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Femi Kuti at The Africa Shrine
October 12th, 2008
Having already been to one ‘Femi’ extravaganza three years ago, I was delighted to read that another was in the offing! On the occasion of the first adventure I was recently arrived in Lagos so the very positive experience, in 2005, had remained as a vivid memory of colour, sound and enjoyment.
Come this 12th October I ensured that an essential afternoon siesta was in place to allow me to enjoy the evening AND be fit for work at 7am the following day! A young colleague and I met several other people on Victoria Island at Robin and Hugh Campbell’s home. The journey onward to Ikeja went very smoothly but I was very pleased that we took the option of using the convoy as I doubt we would ever have found the home of Veronica, the trip organiser!
The hospitality of our hosts in Ikeja was extremely warm and a great opportunity to meet lots of other people who were going on to The Shrine. By 9.30pm the house was packed with people enjoying very reasonably priced and truly excellent food and beverages which catered for every taste. At about 10.00pm we left, in convoy, for The Shrine. On arrival the place was just beginning to warm up for the evening’s entertainment. As ever in Lagos, the enthusiasm and welcoming attitude of the people around the venue added to the anticipation of what was going to be great night out!
The Shrine is an amazing place – on the surface it is a basic structure with some interesting signs and slogans but culturally very clearly a centre for people to relax and do some of that vital networking. Femi’s band was already setting up on stage when we arrived and very quickly went into the ‘warm up,’ for the great man himself. This is a large professional band offering an energising and very slick performance. The audience ranges from adolescent boys to the very much more mature! Femi rocked onto the stage at about 10.30pm, accompanied as ever by a trio of dancers on stage and others in place in the main body of the auditorium. The movement of the dancers is exhausting and fascinating to watch and adds yet another exciting dimension to the experience.
The next two hours provided non-stop entertainment in an electrifying atmosphere. Always an energetic performer, Femi Kuti was clearly determined to make this the beginning of an unforgettable week. Billed as a ‘Fabalon’ it was clear that this man has huge and seemingly, inexhaustible, supplies of energy. We were free to move about the event unhindered, adding further to the general sense of enjoyment.
I left, somewhat reluctantly, at about 12.45qm to return to sleepy Ikoyi with the music ringing in my ears and my senses fully topped up with the whole experience. I started the evening in the hope that I would not be disappointed as I had such happy memories of 2005. By the end of the evening I realised that those memories had been enhanced by the 2008 experience! Not only was the atmosphere at The Shrine itself better but I found meeting at a house in Ikeja far more conducive for meeting other Field Society members than, as previously, at The Sheraton Hotel. The trip was very well organised by Veronica Snoxell; communication was good and it was great to have the opportunity to meet people before going on to the concert. About thirty five Field Society members attended. I would certainly go again if the opportunity arose.
Mary E. Hodgkinson (England)
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Lagos Branch
