No Pressure, kids!

As promised after last weeks international venture, I present to you a brand new Cape Town band: No Pressure! These guys immerse themselves in indie and jazz, and came together in just January of this year, making them the youngest band we’ve discussed so far. The three wonderful musicians involved include Ben Botha on the drums, Cam Adams on the guitar and lead vocals, and Stuart Firth on the bass. No Pressure have also informed me that no blog has ever covered them before, so this is all very exciting for everyone involved.

On Wednesday evening last week, I went with a few friends to watch No Pressure perform at the Striped Horse in Muizenberg. I have known Ben personally for a while and have always wanted to watch his band play, and I was super stoked that I was finally able to. For those of you that haven’t been to the Striped Horse before, it’s a vibey little restaurant/bar right on the harbour and is decorated with groovy pictures and exotic ornaments. No Pressure were set up just to the left hand side of the entrance under an array of large paintings. People were already dancing when I arrived and the place was buzzing – the mood was perfectly set.

All three musicians are incredibly talented. Stuart was killing it with his bass, Cam was having a party to his guitar tunes, and Ben (like always) blew me away with his drumming skills. Their set included several original songs as well as covers, and the accompanying music they created got my foot tapping. Cam was quite interactive with the audience from time-to-time, first by introducing the band, then the songs, and then by continuing to thank everyone for their support. It was friendly and genuine which was appreciated by the audience. By the end of the performance the bar was difficult to get to as so many people were dancing in the way.

The only downside that I found were the vocals. The singing went off-key quite frequently and the pitch wasn’t always great. I found this super unfortunate as all three musicians are very skilled with their instruments, and when there were no vocals involved, I found the music to be highly enjoyable. The people dancing didn’t seem to be too bothered and compliments and cheers were flying, so perhaps I am just too critical.

After the performance I was able to have a chat with all three band members and catch up with Ben especially, which was very cool. I thought it was great that the guys were schmoozing with audience members after their set instead of buggering off to their own party. It shows that they are genuine dudes with a genuine interest in feedback and in their fans.

Overall I found the evening quite enjoyable. The tunes were groovy and the atmosphere was incredibly upbeat and positive. There also isn’t anything quite like sharing drinks with your mates to the sound of live music. I did find the weak vocals a bit unfortunate, but like I said before, perhaps I am just too harsh. But I’m so democratic, I’ll let you decide for yourself! I’ve attached a video of the full performance below for you to watch. Am I being too critical? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you!

If you absolutely love what you see in the video, then put a note in your diary for Friday the 12^th of April! No Pressure will be performing at Stoep and Swing in Simon’s Town at 9pm. If you’re a fan of their music, you’ll definitely want to be there! Perhaps you’ll give me a wave to warm my soul?