The Unshakeable Chill, Courtesy of Tings - 4 Dec 2010

The perennially cool hangout known as Tings ’n Times turned 15 on 4 December 2010 and celebrated with a mengelmoes of live acts, Afro-entertainment and, for some reason, clowns.

I could have done without the clowns.

For those not in the loop, Tings (as it is affectionately known) is a laid back bar-come-band venue in Hatfield, Pretoria. In traditional Hatfield fashion, the booze is cheap and the food (somewhat less traditionally) is excellent. But Tings is all about the vibe and it consistently hosts the best intimate live gigs this side of anywhere.

It goes without saying that its birthday would be celebrated in style. The good people at Tings expanded outside its usual borders into the back courtyard and out into the street.

The intentions were good. The evening featured the likes of Scicoustic, Kidofdoom and Boo! (Miss Chameleon made a welcome appearance), a drum circle and fire dancing in the back courtyard and the usual service with attitude. By 6 pm we had hit a level of chill that could not be shaken. It was rock solid.

This may be a good thing, because operations were not running smoothly. (The rather shaky operations did not deter the performing bands - who like most successful SA bands are good in adversity and know how to compensate for a less than stellar sound situation.) By the time Boo! appeared the sound system was in a bad way and little was still working. Miss Chameleon went as far as to say that it was Boo!’s best worst gig ever. But this hardly mattered, considering the level of placid contentment that we had reached. The Chill was unshakeable. The happiness stood strong. And only at Tings could such a thing happen.

Having had dozens of amazing gig experiences at Tings up to this point (including a stellar Boo! gig at the beginning of the year), forgiveness for the minor f*** up was readily forthcoming. We stuck around for a few more drinks, bonded with waiters and patrons – all at an equal level of Unshakeable Chill – and mosied off, still in a mild state of euphoria.

Happy birthday Tings! May there be many more!