Addressing the crowd early on in his set, Femi Kuti noted that he’s not as young as he once was, making it a bit harder than it used to be to maintain the same level of energy over four consecutive nights in a row on tour. Not that he showed any signs of slowing down after all these years – Femi Kuti is a masterful performer, giving his all for the duration of his set.
“The world is going through another phase. And this is not a time to be silent or else you will not have a voice,” Kuti said to the crowd at one point, urging us all not to become complacent or ignore the troubles going on in our world and asking us all to sing together in harmony. Though just a symbolic gesture, it was certainly one way of having our voices heard and certainly helped to give some hope for a better world.
Kuti’s music has always had a political edge to it and this night was clearly no different as he and his 12 piece band The Positive Force (composed of keyboards, bass, guitar, drums, percussion, 4 horns, and 3 singer/dancers) played an incredibly energetic and passionate set that was focused just as much on a passion for justice and resistance as on their extended Afrobeat jams.