club of sorts which was the core pulse of the Lagos weekend social
scene for many years up till2001 when it was officially closed. Darey
was a quiet young man then who would perform a few songs and play
excellent notes on the keyboard. Then, I was somewhat of a total
artiste moonlighting with stand-up comedy every friday night there as
the in-house emcee who took over from the late Mohammed Danjuma of
blessed memory. For over a year, every Friday night I would guide the
good-natured revellers through the program for the long night, with
occassional singing with the band on my part. Within that period, I
met Darey who actually was honing his skills through the Jazzville
experience with the help of Muyiwa Majekudunmi, the founder of
Jazzville.
Darey and I maintained some staccato contact for a few years after
that and I have admirably watched his growth and ascendency on the
Nigerian Music Scene with pride, being a 'Jazzville alumnus' like him.
He's a perfect gentleman to the core, very composed and focused.
Sterling qualities he got from his late father, the Maestro Art Alade
of the popular 'Bar Beach Show' of the seventies on television. This
Darey, a refined chip off the old block, a few hours ago showed the
whole of Nigeria whyhe shouldn't be underestimated in no way. His
Valentine Concert, 'Love…like a movie' is just about the best musical
concert in modern Nigerian history I have ever seen. And the thousands
of guests who attendedall agree with me.
The concert held at the Eko Hotel Expo Hall a couple of hours behind
schedule. It took off at about 8.30pm and for nearly two hours, every
member of the audience was held spellbound by the impressive mix of
music, drama, pyrotechnics, visual effects, artistry and choreography
of the biggest concert experience in Nigeria .
It was Darey all the way with the guest Nigerian artists all given
deliberate moderation of appearances through the songs. The expansive
hall went dark when the show was about to start and the huge stage
screens were suddenly transformed into huge displays of beautiful
moving visuals of techo- clip art and arresting picture projections.
Our eyes were made by the lighting to focus on the huge square
multi-cubicles on the centre stage which was also the show's backdrop.
As the projected images fluidly came on the screen one after another,
Darey shockingly appeared in the middle of one of the cubicles which
seemed to open up to let him out. The crowd went wildat the effect and
Darey sang 'At all, at all'featuring an absent 9ice. 'Carry dey go'
followed and this time Tuface Idibia was transported onto the stage by
some fairy-dancers with beautiful costumes. Thereafter, Darey sang
some songs from his three albums and also took the crowd through some
popular ballads such as 'Ladyin Red', 'Endless love' (duet with Waje),
'I'llmake love to you' (featuring PSquare and Timi Dakolo), 'End of
the road' and 'What awonderful world' among others. When he performed
the Frank Sinatra classic 'My Way', he twice said 'Rest in Peace,
Goldie' and seemed to break down in some verses during the song.
Perhaps with the poignant gloom of Goldie's death still haunting him,
the other original hit ballads of his, 'Not the girl' and 'No stars'
had Darey wiping off tears from his eyes while singing both songs. The
audience gave him a rapturous applause when he sang 'Not the Girl' and
even sang along with him. 'I like the way you are' got a lot of people
grooving.
It was not so much the songs he performed(which were all perfect) that
got us all wowed but the incredible choreography of the Dance troupe,
a caucasian ensemble, who mesmerised everyone with a combination of
elaborate costumes, bio-constructivism and dance sequences which were
simply breathtaking. Added to the lighting effects and the
near-perfect stage management, the show ended with huge white balloons
the size of SUV tires floating across the hall, giving the audience a
retro-glimpse of childhood excitement at the balloons! There were a
couple of down points in the concert though. A little microphone hitch
for one of the singers during the rendition of 'I will make love to
you' almost marred a perfect sing-along for the members of the
audience.
Also, the much awaited Kim Kardashian . She came in at the beginning
of the show and spent just forty-five seconds or so on stage! That was
all we saw of her. She introduced herself and asked the audienceto
prepare for a night they wouldn't forgetand left. Shikena! She was
even glum, as if it was a task to just be there at all! Now, I'm not a
fan of the lady and I don't even watch her show but I could not
understandwhy some ladies in the audience were screaming when she came
on stage! Na wetin? Naija girls sabi overdo at times sef!Kai! One lady
behind me screamed out ' I love you, Kim' as Kim walked off the stage.
I turned to see who it was; an artificial looking lass with fake
eyelashes. Na so demdey take start!
If you ask me, there was no need for Kim Kardashian at all in this
concert. None whatsoever! Was she paid huge sums and flown here to
just introduce Darey? It didn't make sense to many. My two cents on
that would be that Darey's management knew they had a great show
planned but needed the 'ooomph' factor to pull in more crowds. And Kim
Kardashian was that factor, perhaps. Anyway, the show would go down in
the history of concerts in Nigeria as the best. I mean it!
What I have described has not even done justice to the concert Darey
organised. Its far from it. The pleasant faces of those who attended
are enough to agree with me. Everyone kept talking about the concert
as we walked back to our cars and tweets and blackberry broadcasts
soon started about the concert even before we left the venue! Folks,
Darey has raised the bar. This kind of concert is one you can only get
at the O2 in London , I can bet youon that! I'm told the show took
over 15 months of planning and execution. It was worth every penny and
energy spent on it. Darey has shown that he's a king in his own
kingdom with territorial ambitions to conquer pretenders to his
throne. I am quite proud once again of my 'Jazzville colleague'. He
did the stuff national honours are made of with this concert
Source: Dailypost
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