'Why is everyone Boo!ing them"

"Why is everyone Booing them? They are so good, but people won't stop booing them. It's so wrong" (A young girl at Ramfest). Most of us have heard of Chris Chameleon and most people view him as an Afrikaans Treffer singer, who has little appeal. However, this attitude towards this talented man has been under huge threat of late. For most of my generation, we had little or no recollection of Boo!, as we were far too young to be part of the South African music scene in the late 90's. It is only with the reunion tour of the Monkey Punk creators, that allows us to be "So Lucky". Boo! was the Prime Circle or the Die Andwoord of the 90's South African Music Industry. They were the band that achieved International success and was able to break out of the small South African Industry. It doesn't take long to see why.

With Chris Chameleon on Bass and Vocals, Umpie Omo on Trumpet,Keyboards and Leon Retief on Drums. The Original Line-up of Boo! rocked this country from top to bottom. However, A fallout between Leon and Chris meant that the reunion line-up was complete and ex-Bongo player on Nooit vir Nooit, Riaan van Rensburg stepped in too fill the gap. He appears to be a friendly character, with that typical Gentle Giant appearance. However, I must say that he looses it a bit, and error's in his playing are frequent. I'm not sure what it is, but he need's to get it together, as often his error's are noticeable and take away from the music's appeal. Maybe a lot stage time can rectify this and he will be able to emulate Leon's original disco dance beats.

Thursday the 3rd of June was the second time I had seen Boo!. Back2Basix in Westdene provided the housing for the occasion. Isochronous Opened the show and I must say that Richard, Marco, Franco and Alex are getting to all new level's of tightness. Their music is precise and perfectly composed. Isochronous is filled with Jazz student's who are dedicated to their craft. I was blown away by Marco's drum playing, Franco's Bass prowess and Richard's Vocal ability. However Richard needs to go easy on the weird hand movements when he plays. "It looks quite stupid bud". Isochronous has a new acoustic album out and I say you should go buy it, these guys are Professional musicians and this is how they make a living, you pay a car mechanic to fix your car, you pay a musician to make you dance, that is how it works. After Isochronous, Boo! set-up and allowed time for a smoke, a Cheap Brandy and a shooter. They played a long set that was filled with foot stomping, head shaking tunes. I expected the large crowd that turned out for the event to be more animated, but I guess not everyone is willing to let go and have a good time. Why the average Joe wants to stand still and act like he is being addressed by a general is beyond me. I left the dance floor well tired and sweaty. R60 was a steep cover charge but I felt I had received my moneys worth.

I encourage anyone who has the chance to see Boo! too jump at the opportunity. They won't be around for long as they are already doing a reunion tour. I just wish it was Leon sitting behind the drum kit. It's the only thing that was lacking.