Disappointment
by LoveAfricanMusic on 6/18/11Greek Theatre - Los AngelesFirst, the fantastic opening act, Vusi Mahlasela, was only on for 20 minutes, beginning at 7:30 sharp when most of the audience had not even arrived. Second, Angelique Kidjo hardly sang, she gave over half of her stage time to walking through the audience and then brought all those amateurs on stage to dance - and do individual performances!! A complete waste of time. Then Youssou N'Dour devoted the first half of his limited time to his new "reggae" material, which was simply not as compelling as the African songs he finally turned to. But even for the African segment of the show, he somehow seemed disinterested. And then the ending - what was that about? He introduced the keyboardist from the Wailers, they sang a line or two of Redemption Song, commented that the union wouldn't let them continue (that song? the performance in general?) and left the stage. The end. The Nederlander thank you message came up on the screens, the lights came on and that was that. Bizarre end to a disappointing show. We frequently attend African music concerts at Royce Hall, the Skirball, and other venues, and we were eagerly anticipating this one; but it was among the worst we have seen in recent years.