In a mesmerising performance, musician and vocal teacher at both Bishops and Rondebosch Colleges, Vasti Knoesen and her four-piece ensemble, had heads bopping and feet tapping at the Drostdy Theatre on Friday night.
The Drostdy Theatre hosted The 27 Club Woordfees show on Friday night. PHOTO: Catherine Del Monte
From the likes of Jim Morrison to Amy Winehouse, the hour-long show paid homage to the young legends of rock ‘n roll whose lives ended tragically at the age of 27.
Their spirits, however, lived on through lead vocalist Vasti Knoesen’s explosive performance as she captured the essence of each song while introducing her own twist.
The ensemble included composer and electric guitarist Graeme Lees, whose fingers skipped furiously up and down the strings through each song, David Lubbe behind the piano, Lilavan Gangen on drums, and UCT music student, Luke Verrezen, who took up the bass.
The show opened with a dramatic rendition of The Door’s number, “Rider’s on the Storm”. Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, was to become known as one of the first “members” of the so-called “27 Club”.
Composers Graeme Lees and Matthijs van Djik reworked the original music to link elements of jazz, blues and opera, transforming each song into a uniquely textured version of the original.
“That’s the little piece [operatic elements] I wanted to bring in because I really love singing like that,” Knoesen expressed when asked about the incorporation of the operatic thread.
The stage ready for the show to start. PHOTO: Catherine Del Monte
The audience were delighted by a cleverly orchestrated and well executed set list with fond favourites like Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart”, Jimi Hendrix’s “The Wind Cries Mary”, and The Rolling Stone’s “Paint It Black” paying homage to first Rolling Stone guitarist, Brian Jones.
As the musicians gathered to take their final bow after wrapping up the show with a moving performance of Radiohead’s “Creep”, the audience was not ready to leave the nostalgia behind just yet, prompting an encore during a standing ovation.
In a comment after the show, Knoesen expressed her enjoyment in performing the Nirvana, “Come As You Are/Smells Like Teen Spirit” mashup for its juxtaposition of gritty elements with more refined, operatic ones. Adding, however that, “Janis Joplin is the most challenging because she has an insanely big way of singing”.
Vasti Knoesen, the lead vocalist of The 27 Club show, delivers a hearty performance. PHOTO: Facebook
Kurt Cobain is bassist, Luke Verrezen’s 27 Club member of choice. Verrezen admires Cobain for the “outgoing and carefree nature” of his songs.
The two Radiohead pieces stood out the most for audience members, Lisa Figenschou and Tessa Friedman. Figenschou concluded that the arrangement was “brilliant and very slick”.
Figenschou appreciated the diverse range of genres that Knoesen was able to incorporate into the songs. “I did like how she made the songs her own, they weren’t just cover versions”, she said.
“When she sang ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, I thought it was beautiful”, added Friedman.
The audience which had a wide age range, confirmed the timeless nature of the music produced by The 27 Club. A reassurance that the memory of the late musical masters will continue to live on through their songs.
Catch The 27 Club again during the Woordfees at the Drostdy Theatre on 9 March at 17:00.
Vasti in The 27 Club is showing again on 9 March at the Drostdy Theatre. PHOTO: Facebook