Femi Kuti channels the spirit tonight at Variety Playhouse
June 11th, 2009 by Joeff Davis in Photo Gallery
View more photos of Femi Kuti’s 2007 Atlanta performance.
Tonight one of my all-time favorite performers, Nigeria’s Femi Kuti, plays the Variety Playhouse. This photo comes from his ’07 performance at the Variety. It captures the spiritual nature of Femi’s show. His energy and passion comes across on stage as if he’s connecting with a force beyond himself — channeling his dead father Fela Kuti, perhaps.
Known as the originator of Afropop, Fela’s catalog consists of some 75 albums. Of course, he paid the cost for expressing his political views against the repressive Nigerian government. He served time in prison and
suffered the death of his mother — who died of injuries from being thrown by soldiers out the window of Fela’s compound before it was burned to the ground.
Femi Kuti continues his father’s tradition, creating hypnotic, otherwordly music that weaves horns and percussion with political lyrics. Another Afropop legend, King Sunny Ade, and his 17-piece
ensemble open the show tonight.
Femi Kuti with King Sunny Ade. $30-$32.50. 8 p.m. Thurs., June 11. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. 404-524-7354. www.variety-playhouse.com.
View Femi Kuti photo gallery.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
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