June 25th, Rangers Restaurant - The thing about intimate ‘dinner & entertainment’ evening gigs is that they’re compelled to entertain the individual - every single person attending must leave there believing the performers had been hired to please just them. On that, Kitenge Fusion passed with flying colors, making quite a daring comeback in front of a few guests at the Rangers Restaurant in Langata.
Blue At The Inaugural Kitenge
From the choice of the venue to the décor and even their outfits, S.K. Blue and his Kitenge Band went to great lengths to display ‘African elegance’, and largely succeeded. Headlining the entertainment part was of course S.K. Blue, and he did not disappoint. Popular Kitenge jams like Ati Nini Men, Kitenge and of course Muthurwa were well delivered and appreciated. Blue even had time to drop in a new jam, Let Them Know, before indulging reggae fans with Chacha, Prophecy and Hii ni Vita.
Although Jemimah Thiong’o was set to join Blue for the gig, she was a no-show, and in a way, that gave opportunity for one of the evening’s top talents – Nita. First leading the national anthem and then wowing guests with her jam Roller Coaster Love, Nita made a strong claim as a vocalist and performer to watch out for, especially to those with neo-soulish inclinations.
Other acts on the playlist included Barak’s spoken word session, an interesting narration titled Just a Piece of Cake that appeared appropriately right around dessert time. Band members Lokua and Kiki each had a session, with the former earning quite an ovation for his vocal abilities – never mind that he’s the band’s lead guitarist!
S.K. Blue’s and Kitenge Band’s growth was much evident and certainly commendable, and their brand of fusion will continue to be a welcome addition on many people’s gig-lists as time goes by. This being just the first installment of Kitenge Fusion this year, one must of necessity look forward to the July edition – it’s a worthy venture. And Rangers does serve a mean dinner!
Starting Off With the Anthem
Nita Curtain-Raises
MC BDP Did A Good Job
S.K. Blue Welcomes His Guests
And Then Gets Passionate
The Band At Work
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1Comment at Thursday, 02 July 2009 16:27by Julius
As much as Im havent attended so many public events I wish I had attended this one. Keep up the sporit guyz. We need guyz representing african genres visa-ve african fashion. Kudoz guyz and Nita mkiwa na Barrack Im proud just to know you guyz.
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