Seun Kuti at The Fleece
Posted on: 2017-03-23
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Lucy Atkinson heads down to The Fleece to check out the jammin' live show of Seun Kuti, Afrobeat superstar and youngest son of Nigerian icon Fela.
We turn the corner of a narrow street and an incongruous sight greets us. We confer. Yes, we agree, this is the largest tour bus we have ever seen. Double-decker, tinted glass, gold paint. Peering in the windows, we see a few scantily clad women gluing rhinestones to their foreheads. A strange sight on an entirely unremarkable night in Bristol.
But what did we expect? Seun Kuti, youngest son of legendary Fela, is a star. When Seun runs on stage, all skin-tight trousers and groovy button-down, his magnetism is undeniable, his energy palpable. Must be genetic.
He launches straight into his father’s classic, ‘Mr. Follow Follow’- he always plays homage to his dad, he says, at the beginning of his show. After Fela’s untimely death, at only fourteen, Seun took over as frontman of the Egypt 80. Over half of the band playing tonight, we are told, played alongside Fela. Many of them were persecuted with him.
In September, Seun released the EP Struggle Sounds. This EP, including tracks such as “Gimme My Vote Back”, are unabashedly political. His sentiments match those of his father: he is left-wing, anti-establishment, liberal. Indeed, Seun spends at least three minutes discussing how resurrection seems like fun. He apologises to any Christians in the room, smirking. “See”, he says, “this is Nigerian manners. We digress.”
He goes on to play a mixture of songs from the EP, classics of his father’s, and songs from his previous albums. He plays the saxophone with gusto, belting out song after song, barely pausing to catch his breath.
His faced-paced Afrobeat style is a hit with the crowd. St Werburghs hippies practice their interpretive dance, flailing expressively across the dance floor. Kuti compliments their moves, comparing the merits of Lagosian and Bristolian dancing. The crowd cheer.
If nothing else, Kuti’s show is downright fun. He and the band’s infectious energy leaves the crowd feeling bright and happy. Two days later, the clocks change, and the evenings suddenly get longer. Although outlandish, it’s hard to feel like his visit isn’t to blame: Kuti could bring a bit of sunshine to the darkest of moods.
Words: Lucy Atkinson
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An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
