27th/08/06
is a date that will never be forgotten in the history of Senegambian showbiz. It
was the Carnival Saturday that brought chaos to the doors @ the Big mighty
Stratford Rex. At the scene was nearly a couple of thousand fans in multiple
disorganised queues tailing endlessly with more than 10 people joining them
every minute. Security and doormen got overwhelmed. Push came to shove, people
trampled on one another, tempers started to flare, but the fans never gave up
the struggle to get into the venue to see their favourite Mbalax supper star
Asane Ndiaye’s live carnival concert.
The legendary Asane
Ndiaye is the only Senegalese artist ever to draw a record turnout that would
normally be associated with Big international artist like Reggae and Rnb stars.
The last time I saw a turnout like that at the Stratford Rex was the recent
double that featured Buju Banton and Capleton on the same bill.
The man with the golden
voice dressed in an eye catching African garment, electrified the dance floor the
second he stepped on the stage. Ladies screaming and waving to welcome the Mbalax Legend. The very first song he dropped started what I call the Asane
Ndiaye indoor carnival. You can feel the energy in the Dancehall, his
powerful melodious voice echoing all over, spreading a special vibe right across
the venue.
The Gewel Band kept it tight all night long. Almost all the songs from the Brand
new hit packed album XARIT were played including "Baye laye" "Mbeuguel", "Dieukeur",
"Yaye nogaye" and the classic "Gewel la
neex", which got the crowd even more excited. The show brought real enjoyment,
splendour, stress relief and most of all reunited long lost friends. It was Uk's
answer to the famous Gambian July 4th in the USA and the Gambian Cultural week
in Sweden. The only down side was, there were no Gambian acts on the bill.
The grand hit show was orchestrated
by the famous innovative Gambian Promoter Njok Malik, the turbo power
engine behind Yaram Arts Promotion and football club. Mr Malik has
over the years blessed the Uk-SeneGambian showbiz fans with a rising trend of
mega concerts that keeps on getting bigger and better every time.
The show was hosted by the man who won the
best Entertainer award at the Senegambian awards 2006 and goes by the name
Ellie. A senegalese brother who does a fantastic job in keeping the Senegambian
community ever so intimate.
Pap Diouf, the ex-Lemzo Diamano supper star
also made a brief surprise appearance on stage which resulted in a wicked duet
with the legendary Asane Ndiaye to feature his Carnival Bank Holiday Monday
show.
Crowd response was
excellent, ladies sang along loud to prove to the legend that they've
mastered all his songs, word for word. Maybe the guys did too, but to be honest,
what i have to say to them is "Don't quit ya days' job" , if you know what i
mean.
We have seen so many very good shows in recent times but this one was
exceptional.
"Njarama"! Yaram Arts, keep the fire blazing. The sky is the limit.
Was it the best carnival show ever?
Welcome to the
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Reviewed by Daddy Elie
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