to someone else who'd found themselves on the floor too. After our second set and Earth Hour was over, the guests continued to dance through the night...with the lights still out and the candles glowing.

So...That is my account of the evening. Unusually positive for a 'Rant & Rave' but when we play a show that is so different and so much fun, it deserves the time this took to write. Which was a quite a while. I have been jumping across to Facebook Chat intermittently though. So, thank you Lee and Laurian for your hospitality and great sense of enjoyment.

Oh, and afterwards we managed to catch the tail end of our dear brother Rich Streep and his fiancée Emma's Engagement Celebration Braai. Which was a great ending to an awesome night!

Thanks,

Dyl Streep.