Culture Spears steal yet another show

TSHEPO MOLWANE
Staff Writer | Tuesday February 27, 2007 00:00

 

Clad in the Mascom colours of gold and red, Culture Spears set the stage on fire and had those in attendance on their toes. Even the few Americans who attended the show wasted no time in joining the locals on the dance floor. The traditional group sang five songs from their latest album, Kulenyane. The way the three women dancers moved on the stage was brilliant, spiced up by the sweet voice of lead singer, Magdeline Lesolebe. Culture Spears started moving the crowd with Nchadinyana and by the time they sang the title track, Kulenyane, the crowd was in a mean mood. Before they could even start, some of the revellers were positioned to join in the dance. When they finished, it was clear that Culture Spears gave Batswana what they wanted.

Culture Spears' Kabelo Mogwe said that the response they got from the revellers after the Saturday's performance was overwhelming. 'The people out there are our bosses so we want to do our best whenever given a chance. The other thing which inspired our performance on the night was that we were the only traditional group and wanted to prove a point,' he said.

Mogwe told Showbiz that the kind of support they get from Batswana is giving them a lot of encouragement and vowed to continue working hard to meet their fans' demands.

On their attire, Mogwe said that they wanted to take the sponsors, Mascom, by surprise since it was their birthday. 'We always want to suit the environment. We could have easily went on stage putting on the famous blue, white and black colours but thought otherwise,' said Mogwe.

Earlier on the night, the revellers saw some inspiring performances from local Hip-Hop star, Thato Matlhabaphiri, aka Scar. The crowd seemed to appreciate his performance. Mapetla, who is on the rise, also put up a sterling performance but his song, Ahh, from the latest album, Phanz Phezulu, proved to be a favourite. Local deejay, Sly, also played his part and set the stage alight with the controversial song, Sis Bethina. The disappointment of the night was Mafikizolo who did not perform to the expectations of the crowd. By the time they sang their favourite song, O letse kae, some revellers were already making their way out. 'I'm disappointed with Mafikizolo, we could have invited our local groups,' said one reveller as she made her way out.

The event organiser, Robin Chivazve, told Showbiz that he as super-excited by the attendance and the manner in which the crowd handled itself.

'The local artistes impressed me because they seem to be improving all the time. Even some people whom I spoke to believe that our locals put up a better performance than Mafikizolo,' said Chivazve.

Responding to suggestions that the event could have been taken to a bigger venue, he said, 'I agree with them but it was a deliberate move. Sometimes you need such an area to create an electrifying atmosphere. I think the success of the event proved some people, who dismissed it due to the absence of some artistes, wrong,' he said.  Chivazve assured those who attended that they would improve on their shortcomings next year.