Femi Kuti makes music on his terms
Paradise, Boston, June 24, 2009
Reviewed by Jeffrey B. Remz
Following in the footsteps of a famous father is never an easy proposition whether in politics, sports or music. But Femi Kuti makes the Afrobeat music of his father, the late Fela Kuti, live on.
Kuti kept the beat going of African rhythms, jazz and funk going for a steady and strong two hours before a sold-out, mixed-race, mixed-age crowd.
Kuti was accompanied by a very huge band of five regular players on drums, keyboards, guitar, five horn players and three female dancers, who gyrated, perspired and sang backing vocals throughout.
At times, Kuti, who handled the singing chores capably, played the sideman, letting the horns hold sway. Kuti also set some beats on keyboards and blasted away on horns as well.
The sound leaned more towards the jazzy side than any sort of thumping beat, but he kept the pace moving throughout with more traditional African and funk and soul sounds coming through as well. A dissonant sound also came through quite often especially via the drums and keyboards. Generally, Kuti stretched the songs out, but fortunately there was more than enough going on to keep the crowd bouncing.
Like his father, Kuti was not afraid to tackle politics. At home in Lagos, his nightclub recently was closed down by the authorities claiming such issues as noise. The club has since reopened. In concert, Kuti also addressed politics, wondering why African is so rich in resources, while the people are so poor.
Kuti went a different route at the end of the regular set with the lively Beng Beng Beng where he opted for a sometimes raunchy discourse on sex. "It's two things that make you very happy in life - sex and music, and the two go hand in hand." He said the old school style in Nigeria was that parents would talk with their children about sex, but now the subject was avoided. The song, which included the lines "don't come too fast," did not finish until it was reprised as the first song of the encore.
Kuti doubtlessly drew some to the show because of his father, but he has well moved beyond that giant shadow to make music on his own terms.
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo & The Rock By Funk Tribe opened with an engaging set featuring R&B and funk sounds, jazz and spoken word. Okoawo is Nigerian born, but lives in Boston and acquitted herself well. She changed it up musically and was particularly helped by some sturdy rapping by Brian Capobianchi. Okoawo also displayed her poetic skills at one point about a trip back to Nigeria with the joys of being back, but also being a foreigner. It was quite fitting that she would open for Kuti in a night of enjoyable music.
