Sometime in 2008, there was chaos at Wedza Spaceman Bar in Glen Norah A.
Report by Godwin Muzari
Alick Macheso was scheduled to perform at the bar and the spacious venue was almost full with revellers that eagerly awaited the sungura musician’s appearance.
Supporting acts exhausted their performance slots and were asked to return for extra time on stage. The clock ticked towards early hours of the following day but Macheso did not appear on stage.
Mambokadzi dance group was on stage when all hell broke loose. Impatient fans threw empty bottles and other harmful objects towards the stage that sent the dancers scurrying for cover.
The chaos got worse when anti-riot police was called in to restore order. There were gun shots outside the venue while the police beat up rowdy fans within the venue.
The exit became too small for fans that ran for their lives as the situation became unbearable. There was pushing and shoving as the crowd surged towards the security wall. The precast wall gave in to enormous pressure and fell.
A long stretch of the wall was destroyed and people stormed out of the venue. The beatings continued outside and people ran in all directions.
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The music continued to blare from the huge speakers set for Macheso because no one was brave enough to go anywhere near the stage to change the CDs in the melee.
It was later reported that Macheso had gone to attend a funeral of one of his band members’ father outside Harare. He got back to the capital late and arrived at the venue very late.
When chaos subsided, Macheso went on stage and performed from around 2am to sunrise. But the show was not as exciting as it would have been, had the musician turned up early for the gig.
The following day, the place was deserted. It was always a pathetic sight when there was no show.
Wedza Spaceman was one of the few Rufaro Marketing bars [known as council bars] that had rare activity, only when hosting live shows.
Such activity was a preserve of live shows because the bars were no longer popular. When there was no show at Wedza Spaceman Bar, the place would very quiet, with a few old drinkers coming in to buy opaque beer and their favourite (and cheap) Eagle Larger quarts.
Drinkers favoured other nightspots when there was no show at the council bar.
Sometimes, when the bar hosted unpopular musicians, the situation was pathetic — just a few revellers and uninspiring activity.
But things have changed drastically at Wedza Spaceman Bar. When this writer visited the place last week, the place evoked memories of the chaotic Macheso show in many positive ways.
Big speakers at the stage reminded me of that 2008 fateful day. The big crowd resembled the situation at the Macheso show before the chaos.
As the night went on, the place swelled with merrymakers that even outnumbered the expectant crowd that waited for Macheso’s appearance back then.
Now called The Boomerang, the Spaceman Bar is one of the many council bars that have taken new shape after Rufaro Marketing leased the venues that had become unprofitable.
While some bars are now used for different trades, most of the places that have been renovated as public bars have brought a difference to Harare nightlife. Most of them are taking the nightclub style and are no longer selling opaque beer.
Slowly, the places are turning from the loathed and shabby places to vibrant clubs.
Music selection is now different and the clientele has changed. The new management styles have brought a new lease of life to the places, most of which had become proverbial white elephants.
