Classy

Relevance? No, this is just what came up from a Google Image search for 'cultural journalism.'

For the past five weeks I've been taking a class offered through the magazine I'm interning at. The course title is 'cultural journalism.' Each week we've had a different assignment: interviewing, profiling, reviewing, etc. While I'm working on the write ups of the past month's travels I'm going to go ahead and put up the pieces I wrote for each week's assignment.

Preview writing:

Plenty are outside enjoying the sunlit patio, lounging through the late afternoon. But down the spiraled steps, the cool, dark inner chamber of Den Bosche’s Plein 79 is noticeably quiet and uninhabited, by comparison. An expansive wooden stage and raised bar flank the room and give the distinct impression that quiet is absolutely not something one comes to this place to experience. Like the basement recording studios of Motown, these ancient walls - the basement of one of the city’s oldest buildings, D’Morrian, dates back to the 14^th century - actively reverb from years of acoustic bombardment. It is a lively yet contained darkness, ready for its next coating of sound.

When South Africa’s own BOO! band blows into town at the end of August, Plein 79 will be anything but quiet. Musically self-described as ‘monki-punk,’ this trio’s mix of bopping horns, slapping bass and high-pitched yipping admittedly has a raucous, jungle fever-type vibe at times. But the details in their songs - delicately timed bell tinkling, multiple melodic section changes and whimsically harmonized vocals - prove they are far beyond primitive bush people.

The closest genre umbrella is the horn-heavy ‘ska,’ which is basically fast and angry reggae. BOO!’s sound has that feel on the surface but often deviates with slower tempos, actual melodic lines and just few absurd interludes. Lyrics are simple but catchy: ‘You’re my wishboan, you’re my shooting star, walk with me’ evokes a bit sweeter imagery than your typical punks. Then blaring trombone, thrashing percussion and grand synthesized keyboards drag you back to thoughtless irreverence.

Before disbanding in 2004 BOO! had racked up an impressive seven albums with roughly 800 gigs, spanning 17 countries and 14 states in the USA. Some might think such numbers are paltry for a career that lasted all of seven years, but fear not: these boys know how to work the stage after performing with the likes of hulking headliners The White Stripes, Slipknot and Franz Ferdinand. They were even recognized by their mother country with the South African Music Award (SAMA) for ‘Best Pop Album’ in 2002.

What better for the continued celebration of the group’s February 2010 reformation then, than the packed intimacy of Plein 79? The close proximity of the stage and backyard barn proportions should be perfect for a truly interactive band-to-audience experience. Expect clapping. Expect dancing. Expect ‘boo’-ing.

Creative head and featured electric bass player (read: ‘slapper’) Chris ‘Miss’ Chameleon will undoubtedly receive the most admiring ‘boos’ with his trademark cross-dressing and powerful voice that can go from soulful croon to inspired wail as if with the turn of a dial. Chameleon took some time after the band’s break to pursue a solo career, so be prepared for a fully fresh take the old body of work as well as completely new cuts from their upcoming album release: The Three of Us. Doubtless it will celebrate the renewed creative energy of the band’s reunification. Doubtless it will be loud.