2 Broke Twimbos Sneak Into The Extra Cold Block Party

Saturday 7 November was a good day.  Not only did we as the 2 Broke Twimbos finally have enough money saved up to enjoy a scrumptious pork pie but Castle Lite was also holding their first ever Extra Cold Block Party here in Harare.  What made this event so special was the fact that entry was FREE. YES! FREE 99 people!! As you can imagine we were ecstatic.  So ecstatic that we decided to head on over to Newlands on Friday night and camp out overnight at the venue just in case they changed their minds.

Thankfully they didn't, true to their promises entry was free and somehow we managed to sneak our way into the VIP section where we used the free beer on offer to wash away the smell of yesterday's struggles from our bodies before we immersed ourselves into the budget friendly festivities. 

The whole block of Newlands shopping centre was condoned off.  From the traffic lights that lead up old Enterprise road to the roundabout at the top of the street. The stage was set up on top of the round island of the roundabout and several speakers placed all the way down the street ensured everyone, even the unsuspecting residents of Newlands and Eastlea who were probably trying to watch Mukadota reruns at home could hear everything with clarity. The sound in fact was pretty incredible.  From the stage to the closed off VIP section at the back, the audio was balanced perfectly, unlike Dan after he had finished downing his second 6 pack.

Beer was $1 and Zimbabweans being the cheap alcoholics that we are did not waste this opportunity to get hammered for a pittance. Good times were had that night and it was hard to find fault with the events organisation. 

One worrying thing was the security at the event. Upon arriving it seemed security and police were more concerned with securing the VIP than the stage area.  I literally was able to walk on stage and pretend that I belonged there for a solid ten minutes before I got bored of living out my backup dancer fantasies and walked off to no applause. However it would have been easier to try break into the reserve bank vault than enter the hallowed VIP section which Zimbabwe’s finest police officers were prepared to protect with life and limb.

Performances

The performances on the night were a mixed bag.  Judgement Yard, DJ Rax and Otis The Flow Fraser delivered an absolute masterclass in dancefloor destruction. DJ Nadia was impressive too.  DJ Stavo delivered the typical DJ Stavo set (don’t ask if you don’t know).

Jason Le Roux opted to leave his flashdrive with his regular song selection at home and played a heavy afro house set which kept the crowd hype. 

The live acts on the night were Tehn Diamond and Peekay.  Tehn Delivered a high energy set. Almost a little too high energy and considering the audience I feel he leaned too much on new unknown material instead of older classics. 

Sadly Peekays set was all over the place.  His energy was good but he opted to perform with a live band.  The timing was off and the delivery was messy. Using a live 2 piece band also robbed Ma1 of its signature sound.

All in all. The extra cold block party was extra hot, see what I did there?  We look forward to the next one.  Only this time maybe consider having the 2 Broke Twimbos MC too? .  ( I know it's shameless but don't judge us)