Decodance Pool Lounge's checkerboard floors and dim lighting set the platform for Rolling Stone's live performance tapings on Thursday. The recording was made both for television and Rollingstone.co.za. Three of Cape Town's blues-rock pairings had a spotlight shown on them. Nick Turner (formerly guitarist of Sons of Trout) and bass master Schalk Joubert kicked off the night with a hauntingly beautiful performance of their harmony driven song "Don't Push". They spoke of their disillusionment with the American Dream and finding their way back home in South Africa with a rhythm that crossed the expanse between the two nations.

The audience, who sat cushioned in crushed red velvet chairs, were then met by banjo picker Arno Van Zyl and guitarist and vocalist Red Eye Riaan from Crimson House Blues. With Van Zyl's bare feet and Riaan's dirty blues growl, these cats from Namibia were the most unsuspectedly compelling storytellers.  They had the crowd clapping, bouncing and slugging down beer, transporting them into a completely different realm of dust, dirty low down tales and whiskey-soaked woe.

Greg Donnelly on lead vocals and Anton Marshall on bass from the band Long Time Citizen brought the night home, with solid guitar driven tales and a call to South African radio to play more homegrown tunes. This night and the performances showcased on it were an answer to the tired response of "there are not enough quality bands." Of course there are. They are right here on this stage.

“Rolling Stone is committed to covering a constellation of quality bands, not just the ones that are mainstream media’s focus, that’s the point,” Marshall stated.