Local band, the Fishwives, played their first big music festival gig at Oppikoppi, in Limpopo last weekend, 8 August.
Local band, the Fishwives, played their first big music festival gig at Oppikoppi, in Limpopo last weekend, 8 August.
The multitalented Grahamtown musicians captivated the crowd with their quirky style and musical flair.
Made up of wonder-women, Lizzie Gaisford on guitar; Sarah "Celery" Burger on electric guitar; Cal Thompson on bass guitar and Nicole Germiquet on keyboard, the Fishwives played their hearts out with Strato Copteros bringing the beat on drums.
The band describe themselves on their Facebook fan-page as “glowing with sound’s colours, lit-up with playful musicality; superbly proficient; wittily quirky; mischievously funky and fabulously fun-filled.”
Their performance on the Bruilof Stage at Oppikoppi was nothing less.
The Fishwives had an incredibly vibrant stage presence, masking any amateur nerves Gaisford admitted having.
“We were poeping ourselves before-hand but having all those familiar G'town faces right up in the front helped a helluva lot! Seriously did.”
“It made us feel at home, and safe,” Copteros added.
Performing in front of hundreds of people, Gaisford said “we tried to convince ourselves it was a homely Champs gig so seeing G'towners helped with the illusion.”
Their energy transcended their performance, and the crowd soaked it up.
As part of their set, the women exchanged instruments between songs which kept jaws dropping.
Gaisford and Germiquet took their turn playing the accordion, Thompson switched between base guitar and keyboard, and Germiquet even added the Kalimba (thumb piano) to the mix.
The harmonic combination of their unique voices topped off their spectacular sound.
Gaisford reflected on when the band were trying to write enough songs to fill two sets.
She said that Oppi posed a challenge of choosing which of their favourites they have grown to love to fit into an hour.
“It felt like we were trying to decide which friends to invite to our birthday party,” Gaisford said.
This year’s Oppikoppi, themed the Odyssey, was truly that for the Fishwives.
Gaisford spoke about how much the band was able to learn from the experience, “some of the veterans and pro's were really supportive of us newbies and our nerves, questions and naivety”.
“Watching them perform with our own performance in mind was also a big learning opportunity and wasn’t always easy.”
“None of us had been to Oppi before. I really digged the setting. There's a freedom and embracing of each other, the music and the jol that comes in rough, adverse environments – the thorns, dust, heat. Also there's a definite Oppi culture which I digged. Oppi's got houding. Real houding,” said Gaisford.
Oppikoppi is the biggest music festival in South Africa, attracting over 20 000 music-lovers to Limpopo for three days of musical mayhem.
It has six main stages showcasing some of the best South African and international musicians.
The lineup features top local names like Hugh Masekela, Spoek Mathambo, Van Coke Kartel, Bittereinder, WONDERboom, Matthew Mole, Albert Frost and Dan Patlansky.
The international favourites were Wolfmother (Australia), Cat Power, Willy Mason, Aloe Black and Rival Sons (All United States), Sarah Blasko (Australia), The Editors (United Kingdom) and plenty more.
The Fishwives will be playing at Champs on Friday. This weekend marks a year since their first gig ever – do not miss out on their freshly inspired celebration set.
The Fishwives are also playing at Rocking the Daisies in October.
