This weekend took the NoBucks team on an adventure that will be nearly impossible to top up.

The past 48 hours of my life have been absolutely surreal, as the title says, and there is a need to put it all on paper.

This is how one Flamjangles.

Truth unfolds

Our story begins on a splendid Saturday morning in the dry lands of Durbanville hills. The overwhelming sun and the plain fields have only fuelled the beauty of the little oasis that played host for the Flamjangled Tea Party festival. Tall trees, clear blue skies and an awesome dam that saved many a life during the peak hours of the day are but a few contributors to the awesomeness of this festival.

For the first time at an outdoor, I seemed to have been more taken aback by the décor and set-up rather than the scenery. A huge amount of kudos needs to be given to the organisers, and all else involved in creating the most spectacular of settings. A barn yard stage, enlarged fruits, flags, marquees,  random items of interest spread across everywhere you go. The collective effect of the effort put into setting up this festival had left you lost for words ; an adult theme park, a ‘Wonderland’ village, a dream world that you needed not leave from.

Yet, as amazing as the above sounds, the picture wasn’t completed just yet. You see, every magical place needs its inhabitants, and the crowd that attended Flamjangled couldn’t have filled the role any better. People of various backgrounds and ages – families, elderly, teenagers and toddlers – all dressed up in a variety of outrageous outfits that were big on spirit and massive on personality. If you found yourself standing in the middle of the main stage area, you’d be surrounded by every possible colour you can think of. It was such a fucking lively experience that never seemed to end, good vibes flowing in every direction from every person.

Age is but a number - by Stu Shapiro

Our mascot (and his mascot) - by Tammy Fabian

If you are in the NoBucks boat, like us, then you would have been in heaven. The people here were all about sharing, and nothing (but the stores, which we’ll get to in a bit) had a monetary value. It was a trading society of sorts, where all were friends, and people never knew greed. Food, drinks, costumes, hats, substances that were not longer illegal and more were changing the hands of strangers-becoming-friends.

'Boo Boo Tittyfuck' getting action - By Tammy Fabian

The music was there wherever you went. A groovy stage with several tables offered a chill-out zone in a shaded area for people to mellow out with some ‘tea’ ; the main stage blew our minds on a constant basis with a brilliant collaboration of bands,DJs and unexpected artists from the crowd. More importantly, those that were concerned with the music cutting out early on Saturday night were in their prime moment of joy when an alternative stage continued boosting the best of uplifting music until the early hours of the morning.

Main stage chillout - By Stu Shapiro

With all honesty, commenting on each act will lead to a thesis that although I’d be willing to write, I would rather spare your attention span. A few artists need be mentioned, however, for showing us how far the rabbit hole goes. Fletcher, for bringing some of his fresh material in his random sets in-between acts ; Toby2shoes (or TeaSpoons, in the spirit of the festival) for an insane set at the alternative stage ; Peachy Keen, for one of the most unexpected and lively performances (and probably my band pick of the weekend). A huge, and more expected respect to James Copeland for all his brilliancy. Sunday sessions brought us some impressive talent too, ranging from the beat-boxing sensation was D7, the one-man-band that is Jeremy Loops (a perfect ending to my weekend) and a fantastic performance by Manouche and their synchronized proficiency with classical instruments.

Fletcher - by Tammy Fabian

Toby2shoes - By Tammy Fabian

Peachy Keen - by Tammy Fabian

Jeremy Loops - By Tammy Fabian

My only disappointment, although mild, is that of expenses involved. Being from NoBucks, with a crew in the same shoes as us, it was difficult to find any decent meals for less than R30. Although the crowd is varied, the many stores failed to cater for those with a tighter budget. The bars ran at average prices, but besides the odd Redbull-mix specials, no others could be found. Although, NoBucks made friends with the BOS Ice-Tea bar, with various mixes and cocktails for the odd R20 (healthy, cheaper, and far more fun ).

I could spend days writing about the festival and all the memories we’ve created, but i’ll rather have you experience these on your own. Besides, many of these would probably deem me inappropriate, and I don’t want to expose myself as the guy with the megaphone at 5am in the morning. Damnit.

Yours Truly - by Tammy Fabian

I will leave you with one last piece of advice – Go. Get. Flamjangled. This festival is a rare occurrence in the Cape Town scene and will expose you to a variety of new people, many of which will become your close friends. It will free you, in every possible aspect. You’ll enjoy acts and events that cannot be found elsewhere. Most importantly, you will return home with a grin that is incapable of being removed, and need not be.

Flamjangled Tea Party – food for the soul.

See you all next year, without a single bit of doubt.

More Photos:

(These awesome shots are by Tammy Fabian )

Tags: afrodizzyacts, BOS, BOS ice tea, D7, dress up, durbanville, festical, fetival, Flamjangled, flamjangled festival, flamjangled review, Flamjangled Tea Party, fletcher, fun, Good Times, james copeland, Jeremy Loops, NoBlog, nobucks, nobucks review, NoBucks.co.za, outdoor, peachy keen, review, stu shapiro, stu shapiro photography, tammy fabian, tea party review, The Flamjangled Tea Party, toby2shoes

This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 10:29 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.