I could never forgive myself for missing it.

Shadowclub has been touring up a storm recently. And with a significant amount of airplay, the trio has become the South African rock-music scene’s new golden boys. But they’ve been around for almost five years, and with them citing artists like John Lee Hooker and The Doors as influences, I’ve never been able to fault them for garnering all the attention they have.

Blk Jks on the other hand, have been one of my favourite bands for a long time. Zol! Was the album of choice for holiday road trips in 2010. Summertime and Lakeside were the anthems we’d sing on sunny days, on the way to far off chill-out spots. Where we were going wasn’t as important as the beautifully dissonant sound of two guitars playing ‘80s solos together.

So I wasn’t expecting anything soft or sultry from this evening. I was expecting something hard and ballsy. I was expecting to get my ears blown away and love it.

On the night I realised, through experience, being a Capetonian in Joburg has its downsides. The likelihood of you getting lost on your way to a gig when you’re from Cape Town is a certainty, not just a possibility.

I arrived as Blk Jks were finishing their set, a situation made worse by the fact that the sound engineer was not doing his job properly, making it hard to hear distinct sounds from the stage.

Bad sound aside, The Bohemian reminded me of clubs back home like Gandalf’s – no space to move and even less air to breathe. This was bliss to me.

One beer down and Shadowclub took the stage. And oh my how they took it. Blasting straight into their fuzzy almost Stooges-cum-Howlin’ Wolf repertoire, the crowd was with them, dancing from the first note.

Quite aptly, a mosh pit developed on the dangerously small dance floor. I couldn’t help but be transported back to memories of my hometown, moshing to Hog Hoggidy Hog and Fokofpolisiekar. The music was more exciting than I’ve heard in a long time, and it seemed everyone around me was moved by it too.

From Good Morning Killer to their encore track Sex Toy, a constant sonic reference was made to the Chicago Blues sound, but with a demonic energy driving the sound.

I’m hoping these guys stay around for a long time, I could not have been the only one taken to a better place. I left battered and beaten. Tired and bruised with a ringing in my ear and a song stuck in my head.

Mission accomplished.