(Noel
Johnson)
A veritable smorgasbord of great rock music.
(Review by Keith Millar)
Appearing on the stage at the Seabrooke’s
Theatre at Durban High School this past week-end was an uncomplicated,
down-to-earth rock music show entitled Rock
Out Or Get Knocked Out.
Presented by Fearless Productions, the aim
was to get back to basics and to perform music in a raw stripped-down form,
such as the featured bands would for a stage performance, and excluding the
bells and whistles of a studio production.
The result? It worked a treat with the band
belting out more than two hours of fundamental and visceral heavy rock music.
It was loud and proud, hard driving, relentless and energising.
Some of the greatest rock bands were
represented with music from groups such as Queen, ACDC, Nirvana, The Rolling
Stones, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice Cooper, Free, The Clash, The Eagles, Dire
Straits, Guns ‘n Roses, the Sex Pistols and Pink Floyd.
Tracks heard included We Will Rock You, Thunderstruck, Paint it Black, Hotel California, All
Right Now, Poison, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Another Brick in The Wall and
Sweet Child O’ Mine. A veritable
smorgasbord of great rock music.
Noel Johnson, founder of Fearless
Productions and lead vocalist, assembled an excellent group of musicians to
perform in this show. He has unearthed a trio of very talented young artists
who could go far in the industry.
On drums was the impressive Yesh Naidoo. He
is absolutely rock steady and his timing is impeccable. He laid a solid
foundation for the band’s performance. Yesh is also a member of the band
Habit-to. Young Jason Rogan on bass guitar was also a member of Habit-to and
made a great contribution to this production with his driving and pulsing
style.
On lead guitar was Jason Kylen, a very
talented young player. This young man has music oozing out of his pours as he
underlined with his exciting guitar work with songs such as Hotel California and Sweet Child O’ mine. He is definitely
one to watch in the future.
Rounding off the band is the experienced
and talented Adam Fanner, a long term musical collaborator of Johnson’s
This impressive group is also currently
recording an album, under the name of Saving
Cinderella, for release later in April. Something to look out for.
In general, Rock Out Or Get Knocked Out was an enjoyable show. However, I did
think that the choice venue was a bit strange. The intimate and compact
Seabrooke’s Theatre is not a place I would immediately think of for a loud and
energetic rock show. The smallness of the venue led to some sound balance
problems with the drums, although minimally miked, being a little too loud.
I also felt that the music was a bit too
relentless for my aged ears and I would have a change of pace from time to
time. The inclusion of a rock ballade or instrumental or two would have done
the trick. Also, the occasional use of an alternative lead vocalist could have
helped. Both Fanner and Kylen are very good vocalists.
This having being said, it remained an
enjoyable show and I look forward to the next offering from Fearless
Productions. – Keith Millar
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