Reviewed by Duzzy Clayton
Photography Credits: Erin Du Preez
After an annoying few noise complaints, our beloved Aj’s Pub was forced to stop bands playing for quite some time, so after a few months of band nights beig put on hold at the pub and endless fights to be allowed to have bands again, slowly but surely, we are getting our pub back that provides great nights and music and has one of the best sound and sound engineer Johannesburg has to offer who goes by the name of Steve Greenwood. Granted, we had to finish by 10 pm on the dot and not a second later, it was great to finally be back hosting this event, which Fanbase Music Magazine proudly sponsored.
The evening’s lineup consisted of such great talent and awesomeness that to say I was excited was an understatement.
I arrived at the venue early as I wanted to catch the Rugby, South Africa Vs Australia. There was just something about watching a game in a pub with fellow fans, all dressed in green and gold, even Mr. AJ himself, Andrew, the venue owner, was wearing his Bokke jersey and a welcoming smile on his face. On that day, the Bokke Won, so the evening already started on a good note, after the final whistle. It was time to find a good seat in view of the stage because the band’s night was about to start.
The event featured an imposing lineup. Of Clive Horak, Keep Guessing Charlie, and The Barcode Bandits.
As we waited for the venue to fill up and familiar faces in the industry to join us, Clive Horak and his band proceeded with a Sound check. I was quite happy because I thought it would just be Clive on his own doing a solo set, which would have been awesome in itself. However, his band also joined him on stage, and something about a full band just gives the performances a great energy. The Clive Horak Band, which will soon be known as 3Hoek once a few changes are made and ready, sounded so amazing, known mainly as the great covers they do, when I heard cover songs, there is two things I look for, did the band pay tribute to the orgianl and did they make it thier own, this band ticked all the boxes and more doing extraordinary renditions of these great songs we all love, it was a great way to start the evening.
Next up, we had Keep Guessing Charlie. I have never seen this band live or actually met them in person, but I have already had a great friendship with lead vocalist Charlie Harris online, and he has sent me songs for my radio for airplay. One thing you should know about Charlie is that he has and is still recording so much new music that he has been able to provide me with a new song a week for months to come on my Wednesday New Music Dinner Show. I was excited to see what the band could do live, and I was not disappointed. This band, like the other, brought their ‘A Game’ and graced us with such great written songs that were arranged awesomely. I am definitely going to follow this band more and check out more of their upcoming shows. They are amazing.
Last but definitely not least, we had the amazing The Barcode Bandits to take the stage. I have been a huge fan of this band for many years, and I was particularly looking forward to their set. I consider them one of the best acts in Joburg, they always bring the PARTY and really know how to get the crowd going, playing originals off their album called Recoded, mixed with a few covers, this band has something for everyone, and they know just when to play what to rock out and give us a night not to forget. If you haven’t seen this band live yet, do yourself a favor and find out where they will be playing next and go rock out with them – it’s a lot of fun.
Aj’s Pub is an excellent venue for watching bands. Steve, the sound guy, is so good at giving the band and the crowd the best possible sound you can get. The staff are all so friendly and great, so next time you’re looking for something to do on a Saturday night, make your way to AJ’s Pub and go have yourself a cool evening like I did. You won’t be disappointed.