It takes a lot to generate any kind of atmosphere in the Concert Hall. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very fond of it. Treasured institution that it is and all, and I’ve had some champion naps there at some lovely orchestral and choral shows. It’s great to see it being used for contemporary events but I have always thought it’s a very stuffy staid environment for some of the acts they’ve hosted, getting a bit lost in the large room that is generally too bright. So hats off to Angélique Kidjo, she managed it, by the bucket-load.
Kicking off the evening, she sang a beautiful acappella song called “Atcha Houn”. She later tells us it was a song she sang when she was six years old. Her mother pushed her into the limelight to sing with her theatre troop, standing in for someone who hadn’t shown up and that was it – from then she was hooked.
Gradually joined onstage then by her band who were playing guitar, bass, drums and percussion she embarked on a evening of music from all over the world, charismatically told stories and dancing. Yep dancing, everyone was dancing by the end, Angélique wasn’t having it any other way.
Her music is heavily influenced by West African rhythms and incorporates a range of other musical traditions, such as funk, R&B, jazz, rumba, salsa, jazz, souk and makossa. She is multilingual and speaks and sings in English, French, Yoruba and Fon, which is the native language of Benin. I sometimes suspect all in the same song, despite my Yoruba being quite rusty.
Throughout the night she would introduce different songs, explaining the particular influences. Actually a lot more than I could take in after a point, citing the “Bollywood” films she used to see in the cinema as a child being a strong theme for one.
There were a few covers, one Santana and an Aretha Franklin and an incredible rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on up”. I think she throws in a few of her own words because Africa seems to be mentioned in every song. And I am pretty sure Africa, Africa isn’t in the lyrics of “Move on up”, but it’s great she makes them hers.
She told us us about her father who died two years ago, who was a very progressive man, very rare qualities in their culture. All of his 10 children were schooled on one income and he treated his girls as equals to his boys. Even at a stage when she was a superstar in her country performing all the time, she argued as to why she still had to go to school, he told her no school, no music. This was by way of introduction to quite a haunting song written in French only supported by acoustic bass.
The night itself was on the Saturday of the May Bank holiday weekend and a fundraiser for UNICEF’s work in Haiti. She had been in Haiti last year for UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador to visit some maternal and child health programmes and spoke about it quite passionately in the latter part of the gig. A very engaged socially conscious woman she also uses her position for her own Batonga Foundation, which provides education to young African girls.
Throughout the night, she kept telling the crowd to not be shy, don’t be fooled by those seats. And gradually people took to the aisles bit by bit to dance. For one song she got off the stage and danced through the aisles of seats singing, her stage manager barely able to keep up with her. It was then I realised how absolutely teeny tiny she is, seeming incongruous to the voice and the strength with which she breathlessly belted out songs all night.
She then dragged up I’m not sure how many people on stage for few numbers, where everyone in the audience had to sing the chorus. For about 10/15 minutes her percussionist, who is only 18, came to the front and soloed on his djembe while people took turns having a little dance off with him which was truly electrifying. The crowd was so mixed, nationalities and age and everyone was getting so involved with it there was such energy filling the room, in the Concert Hall, would you Adam and Eve it? Really?
Her most recent album Oyo, was released February of this year but if you do get the chance make sure you see her live.
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