As we all know by now, our windy city is a hub of pure undisputed talent, and, if anything, your gossip gal’s experience at Lisa Yengeni’s live show at the Athenaeum washed away any doubts there might have been.
Obviously a crowd puller, the singer had the Athenaeum jam-packed with some of the Bay’s well-known music lovers who were there for every note.
Meanwhile, those of us who don’t frequent the house of the lord much – for various reasons – were glad to be handed an opportunity to worship, booze in hand and all.
Dressed by designer Asanda Mali, who was also there looking dapper, the singer pulled the likes of the seemingly exhausted playwright Xabiso Zweni, who spent almost half the show sleeping. Could the brother still be jet-lagged from all that touring he did in Germany last month? We’ll pardon him this once. What deserves no pardon, however, is Zimsto Eroofini’s stunt of placing a call on loudspeaker only to find out she had no funds to actually make the call.
I don’t know about saving money for airtime, but the girl could have definitely saved herself the embarrassment had the phone not been on loud to start with.
Some more familiar faces included the event’s MC Buhle Mafani, who takes after his father Putco with his MC skills, and actress Olwethu Mdala. Is she back from Cape Town for good or does she just visit the Bay a lot?
Speaking of visiting the Bay, national comedians Tumi Morake and Ndumiso Lindi brought the house down with their Married But Not To Each Other show at the Boardwalk on Saturday night. Despite almost freezing to death at the Amphitheatre, Bay supporters filled the venue to capacity.
While both comedians cracked the crowd up, I couldn’t help but find Ndumiso funnier than Tumi (whom I undoubtedly find hilarious too) despite her seemingly being more popular. Anywho, we weren’t there to compare but to laugh and we laughed until we dropped.
Opening comedian TD Jokes, of King William’s Town, also had the audience rolling in the aisles, but not your Skinnerbek. I laughed enough the first couple of times I heard his jokes. Listening to the same jokes at the show evoked a feeling of déjà vu.
Ciao dolls. Same time next week.