Diplo’s Kenya tour was one for the ages

Diplo, this generation’s high priest of electronic dance music (EDM), was in Nairobi last week and his legion of fans and lovers of the genre were out in large numbers. He was accompanied by another EDM bigwig and fellow Major Lazer band member Walshy Fire. Major Lazer is an American band composed of Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire, known for hits like Lean On, Cold Water and Light It Up.

You might not have heard much about EDM, nor know what it is all about, but the few and the very proud fans of dance music were excited about his second coming. The super producer, deejay, rapper and songwriter was in Nairobi in 2014 and he had a similar huge reception. The first time, the organisers, out of sheer ignorance or naivety, booked the event at the Tree House Club in Westlands, which couldn’t take the numbers. The venue was so cramped with revellers that the night ended early because the floor reportedly started falling apart.

This time round the organisers were wiser and changed the venue to Carnivore grounds, a time tested venue that has proven it can handle whatever you throw at it.

Everything was ready for Diplo, real name Thomas Wesley Pentz. Excitement was all over from the moment it was announced that he would be coming to Nairobi as part of his Africa tour. But being typical Kenyans, many waited until the last minute to purchase tickets, and they were not cheap.

SMALL EVENT

Diehard tickets, which cost Sh1,000, were sold out less than an hour after the organisers announced that the sale had begun. The price then jumped to Sh2,500 for early bird tickets, which were also snapped up within a week.

Sensing demand, Kenya Night, the organisers, upped the price to Sh3,000 for arena and Sh10,000 for VIP section. They were also sold out in a matter of days, but there were those who still had to wait until the last minute. For their delay, they had to part with Sh5,000 at the gate.

I literally couldn’t sit still at work all day trying to imagine the kind of fun I was about to have. It’s called the Diplo Effect, so don’t blame me. I left work much earlier as I had to get ready; you don’t just show up at a Diplo event looking “ordinary”, you have to look, smell, walk and feel like a million bucks.

I met up with the girls, had a few drinks (let’s just say water) before heading to the concert which was scheduled to start at around 10 pm. But with all the drama involved in girls getting ready, we got there an hour and a half later.

It looked like everyone was late because the scene at the entrance was like that of a political rally. There were hundreds of people lined up and more inside. It took us close to 30 minutes to get in. Kudos to the organisers, it was a very organised process.

The stage was well done, this was not just any star about to grace the event. It was the man who is reportedly worth upwards of Sh2.5 billion ($25 million), and has played at all the big festivals in the world. Come to think of it, this would probably be one of his smallest events, but that doesn’t matter, he attends to his fans wherever they are.

Last year, according to Billboard, Major Lazer became the first American to stage a concert in Cuba since Havana and Washington reinstated diplomatic relations in 2014. The free show had an estimated 400,000 people.

The production guys for the Kenya show were amazing, with large video screens, special effects, strobe lights, black lights and beam lights for the ultimate nightclub cum EDM concert experience.

Curtain raisers included Blinky Bill, DJ Kace and Suraj, one of Kenya’s best electronic DJs. They did a wonderful job and the crowd responded well.

At 1 am, the man of the moment was about to grace the stage. Excitement levels went up a few thousand levels. His name flashed across the screens in Zocalo font and what seemed like a 10,000 font size. After what seemed liked eternity, he finally burst from behind the screens waving a Kenyan flag. The crowd was delirious.

For the next one hour and 40 minutes, he was the pied piper, commanding hundreds of ecstatic fans to either “raise your hands up” or “scream” and they did not disobey him even once.

LOCAL FLAVOUR

He played hit after hit. It might as well have been a karaoke session as people sang along to almost all the songs. He went one better and remixed popular African songs like Pana by Tekno and Leg Over  by Mr Eazi, featuring Wizkid, Eddie Kadi and Maleek Berry, and at one point added the catchy phrase “Team Mafisi” to the mix.

When he was done, you could tell the revellers had had fun, but they also did not know what to do with the rest of the night. How do you recover from such a high? You can’t just leave even though your legs are starting to creak.

The whole night was an absolute thrill. Diplo gave an exhilarating and electrifying performance, one that I have not experienced before in my life. Diplo was supported by Wankelmut, the man behind My Head Is a Jungle, which is one of the biggest hymns in the world.

He was scheduled to perform last night in Kampala and then head down south. If money was not a problem, I would probably have followed him across Africa. He came, he saw, he conquered.