EVENT REVIEW: Ngoma Festival

How was Ngoma Festival? Depends on who you're asking, and which part you're asking about.

There was a lot of hype around this festival, not as much as Wakanda the world over, but the Generation Y babies of Kenya were caught up in collective nostalgia at the thought of what promised to be quite possibly the best concert of recent years.

Can you imagine if someone had put this concert on when we were teenagers? Forget probably not being allowed to go, but it would have been lit.

The only thing that is better than that is having this concert now.

The line-up was absolutely sterling. Nine of Kenya's arguably best – or at the very least, historic, in terms of shaping and forming what would come to be known as modern Kenyan music today.

No, I'm not talking about the Swahili Nations and the Hardstones, or even further back towards Les Wanyika. I'm talking about the music that represented and ushered in the 2000s, the music that created the juggernauts we celebrate today as legends.

REAL VIP SEATING

So, where can I even begin? There was Pilipili, then Jimw@t, Mr Lenny then Necessary Noize, Nameless, Nonini, Jua Cali, and Redsan at the end of the night.

We expected crowds, so we showed up pretty early, at like 8pm, because we did not want to miss anything from beginning to end. Of course, 8pm was too early, so we milled around.

The standing and seating arrangements were legit, because the VIP was actually VIP as opposed to off to the side where you can't actually see anything.

I liked that they put cover on the ground in case of rain, because Carnivore can get super muddy during a concert. The lighting was fantastic, as was the sound, which is what we have all come to know and expect from MoSound.

The first MC came on stage at around 9pm, but it was too early for him to be on, and he officially started hyping the crowd at around 10pm.

I guess he had to wait for more people, and there will never be such a thing in Kenya as an event that starts on time unless it is Safaricom Jazz, so I should just swallow this bitter pill and start bringing novels in my bag.

THREE MCs

There were three different MCs – MC Philipo, Point Blank and Shaffie Weru, for different points of the night, as well as three different DJs. The MCs were very enthusiastic – Point Blank, who was a former runner-up for Emcee Africa, even dropped a few ill bars during his set – but I guess I am not cut out for multiple sets either.

The different DJs didn't really talk to each other about what they were playing, as the second DJ played a lot of what the first DJ – DJ Essential, who was extremely good – played.

So in between giving the DJs and the MCs time, and having the MCs also call up who they wanted to on stage, - Shaffie called up Johnson Sakaja at some point, for reasons unbeknownst to myself, as well as DJ Stylez – the concert started at 10pm and ended at 4 am, by which time I was dog tired and swearing to never do that ever again.

I would love for them to just reduce the chit chat between the artists, because it really isn't a radio show.

Pilipili was the first artist on stage, and honestly one of the ones I came to the concert for. I remember seeing an article where he said he wasn't going to really be performing a lot any more because of his young family but I'm so glad he made an exception for this night.

Yes, he still has the eyebrow and he still looks really good. He did sing over a recording, yes, but I didn't expect much from Pilipili except psyche to take us mpaka che. He sang “Nina Morale” at least 5 times – give the people what they want? - and then left  the stage for Jimw@t.

SUPREMELY EXCITED

Jimw@t looked supremely excited to be on stage, because it would appear it's been a while since that happened.

He made references to past beefs and his current salvation, and seemed really happy to be there, and happy that people knew his jams – unfortunately at some point he deviated into songs of his that the crowd didn't know, and that is where he went wrong.

The first third of the concert was rounded off by Mr Lenny, who I'm proud to announce has never ever lost it. He can still sing! And has been performing and releasing songs, though fortunately he didn't really perform any of his newer hits.

He even brought out a mildly unrehearsed Kunguru to sing their hit song together in what was a bit of a confusing performance because Kunguru not only didn't know his mark, but didn't really want to get off the stage either.

His act saw the advent of the band that played behind all the other acts after, which was a surprising, welcome, and surprisingly welcome change. Necessary Noize of course brought the crowd to their knees, with all their jams and really set the stage for the consummate performer who is David Mathenge aka Nameless.

You can say what you want about this musical architect, but he knows how to pen a hit, and he knows how to perform it. He had dancers, lighting, great song choices, and the second surprise guest of the night – Habib,the late E-sir's small brother, for an important tribute, because you can't have an old school festival without E-Sir.

He was excellent. He always is. Nonini then came on stage and put on a devil may care show, in true Nonini style, littered with profanity which we loved and even giving away his shoes at some point to a fan who could rap a whole verse from one of his songs, which we loved even more. He also called P-Unit on stage, as was expected.

Nonini set the stage for genge's finest, Jua Cali, who came on stage in an old school waistcoat and an afro, much to the surprise of many fans expecting his signature cornrows and baggy jeans.

Jua Cali was good, and the final act was Redsan, who, after so many great acts, was a bit of a disappointment with his lacklustre singing.

He didn't really finish songs, or give us a performance like an international performer, or round off the show in such a way that it ended with a bang, and I do wonder why.

I do wish Kenyans would learn some concert etiquette though, or maybe it was just where I was standing. This thing of pushing people to get to the front even if there is no space, or insulting people as you do so, is just not on.

The bouncers would come and break up fights too late, and seemed partial in their methods of calling people out.

One incredibly rude fan shoved people out of his way to get near the stage, and then proceeded to call a bunch of his friends to join him at an already packed section. It's a bit ridiculous, really – reminiscent of Kenyans at an intersection.

That's the kind of thing that can spoil an entire experience for you – it certainly did for me, until I moved to the side. Keep in mind I had been there since 8 pm.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some. I'm just going to start saving for the next festival so I can get into VIP, because Stalwart Entertainment is certainly worth it and I'm waiting to see who they'll have in their line-up next time.