FRATPACKER WORLD.

A TALE OF COMIC CON & IN THE CITY

In South Africa Spring & Summer are defined by two months and two months only. They are September and December. I say this because in those months are when we really see what the country is capable of events wise. Whether it be the variety, number and quality of events or us as the consumers of whether we can handle all the stimulus and money needed to attend and participate in these events.

I got some reasoning behind this. In regards to September it is the benchmark of what is to come and what we can expect as consumers. September always comes in with a big punch and having us realise just how much of a toll being outside is really going to be and how exciting it will be as well. Taking a look at some of the events that happened in September we had; Joburg Day, Scorpion Kings, Luxurious Marble Circus, Comic Con, FNB Art Joburg, Standard Bank Joy of Jazz, Soweto Kota Festival, The Good Life Show, World’s Biggest Braai It’s Personal Picnic, Soundset Sunday, Pantone Sundays, SOS and many more. Then with September ending on the Wednesday it led us into an October opening weekend that featured; Aprtmnt Life (UK), Dave (UK) and In The City.

Do you see what I mean? Now, it is our jobs to be in the streets and getting all the info and intel for you guys but I’m more of the introvert and my partner Frat is energy feeder. Why that is? You know my catchphrase; “It’s a story for another day.”. With that said I did go outside here and there because suns out and why not? So, for this article I’ll be giving my reviews on Comic Con and In The City.

COMIC CON

Starting with Comic Con, one of my favourite times of the year. It usually happens around the weekend of Heritage Day so getting to celebrate my cultural heritage and my love of comics and everything science fiction that raised me as a child and still lives with me now.

Taking place at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec from the 24^th of September to the 27^th of September 2027. The convention is a meeting ground for a gathering of community for the nerd, geeks, gamers, cosplayers and lovers of anime, animation, fiction and science fiction. The beauty of the con is that it puts a highlight and spotlight of all the different exhibitors, stores, vendors, artists and suppliers in the world of fantasy here in South Africa.

If you ever thought to yourself, “Where does one enter into a Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh tournament or league?”, “Do we have any local comic books and illustrators?”, “How does one get involved in drawing and animation?”, “Is there a place where my cosplay is seen as art and appreciated as such?”. If, yes, then Comic Con is the place for you. It’s always amazing at how so many worlds can come together under one space. Seeing how many independent artists and businesses there in this industry is wonderful but the sad part is that it makes you realise how overlooked they are on the daily and maybe it’s because people don’t even know this world exists but also because they’ve become a niche market within a niche market.

Sticking on the market of things at Comic Con, I do wish we’d get more deals and discounts as fans. I feel like going to the con and creating deals and specials for consumers will make them more of a fan and regular to actually come and support your store and business.  I know the stall fees are high but trying to hit a lick on consumers makes it feel that we have to be more consumer savvy and not fall for the extra marked-up prices. The one thing I will always say is I wish there was more entertainment at the con.

I say this with the hopes of one day seeing staged cosplay fights both on and off-stage. Talking about cosplay there is so much of it and is such a major point and highlight of the con but doesn’t feel like it’s given as much and love attention to it. Even to the build up of Comic Con. It needs to be more centralised instead of in the corner somewhere in the back. I also believe the table top games and tournaments should be highlighted more and understand they do need their own hall but it would be nice for it to be included in the main happenings of everything.

All in all, I would give it an 8/10 because I got my DC BATMAN/WONDER WOMAN TRUTH comic signed by the lead artist Jim Cheung and found another comic book store to feed my addiction and obsession.

IN THE CITY

A week right after Comic Con and all the nerds in me being fulfilled and satisfied it was time to get back to the streets for Isaiah Rashad. Let me tell you, I don’t think I was ever planning on missing this performance. I’m not the biggest concert goer and to be honest I’ve missed a lot of acts just out of the feeling of, “Ah I’ll survive plus I have my local superstars, I’m good.”, but with Isaiah there’s a relatability to his songs and lyrics that I just had to be there and rap bar for bar with him.

Now before we get caught up in my Isaiah love let’s focus on meat and potatoes which is the event, In The City, itself. Last year In The City didn’t have the greatest of reviews from patrons and fans because of the Summer Walker early walk-off from the stage and only performing roughly 20-30mins of what was meant to be a one-hour set. The backlash and upset from the fans online were huge and it didn’t help that Summer was also out on social media making some claims on the reason why her performance was cut short.

With so many complaints around the show and not receiving the performance that they were expected and promised the reputation of In The City took quite the hit and if anything, they needed to make sure that this year’s show would restore their reputation of being one of the best live music experiences showcasing international talent in South Africa and I believe they were able to do so.

We’ll start with the venue. The event was held at Monte Casino in Fourways. A venue that they’ve used previously and once I got there I understood why. With the venue being a well-known and visited mall and casino, it made life easier for most as the routes going there are already known, there is secured underground parking and the security there is already tight and strict. The negative side to that is because it’s an establishment it didn’t look like they were able to have some liberties of putting up signage leading to the event or having a specified parking for patrons. This makes sense to me because it is a mall still open to the public and a regular day for tenants and shop owners but you do lose that excitement and whimsy of arriving or getting to this world of music and joy you are about to experience.

Once you’ve parked, gotten inside and get to the outdoor event area of Monte Casino, you get straight to the accreditation of booth and it was smooth, easy and simple.

Stepping into In The City the layout and setup were very easy. On the right you had the stage, on the left you had the different brand activations going on and in front of you was the bar and some food vendors on the left of the bar and VIP to the right of the bar. The brand activations there were interactive and engaging which gave it a livelier feel and it was more than just selling or pushing product on the patrons. They had the Axe activation which came with shooting some hoops and showing off your basketball skills. Hunters had an ice lounge where you could cool off from that South African sun and trust it was needed. The best activation of the day though was the Sprite activation. Sprite had great activities like making your popcorn and slushie flavours, a reaction game competition to win some prizes, a photobooth to keep the memories of the day and they had the Grade store where you could buy some Isaiah Rashad Lil’ Sunny merchandise.

Once you’ve enjoyed some of the activations, the next thing is definitely going to go and get yourself a cold beverage just to cool down. I must say that the bar service was friendly and efficient so you didn’t have to wait too long for your drinks or fight any bartenders and servers. The biggest issue that came with the bar was that about 18:30/19:00 the bar had run out of spirits. You could only buy Hunters, the beer that was on sale, cold drink and I believe we had some shots of gin as a plan B. With the concert ending at 22:00 that sure was an inconvenience for the patrons who would have enjoyed a few more drinks before the show but I don’t know if that speaks to a lack of stock or a drink problem that one day as South Africans we will have to face.

Well, the bar and activations are good and add to the experience of the event, the main reason why we are all there is for the live of music and singing along with our favourite artists. The stage had a beautiful light design that took the landscape of the apartments behind it and made it feel like part of it’s aesthetic and design. Also, the screens were wide and big enough for everyone to see at any vantage point. Talking vantage points the VIP was a chilled space to be and the elevated platform gave you a leverage but the angling of it left some parts of it only looking at the side of the stage instead of looking at it dead-on. That’s why I spent the event watching and experiencing from the general area but also just to actually get a sense of the vibe and buzz from people. I must say the people were friendly and we were all one in community of music.

We go from the stage to the sound and performances. Unfortunately, due to travel complications I only got to see the end of Marcus Harvey’s performance which I was excited to experience and see him performing songs from his new album live. The DJ playing right after Marcus did a great job holding the chilled vibe as it was a Sunday afternoon and Rum Gold was coming to stage and when he did come on stage he was there to work. Not being a fan of Rum Gold myself it’s always fun hearing and experience artists you don’t listen to in a live format and what I can say is that he is cut from the cloth of the old school R&B where vocals and genuine singing are the highlights. It reminded me of afternoons at home playing video games on silent because mom is cleaning and cooking while blasting the greatest of R&B songs.

After Rum Gold it was Sinead Harnett. Before Sinead came on, we had the MC come and introduce her to us. Now, the MC was Thaba Nyaba and she had a great energy and vibe but I still think as South Africans we have this standardised MC voice and our MC’s need to be more interactive with the crowd, be able to hold a conversation on stage and be more informed on the artists and event so they can fill in awkward gaps of silence with jokes and little gems of knowledge. The awkward gap of silence did come when Sinead Harnett and her band were having technical difficulties setting up before her set. We had to wait 5-10mins before everything was fixed and the wait was worth it because if I wasn’t aware of her game before but wow…what a singer and vocal performance. After that All I could say was I get it.

Next on the line-up was Nasty C and I think I’ve Nasty C on enough big stages to know to expect nothing less than a high quality and high-energy performance and maybe I take it for granted how much of a superstar performer and artist he is that I would like to see some new names being featured on these line-ups like a Loatinover Pounds, Blxckie, Tyson Sybateli, Maglera Doe Boy etc. Obviously, the curation has to make sense but it’s also why I understood why Nasty C with him celebrating 10 Years of Bad Hair (his debut album) and Isaiah Rashad also celebrating ten years of The Sun’s Tirade (his debut album) there was a clear connection and link between the two for fans in that time growing up to both of their albums.

Lastly, it was time for the big moment, Isaiah Rashad on stage. I don’t have anything I can write that can express the time I had or what it meant and felt like but I can tell you that In The City made dreams and visions come true for thousands of us that night. Full performances, no cuts or unforeseen circumstances ending the show just one pure moment of bliss for all music fans and lovers.

The best part was that leaving wasn’t that crazy. We all know Fourways traffic can be horrible but because we all know Fourways we knew how to manoeuvre, get to where we go, have network to call Ubers and have Ubers know exactly where to pick us up. Only thing was if you thought of buying food at Monte Casino after…poor planning. I actually ended up finding a new dope pub with my people and ended the night with some ribs, laughs, pictures and shared memories. In The City shall live in my heart forever.