Darling… a place of myth and legend, where the daisies sleep and life is beautiful. Nestled amongst rolling green hills it is here you can still expect to see a horseman cantering through the town centre or a gaggle of geese sneaking into their neighbour’s garden. It’s a place where the phrase, ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ doesn’t even apply. You will literally miss it; it isn’t on the road to anywhere. However, at the beginning of October every year residents of this modest little village reinforce their windows, lock their doors and invoke a curfew. All this in anticipation of a larger than life, time-share ‘tourist’ who moves in just down the road.
During the day the daisies of Darling begin to sway, to and fro - whichever which way the music goes. Some say this tourist has spectacular powers and is able to bend all living things to her will, drawing them close and grabbing their attention for four captivating days. Others say she plays host to nothing more than a cheap charade, where heathens can exercise superficial beliefs of an extrovert nature. No one likes a boring description of something so spectacular so I did embellish it a bit. To summarize something of this grandeur would be sacrilege, it’s something only your mind can describe, if you know what I mean? The event is called Rocking the Daisies and it’s where you’re going to be this October, because, well; nothing else matters.
Quantity and quality, respect and impartiality. RTD is rolling on into it’s fifth year as the Western Cape’s most iconic music festival and has brought in some of the biggest names in music to our humble country. Last year saw the rebirth of the Punk Rock gods, Bloc Party, and boy did the RTD crew cater for their awesomeness. The huge dance floor was overflowing with all manner of fans; some had even climbed to the top of the spotlight towers. The MC had to come out and kindly request they come down else the main event couldn’t begin. Shortly after, as the eager fans’ feet touched down on the ground, there was a sudden explosion. Colour, light, screams, smoke and bass filled the arena; my first thought being ‘holy crap, the 2012 apocalypse has come early!’. The crowd surged forward as the shock wave hit and a crazy blend of panic and glee swept across everyone’s faces; the kind of look you get when you hit your funny bone and don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I can honestly say I have never felt such a mixture of happiness and claustrophobia as I did then. What came after that is history. All I can say is Rocking the Daisies superseded every expectation. I am seriously curious to see how they compete with that this year.
Dance with pace but don’t forget your subjection to grace. When I read on my social feed who was going to be headlining in 2013 I couldn’t help but sit back in my chair and give a respectful little clap. After saying last year that the 2012 RTD would probably be my last, I now knew this to be untrue. Alt-J ladies and gentlemen, Alt-J; the band who made triangles cool again and who gave birth to a genre of music that is so avant-garde it still to this day hasn’t been classified. Over the past two years they have been the soundtracks to the hipster cohort setting the tone for the anti-fashion style of generation Y. I want to make clear the fact that Alt-J shouldn’t be the only driver in you decision to go to RTD. There are eight stages for heaven’s sake; any genre you could ask for will be represented. You can rock out at the main stage or get your groove on at the beach bar; bounce about in the Nu World Beat Barn or wire up your soul to the Electronic Stage. For the eager beavers who arrive on the Thursday there will be a stage in the campsite to set the scene for the weekend’s festivities. Comprised of up and coming South African bands it’ll be sure to get you in the perfect mood preceding the weekend’s affair.
Rock is the guiding principle but be careful the daisies aren’t invincible. The fundamental mantra RTD lives by is ‘Party hard, tread lightly,’ and the string of awards they have won sets the cornerstone for each event. RTD’s list of ways they have made themselves green is like an E L James novel for the environmental activists. From 100% biodegradable flyers and posters to the solar powered porta-potties, RTD are proud partners with Green Peace and The WWF (World Wildlife Foundation). The great thing about ECO-Festivals is that often you can participate in helping too; yay! Walking the Daises and Cycle to Daisies is not for the feint of heart but completely removes the carbon footprint of close to 300 people if they were to travel by car. Car-pooling is also heavily encouraged asking that each car have a minimum of three festival-goers. With 15 000 attendees you can imagine the impact us humans can have in such a confined area, so before you leave the organisers kindly ask you to place all your rubbish in black plastic bags so it doesn’t blow away and is easier for the massive cleaning crew to remove. Out of 25 tonnes of waste removed last year, 16 tonnes was recycled and the remainder was sent to a landfill. When the RTD crew finally left Darling last year only footprints remained and that is how they want it to be this year.
For everyone it is a different experience and try as you may to get someone to draw you a picture, it won’t do any good; the next person you ask will go at it like a white board duster. Come on your own adventure and tell your own tales of how you stage-dived and lost your phone or dressed up like a dinosaur and wrestled a complete stranger. In the words of M83; “We didn’t need a story, we didn’t need a real world, we just had to keep walking and we became the stories, we became the places, we were the lights, the desserts, the far away worlds, we were you before you even existed.” For one weekend a year, you can walk away from all the drama in your life. Actually you must. Rocking the Daisies is a necessity - nothing else matters. So start writing up your excuses for different family members and work colleagues. You are untouchable; you are going to walk through the portal into daisy land with pride and purpose.
