At 18:30 when the girls and I left res to beat the ticket rush, I was excited. I think it’s safe to say I have not been that keen for a party in a long while.
But this wasn’t going to be just any party. This was going to be the party which would make all my dreams come true: Khuli Chana, AKA, and BlackCoffee would all be on the same stage, on the same night, for a pretty reasonable price! Thank you Wits SRC for the amazing work you did with this one.
When we first arrived, things were slow- as they are at any party. We bobbed around to some songs from the first DJ (was it Capital? I can’t remember) and watched as the tennis courts at Jubilee Hall started to fill up. We were approached by a girl from the Loocha promotions team for a photo- the second time in 3 nights that I had posed for a random photo. If it turns out that I look ridiculous in any one of them, I will deny, deny, deny. As I remarked on Twitter seconds after the flash, it is so bad to realise that you are a “liker of things”. You know: that girl (or guy!) who always seems to be jostling for a bit of the limelight at the most inappropriate times.
I don’t go crazy very often, though, so I’m giving myself a free pass on this one. 😉
The night went on and Chiara, Thandi and I saw a lot of strange things.
Firstly, in 2012 people still wear sunglasses at night. Unbe-damn-lievable. Also, there are some girls who will never learn that it is simply not a wise decision to wear heels- wedges, stacked, stiletto or otherwise- to a res party. It’s not safe, first of all. And it also makes it look like you’re trying too hard. But I suppose that’s only my opinion.
We were also introduced to a hip-hop trio which everyone else at the party seemed to already know about. The three of us couldn’t stop laughing when we heard the crowd singing along so enthusiastically to Manyora’s “…four- five- sikisi!” hook during one of the opening acts. I’ve never heard of them, but they do know how to entertain a crowd, so kudos to them. Even though their song lyrics have counting in them, and counting is only a little bit less embarrassing than spelling, which almost every rap or RnB artist has tried at least once in their career.
The night progressed, and the DJs got better. By “better”, I mean “absolutely amazing”- that’s exactly how I felt about DJ Fanatic’s set. He mixed some old songs brilliantly with new popular anthems and had everybody throwing their hands up in the air and singing (read: cussing) along. It was a lot of fun.
By this time of the night, the girls and I had already run into quite a few of our friends- all of whom were in varying stages of inebriation- been accosted by random guys who decided to pick the moment after they’d had their 7th beer to try and get fresh with the nearest girl who would have it (I hate those guys), and learned that everyone at a party will do whatever it takes to get to the front. That includes spilling their drink on you, and outright pushing you out of their path. Parties are hazardous- to your health and possibly to your life (this girl bumped me so hard I nearly fell over!)- but don’t let that discourage you. 🙂
When it was time for BlackCoffee’s set, I was already looking at my watch and getting impatient. Where were Khuli and AKA? The main attractions? We went off to the sides for a little fresh air (it was getting a little too close for comfort in the middle of the crowd), and that’s when the lights went out. At 23:00, when there was technically still an hour left of the party, and the people I’d been waiting for hadn’t gone on yet. The girls and I made our way back to our spot (or somewhere thereabout- who can really tell at a party?) by moonlight, and soon realised that the problem seemed to be coming from an overload of some sort: the party was using the same power supply as Jubilee, and each time that building’s power went out, so did ours.
Cashtime Fam (that was a pretty cool surprise!) had to perform on basic sound, and a few songs later, Khuli Chana and AKA (cue: Nkhensani screaming like a mad groupie with no morals, and enjoying it) did their best with what they had. The first song they did was “I Want It All”, and I felt like I should be somehow acknowledged for kinda-sorta predicting the future.
The girls who were sitting on their boyfriends’ shoulders were blocking the view for us single short people, but there was a sort of aisle thing in the middle of the crowd which the artists sometimes ran down while performing, so we did get to see a little bit of them. At least. I even caught a glimpse of Tebello, AKA’s manager, in the sound tent. I don’t think I will get over seeing people from Twitter or TV in real life. They’re, like, famous. And anyone who knows me really well knows that there’s still a 10-year-old inside of me who believes that making any type of appearance on TV or radio makes you the coolest person ever.Â
 We ended up leaving at about 23:45. The power problems weren’t getting better, and reality had started to catch up to Thandi and I: we both had to be up at 06:00 in the morning. And it was just as Khuli Chana was about to do No More Hunger. (I wonder what happened after we left? A lot of people were still hanging around despite how hopeless the electricity situation was looking).
Overall it was an epic night. I had a lot of fun, and I hope this night was not the last of its kind for 2012.
Wits O-Week 2012: next year’s SRC are going to have to work like absolute fiends if they want to top this!
Nkhensani Manabe 