I saw Fela in L.A. in the summer of 1989. He played the Universal Amphitheatre, and (speaking of famous fans) I met Anthony and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the audience.
This is great -- thanks, Will. I'm fortunate to have seen Seun twice and Femi once (opening for Angelique Kidjo's incredible Remain In Light tour). I've also seen Kamasi twice (once with Herbie Hancock and they played together!). Brilliant, life-affirming shows, all.
Very cool that you saw Fela. A friend of mine from Lagos saw him at the Shrine and reports that it was every bit as epic as one would hope, with a show that ended at like 5am.
"I bumped into Ornette Coleman — literally — who was wearing a very fly gold lamé suit." Cool! The DJ spun Fela records for about an hour or so the other night at Webster, pre Ebo Taylor + Pat Thomas. Sooo many young people knew every word to the Fela songs. He lives on!
I saw Fela in L.A. in the summer of 1989. He played the Universal Amphitheatre, and (speaking of famous fans) I met Anthony and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the audience.
Love that. Everybody paid attention to his music in those days, certainly any students of funk. Remain In Light is inconceivable without his model.
Thanks. In the Q
I had to go to Apple Music and I ended up with albums of all 3 downloaded my list now. Thank you for a great suggestion.
Enjoy!
This is great -- thanks, Will. I'm fortunate to have seen Seun twice and Femi once (opening for Angelique Kidjo's incredible Remain In Light tour). I've also seen Kamasi twice (once with Herbie Hancock and they played together!). Brilliant, life-affirming shows, all.
Very cool that you saw Fela. A friend of mine from Lagos saw him at the Shrine and reports that it was every bit as epic as one would hope, with a show that ended at like 5am.
You’re welcome, Dave. Never made it to the Shrine, alas!
"I bumped into Ornette Coleman — literally — who was wearing a very fly gold lamé suit." Cool! The DJ spun Fela records for about an hour or so the other night at Webster, pre Ebo Taylor + Pat Thomas. Sooo many young people knew every word to the Fela songs. He lives on!
Beautiful. Really sorry to miss that one, glad you made it!
🌊⚡️🌊