  Guide toSA Artists in London DIRTY AULD DORP Robin Auld & Dorp at the Halfmoon in Putney, 6th September 2001 There was an interesting mix of SA music down at the Halfmoon in Putney on Thursday night. Robin Auld, a stalwart of the SA rock scene opened for relatively new comers Dorp. This made for a good natured, easy rocking, drum and bassing, eclectic, bouncing, moshing, sampling, bra throwing (yes, Dorp are suffering from Tom Jones syndrome) kind of an evening. It began quite sensibly with Robin opening up to an empty venue with a great acoustic tune. This signalled to the audience to leave the main bar area and move into the back room. The full sound that Robin created with just the acoustic guitar was quite wonderful. He quickly moved on to include his group (a drummer and bassist) and moved into that familiar easy going rock sound that we have come to expect from him. However I found this live sound better than his studio work with a harder edge and more body to it. For a couple of songs, an old friend of his who had wandered into the audience, joined the band on stage and added a great bluesy harmonica which added an extra dimension to an already polished set. One can tell that Robin is an old master at the game. His easygoing nature showed through and he was the master of his guitar. An all too short set that was professionally executed. The last time I saw Dorp, they were supporting Boo! With a UK record deal practically in the bag for them, they have moved up in the world and we could possibly see a change of name from Dorp to Stad as they have grown and matured. Pieter Bezuidenhout still has that mad glint in his eyes and is a sight to behold as he contorts his body and face in a manic dance to the spiky, angular sound emanating from around him. As the drum 'n bass and catchy sample sounds blare out, he bounces and jumps, grabbing the mike to sing the lyrics which seem to be mere samples themselves and are either really profound or utter nonsense, but usually quite funny ("I'll take my mom to the prom, cause she's a better twister than my sister"). Kevin Kieswetter adds a funky, sometimes reggae groove on his guitar while Fred handles the turntables. Not all the tunes are to my taste, some being too harsh sounding, but these are in the minority and so am I as the audience love them all. As some lingerie lands on the stage and Fred and Pieter have a mock fight in the audience, I reflect on an enjoyable night out at what is becoming one of the favoured venues for SA Artists. The Halfmoon that was shining down as I walked back across the Thames was nothing compared with the shining that went on in the Halfmoon in Lower Richmond Street Putney. Back to Archive Index Page
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