Xavier Rudd - Marks Park, JHB

Yeah ok I haven’t posted for a while... Guilty.

I remember watching Xavier Rudd one night in London at the Shepard’s Bush Walkabout and thought, 'Dam, this guy is good...’ I had listened to his music somewhat before seeing him live for the first time and I never realized that he was an absolute 1-man-show. I mean I’ve seen some not so 1-man-show, 1-man-shows - if that makes any sense at all. But Xavier’s pounds away at one instrument, pounds away at another strums a different one and chants peace lyrics all at the same time.

Xavier’s array of instruments and talent blew me away. But unfortunately, I cannot say I felt the same way I did that 1 evening in London as I did in Marks Park when he was out in Johannesburg... There was something that wasn’t quite the same. To be brutally honest - I was bored from about halfway through his set.

I have a sneaky suspicion it had to do with his excessive chanting and his glorifying of the 2 African gentlemen he had on stage with him. I know Xavier’s been trying to get into the SA scene for a while, but I don’t think his approach was quite right. That, and the fact that he only seemed to have a quarter of his normal rig.

But nonetheless! I got to watch the hero live once again. And he is amazing! Don’t get me wrong. Ever. As soon as ‘Let Me Be’ played (his last track) all was forgiven.