The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
IT was a night like no other. The ladies were dressed to the nines, with finely cut outfits that left little to the imagination and perfumes that seemed to have been drained from the juiciest flowers that very hour.
The gentlemen were equally ravishing, with clothes bearing familiar names like Adidas, Nike, Gucci and Versace sitting gently and delicately on their broad shoulders.
From speakers dotted all around BAC Leisure came flowing choice cuts of the finest Amapiano music tunes selected by the genre’s twins, Kabza and Maphorisa.
The gig, held last weekend, had been the talk of the town for a fortnight. The tickets had been snapped like hot cakes. Packed like sardines inside a venue that seemed to have bitten more than it can chew, it was clear to everyone with functioning eyes that Kabza and Maphorisa are perhaps now arguably the hottest act in South Africa.
On that night however, the duo were not the only attention stealers. Every once in a while, one could hear a pop, like muted gunshot, would suddenly be heard coming from the VIP and VVIP areas.
It was a sound to behold and every time it came it would be greeted by gasps of excitement from the ladies and stares of curiosity from the gentlemen. It is a sound that has now become familiar enough to revellers that frequent the city’s high end pubs and clubs. It is the distinct pop made by a bottle of champagne opening.
One of the tables with bottles of fine champagne at the the Scorpion Kings show
On that night, as if to spit on those that are battling to balance their household budgets as the poverty datum line inches upwards every month, bottles of the finest champagne, from Veuve Rich Clicquot to Moët and Chandon littered the tables.
Held so early in the year, the Scorpion Kings show is already an early frontrunner for gig of the year and it was no wonder that it attracted attention from all over the country. The usual suspects from the capital made their way to BAC Leisure on that fine Saturday night. Leading the pack was the group of socialites known as Power Circle, young outgoing entrepreneurs who paint almost every weekend in the capital red. Their eye watering convoy might have left a neck or two stiff as many strained to catch a glimpse of Harare’s finest. The latest Mercedes-AMG, a top of the BMW M4 were some of the luxury vehicles that joined the more common Honda Fit in dodging potholes in the City of Kings. What they had on the table that night was just as impressive.
“They came in the afternoon and spent US$3 000 on the alcohol. They spoke to the owner and bought 30 bottles at once and since each bottle is US$150 they were given a discount,” said an insider who spoke to Sunday Life.
On that night, Power Circle pulled what street dealers call drinking a Honda Fit, meaning one had spent the equivalent of the Japanese made cars at the bar. However, they were not the only big spenders that night.
“The whole VVIP section was full of people that were ready to willing to spend. If you take everything into consideration, I can speculate that the bar owner made over US$10 000 in sales on that day. He had no overheads because the promoters were the ones taking care of the artistes,” said the insider.
While the Harare convoy might have brought a different kind of glitz and glamour, popping champagne is something that has become very common in the City of Kings. Led by the younger brigade of illegal money changers, city street dealers have fully embraced the champagne drinking culture in recent months.
“The champagne lifestyle is something that’s relatively new to Bulawayo,” said 3D Events’ Mduduzi Mdlongwa. “It was mainly brought here by the Harare guys. It’s more of an ego thing than anything else. It is a way of proving that you have money. It is a status thing. When you’ve bought an expensive bottle of champagne and when you drink the champagne straight from the bottle it shows that you have money because it is clear that you’re not sharing with anyone. It’s something that has been introduced to the Bulawayo scene by folks from Harare.”
However, despite this, the difference still remains between a night out in Bulawayo and the capital. The Kabza and Maphorisa show was oversubscribed, with 300 general and VVIP pre-tickets sold out by Friday afternoon. At the door, general tickets were up from R100 to R200 while VIP tickets rocketed from R400 to R600. This did not prevent over 1 500 people from getting into a venue that usually is graced by 200 or less people on a normal night. All this made life harder for champagne poppers.
“The guys from Harare, Power Circle, came and ordered bottles all at once which on a normal night would be a club’s whole stock of champagne. However, that night showed the stark difference in lifestyle between Bulawayo and Harare because those guys ended up leaving because it was too full. If they wanted to shine maybe it would have been better if they came on a normal night,” said Mdlongwa.
