Oppikoppi 2011: The dust, the bands and the dust - a photo essay

Okay, fine. So I am an Oppikoppi newbie. And yes, I wandered about, open-mouthed (closing it only to spit dust out). This might be a delightful opportunity for outoppie Oppikoppi veterans to view the festival through the eyes of a first-timer.
The Oppikoppi festival is held annually on a farm in Limpopo, 10km outside of the small dorp of Northam. When I told people I would be going to Oppikoppi, they all said the same thing: “Dude, it gets very cold and very, very dusty. Take all your blankets and some Wet Wipes.” To be honest, I didn’t think the dust would be that bad. “It’s exaggerated, as these things always are,” I said.

And at first, it indeed appeared so. My tent was pitched in the band area (thank god for small mercies shown to the media), where there is a bit of dry grass and lots of zebra crap.

Then we took a stroll out to the main camp area. It was wretched, so much so that it goes by the moniker “Mordor”, and the worst bit of it is called “District 9”. It’s a good thing Oppikoppi lasts for one weekend only. A week or more of this sort of thing and everyone would get black-lung disease.

The bands themselves did not disappoint – the lesser known ones stuck mostly to cover versions and the better-known ones rocked their hits. It is Sunday morning as I write this – with the biggest acts still to play on Sunday night, but the unmissable performances so far were Hardog Frost, Mr Cat and the Jackal, Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, Bittereinder, Gazelle and Not My Dog. DM

Photo: Gazelle and Tebza.

Photo: Not My Dog.

Photo: Mr Cat and the Jackal.

Photo: The Dead Will Tell.

Photo: Famaz Attack.

Photo: Harpdog Frost.

Photo: Bittereinder and Jack Parow.

Photo: The campsite, a.k.a "Mordor", a.k.a "District 9". There be dragons down there.

Main photo: Jax Panik at the Main Stage.