Saturday 17 September 2011

BOO!

It's no secret that BOO! has a global cult-like following. On Thursday night, a rather large number of us adoring P-Town fans crammed into Tings 'n Times to be part of what has become a typically mind-blowing experience.

What lures the devoted towards the music is the theatrical quality to BOO!'s performance. The glitz and glamour of show business are blended with bad-ass punk to produce something incomparable. Describing their music as 'monkipunk', BOO! chooses to defy the boundaries that are created when putting music into neat little boxes based on their genre.

As the stage area starts bulging with people, the audience is told that they are not allowed to smoke because of the effect that it will have on front man Chris Chameleon's delicate vocals. Had it been anyone else, I would have brushed this request off as unreasonable. But Chris Chameleon is a non-apologetic, demanding diva. When he walks onto stage there is no questioning why. His crazed eyes are painted with perfectly applied eyeliner and his arms twinkle with glitter. He is clad in a black and red outfit that resembles something an instrument- bearing Ninja Turtle would wear. Ladies and gentlemen, I can honestly say that there is no performer that comes close to the cross-dressing talent that is Chris Chameleon. And I think I've seen my fair share of live music. His face contorts into a myriad of different expressions as he sings. One minute he is delicate and doll-like, the next he is dark and sinister. He is a character like no other.

The rest of the band are wearing equally entertaining outfits. Ampie Omo, with his long, wild blond locks, is sporting black bell bottom pants with red flames at the bottom and a matching shirt. In the back, Riaan van Rensburg is pounding the drums in what looks to me like shiny white harem pants and a pink shirt. Am I starting to resemble the fashion police? Maybe just a little.

BOO!'s catchy, high-energy tunes provided for a lot of jumping around and going crazy. Hell, I think I may have even jammed the curls right out of my hair. As the music ended and the crowd roared "Booooooooo!" one last time, I walked away with sore dance-feet feeling wholly satisfied with my music fix.






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