JENNIFER: #wetoo. With Jennifer Ferguson, Tina Schouw, Zolani Mahola, Ronan Skillen, Shaun Johannes, Mark Franzman, Gabriel Nyberg, Anders Nyberg, Su Lubner, Johanna Nyberg, Cape Town Youth Choir Vocal Ensemble. Baxter Theatre.
KAREN RUTTER reviews
Ah Jennifer! We’ve missed you so. We know you’ve been living in Sweden for the past 20 years with your most beautiful family, after having served your country as both a cultural activist and an ANC MP. Apparently you lead a relatively quiet life, concentrating on your music, your sound healing and your teaching. And Goddess knows you deserve a peaceful space – you paid some serious dues in the 1980s and 1990s.
But jeesh, it’s nice that you’ve come back, even if it’s just for a short season. And a hectic reason.
Last year, in the spirit of the international #metoo movement, you spoke up about your own alleged rape by SAFA boss Danny Jordaan. This year – a few days ago, in fact – you laid a charge for this at a South African police station. While your concerts were planned quite a while back, both the timing and the sentiment behind the performances feels right. In a country where violence against women seems like a relentless series of IED attacks, which those who hold dominion get away with all the time, you have chosen to speak up – to sing up! – about the scourge. And, like you did during the years of apartheid, you are doing it with your own unique twist. In the case of the JENNIFER #wetoo gigs, you’re doing it with love. And with grace. And with great power. Which makes it all the more effective.
A concert which begins with the low, thrilling cycles of a didgeridoo and swells into robust, compelling vocals; vocals which unapologetically assert your strength and in doing so, the strength of all women – now that’s the way to begin an evening! And, in fact, to establish a bedrock for the rest of the show – this is about fighting back with love, with dignity, with family, with friends. This is about reclaiming space, for all women. Not through the push and the shove, but with true power. Damn, and it works!
Dynamic support system
Of course, surrounding yourself with amazing musicians, as you have done so often in the past, is also a clever move. So you had Shaun Johannes’ sensual bass underpinning the groove, and clever, versatile Ronan Skillen doing everything possible with percussion. Your son Gabriel Nyberg proved to be no slouch on guitar, keyboards and vocals, while your husband Anders Nyberg anchored things with musical direction and conducting the Cape Town Youth Choir Vocal Ensemble. A solid, dynamic, support system.
And then you bloody went and upped the game further with the fabulous Tina Schouw, musical comrade of many years. Whose presence on stage was a light and a delight – and got us all tearing up with Calling all Angels. Still got those lekker licks, Tina! Plus your own daughter Johanna nearly stole the show with pianist Su Lubner and the haunting My Temple, My Home. And then WTF, Zolani Mahola sashayed onstage with the sweetest dress and the feistiest attitude to bring it all together with Where You Gonna Be Tomorrow?
Also – very smart to include classics like Bay of Bombay and Letters to Dicky with newer originals and even a few covers. Nice mix.
F*cking amazing
Your husband’s enthusiastic participation, your synergy with your son, your adoration of your daughter, all vermenged with the pulse of the musicians you were playing with. And you’ve still got that endearing and slightly offbeat vibe onstage. And that Medusa hair. And those angel-fishing arms.
It all had the relaxed feeling of a superior jam session in somebody’s lounge – the kind of jam session you could imagine someone like Joni Mitchell having. You know, f*cking amazing but also casual. And it set the perfect tone. It was all about warmth and love and respect. In the end, Jennifer, you said it best: “Creativity is a powerful response to atrocities. I hope that this sharing of song and stories, will empower us to speak our truth, to restore societal balance and to heal.’’
Welcome home.
Who: Jennifer Ferguson
What: JENNIFER #wetoo
Where: Baxter Theatre, Cape Town
When: 4 – 7 April, 2018
Book tickets: www.webtickets.co.za
WS
