Stage: Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse in concert at the Baxter, live stream, May 2020

On October 26, 2018, the iconic legendary musician, Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse played at the Baxter, accompanied by Tony Cedras (another stand-out legend) and other artists. It was the second time that Mabuse played at the Baxter. The first time was in 1986. The 2018 concert was filmed live – professionally – with three cameras. The footage was archived. During lockdown, it was edited and will go out on Ticketpro’s Covid-19 streaming platform, at R20 a ticket. Proceeds will go the artists and various beneficiaries. It is a concert not to be missed.

Note: Concert link will only be up for seven days and then it will be taken down. No, it will not be available, after the seven days, on YouTube, for free. Artists have to eat. An income stream is required in order to do that.

Here are the details of how to go about streaming the concert. Following the streaming deets, read TheCapeRobyn interview with Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse. Consider this nugget: The world renowned Mabuse lives in Soweto and he is not wired for high speed internet at home. In the interview, he muses: “The digital divide is huge. I can’t live stream from my home.”

Yup, please don’t tell me that we are all equal in this pandemic. We may all be in this together but we are not equal. Pay your R20 and for less than the price of a cappuccino, you get to see this charismatic icon in concert, accompanied by a knock-out line-up of artists.

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse in concert – filmed live – at the Baxter on October 26, 2018

✅ Concert streaming dates: May 29 to June 5, 2020. ❇ Due to popular demand, this concert’s current Covid-0 streaming run has been extended for a further seven days, until Friday June 12, 2020.❇

✅ Link details: Link  goes live at 8pm, May 29 and is up until midnight June 5, 2020.

✅ Line-up: Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse,Tony Cedras, Siphokazi Jonas, Roeshdien Jaz, Mmino and the South African Youth Choir

✅ Tickets: R20  

✅ Direct booking link: https://covid-zero.co.za/sipho-hotstix-mabuse/

✅ How it works: After purchasing your ticket, you will receive an e-mail with a link, which grants access to the show

✅ Access: Purchase your ticket and watch anytime between May 29 at 8pm to June 5 midnight. No, you cannot rewind the show. If you want to watch again, then purchase another ticket at R20. The analogy: If you were watching in a theatre, you would not be able to rewind the show. The same principle applies for the live stream. In a theatre context, if you went to the toilet, you would miss a set or two. With the live stream, you can hit the pause button and resume play. In this regard, the live stream is a gig with benefits

✅ Length of concert: Two and a half hours

✅ Comments bar: There will there be a comments bar so that people can interact while watching

✅ Devices: Link will work on Windows/Apple/Android and other devices

✅ Internet speed advisory: This is for the viewer to check. If you have high speed internet, you should be fine. If necessary, use your smart phone as a hot spot and connect from there. It is the viewer’s responsibility to check on internet. If you went to the theatre, without your spectacles, you wouldn’t be able to blame the promoter, if you couldn’t see the stage. Check your bandwidth

Lockdown interview with Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse

I missed the 2018 concert as I was away. Those were the days when you could be “away”. I was gutted that I missed that concert. Luckily I had the opportunity to see the great man, live, in March 2017 when he played at Spier Wine Estate– sharing the stage with Freshlyground and Siphokazi Jonas. That concert experience was electrifying. Mabuse’s warmth and positivity is extraordinary. Sharing is the correct word as he literally shares the stage with musicians. A live gig is a collaborative event and this came across at Spier. Watching the trailer for the Baxter 2018 concert, one gets a sense of the sheer magnetism of Mabuse and his capacity to gather in the energy from others on the stage and his ability to “talk” to and commune with the audience.

TheCapeRobyn: The Spier concert in 2017 marked your 50th year in the music business. Here we are in 2020, in lockdown. Is this your 53rd year in the music business?

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse: Yes, it is. We keep going. It is what keeps me alive and vital and happy. 

TheCapeRobyn: You were 66 in 2017. You are 69 now?

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse:  Yes, my birthday is in fact on November 2. Last year, 2019 was special: I screamed like mad  when the Boks  won The World Cup on that day. We have such a good role model in Siya [Kolisi] for South Africa and society. I really do admire him very much -humble and hardworking but I just hope the demands on him don’t overwhelm him: Being in the spotlight can be  lonely at times, but he has his family by his side which is so important.

TheCapeRobyn:  I missed your concert  at The Baxter as we were away. Luckily it was recorded and will go out on live stream for seven nights. Will it be introduced by you? 

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse:  Thank you but  Robyn the show is not about me, but rather  we put together a number of artists who are doing great work and included them in the show: Roeshdien Jaz ,Siphokazi Jonas, Mmino, The South African National Youth Choir  and Tony Cedras who worked with Paul Simon for many many years. The show does not date. We had the finest tech companies we could work with in JP Willson and Abdul Burton and we gave the show 100% as we do with all our events. Who knew that a video we recorded as a keep sake can now be used to try raise funds for all concerned.

TheCapeRobyn:  No one knows what the immediate future hold for live performance. Your reflections on the state of live performance, going forward?

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse:  One word – scary. It not easy in the townships. Let us not kid ourselves. I am still in Pimville [Soweto]. It is my home, it grounds me. The challenges are huge. Online streaming shows are foreign. The data costs are huge and the struggle for information is a big challenge . The digital divide is huge. I can’t live stream from my home. My  manager, Martin [Myers] wanted to watch the Champs League final last year whilst we did a show at the Soweto Theatre. We could not do it. My fans like to see the live show; the festival; the show; the 12 to 12 events. Those are vibrant shows. It is difficult right now as we cannot perform live at venues.

TheCapeRobyn: Projects that you have been involved with during lockdown?

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse:  It is difficult due to data and getting to send files out. I am involved with Jarrod Aston on his Lockdown Legends show from June 28 to July 3, via the same platform [Ticketpro]. We have reworked Burn Out as a call to action for South Africans. [Mabuse’s ground breaking single Burn Out was released in 1984. As I wrote in an interview with Mabuse in 2017: “PW Botha was out there wagging his finger and there Mabuse was with his ‘funky township disco jive jam’ becoming the first major crossover hit in South Africa, selling over 500 000 copies.”] 

TheCapeRobyn:  Reflections on being in lockdown?

Sipho ‘Hotstix” Mabuse: It’s not easy and the government applications process are crazy for artists: trying to get support for my band is not easy. We are a nation of paperwork. ‘We drown in paperwork’ -as my manager [Martin Myers] always says to me. The department that we have  looking after our sector leaves a lot to be desired. If I am  struggling to make myself heard,  I pity the young artists. It is no joke so hence us putting the show out to try something new and to see if we can get funds for all the artists involved as well as the tech crews and the Baxter. We are all in this together. 

Image credit: Supplied.

✅ Direct booking link: https://covid-zero.co.za/sipho-hotstix-mabuse/