On Friday night, I got to see my first live music since arriving here in Kenya. My friend Rio, an Indonesian works for Worldvision (a christian relief organization) and I were invited out by another friend of mine, Ekuru, a Kenyan lawyer who runs a legal services NGO for residents of northern Kenya. I was expecting music that was "African" in some way-you know like what David Byrne was listening to in the months before recording "Remain in Light" (although I know that that was Fela Kuti and that he's from West Africa, but you get the point). However, much to my amusement, the band's repertoire primarily consisted of covers of American pop songs from the mid-90s. It also happened that Ekuru was friends with the band, so when he learned that I play the drums, he wasted no time in getting the band to let me sit in as a guest drummer. During a break, the singer showed me their repertoir, and in the absence of the Spice Girls or Fugazi, I chose "Ironic" by Alanis Morisette. I have to say that it was probably the single most astounding musical experience I've taken part in to date. My only regret is that I didn't bring a camera.
What was really fascinating is that the crowd (almost entirely 20-30s Kenyan business types) was COMPLETELY into the whole thing. Let me tell you, seeing a room full of Kenyans jumping around and enthusiastically sing along to all of the words of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something is mind blowing. The moment that really did me in, however was when the band played "complictated" by Averil Lavigne. Sitting in a bar in Nairobi with an Indonesian and several Kenyans listening to a band play a song by a Canadian teen-pop vixen was I think the most tangible evidence of globalization that I've witnessed on this trip. Isn't that Ironic? Don't you think?
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3 comments:
Awesome. If I would have been there, I would have busted out a guitar and we could have done "Hey Jealousy," "Basket Case," and maybe "Freshmen" by the Verve Pipe. And if we had the energy for an encore, definitely some Better than Ezra.
well, it sounds quite funny but also a little bit sad. at least there are people around here that listen Yossoun 'dur, Fela Kuti, or Ismael Lo...in this way, we can make the fluid of the globalization channel two-way...
by the way, i am not surprised that people were dancing. what surprises me is that people do not dance in New Haven concerts (apart from you, Rachel and I).
for the next outting, you and the indonesian should prepare a performance of 'i would walk 500 miles' (or something) by the proclaimers. and bring your camera, silly.
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