Coming full circle on a prime Sunday afternoon

KNYSNA ENTERTAINMENT NEWS - Roughly 150 Knysna residents were treated to a rather different Prime Circle performance last weekend when the celebrated South African rock band toned things down a notch for a set befitting a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Since its founding in 2001, Prime Circle, one of South Africa's leading musical acts, has constantly redefined itself and managed to remain relevant even during rock music's lowest ebbs.

Bar the departure of co-founding member Gerhard Venter and the additions of Neil Breytenbach and Dale Schnettler over the years, the band has remained remarkably stable with Marco Gomes, Dirk Bisschoff, and lead vocalist Ross Learmonth at its core for the past 20 years.

It is perhaps their ability to offer diversity within this stability that has led to their sustained success, and Knysna was treated to another side of Prime Circle when it diverted from its traditional rock-heavy set to offer a much more mellow musical delivery at Blend Country Restaurant.

With Covid-19 protocols in full force the crowd started settling in under the trees in the garden at lunchtime before the band took to the stage at 14:00. It was perfect weather for the occasion with the sun out and a typical Knysna breeze rustling the trees.

The show took place at Blend Country Restaurant, with Ross Learmonth fronting the performance.

As if to remind the crowd that they are ultimately a rock grouping, aspects of the genre were scattered throughout the 1,5-hour performance with a raw, down-to-earth set that provided deeper, more grounded connections to the meaning behind some of their hits, such as Same Goes For You,

She Always Gets What She Wants, Consider Me and others. It also brought the group's vocal abilities to the fore with frontman Learmonth's hypnotising voice soaring through the solid vocal foundation provided by high-energy drummer Schnettler, guitarist Bischoff and bassist Gomes.

Learmonth's skills on the acoustic guitar were also deftly offset by Bischoff and Gomes' electrified output and Breytenbach's well-calculated keyboard.

The venue will host more great artists over the Easter weekend booked by Better Live, including Ard Matthews (1 April), Karen Zoid (2 April), The Parlotones (3 April), and Jesse Clegg (4 April). The packed long weekend will be rounded off with a show from South African comedian Kevin Fraser (5 April).

Ross Learmonth fronted the show with his vocals.