BANA KADORI JULY 28TH NJ CONCERT REVIEW

From: Doc Odotte

A contract had been signed with the River Road Fire Company to rent the 250 capacity hall for Saturday July 28th Bana Kadori concert upto 2:00 P.M.

Just two days before the show, in what seemed to be a classic case of pulling the rug from under one’s feet, we got the mystifying call from the Fire company management that the show would not go past midnight following strict directives from the Piscataway Mayor himself. After futile attempts to get the Fire Company to reconsider their stand, the organizers declared that aaisulu! The show must go on, obviously with an inalienable sense of disquiet.

The attendant at the River Road Fire Place, a young college kid in his early 20’s did not open the doors until 5 p.m as we had just started offloading the equipment. The band members seemed surprisingly psyched and upbeat even after a long practice session the previous night at the insistence of Nancy Ogaja, a long time Bana Kadori fanatic.

We had planned to get to the hall this early for sound checks. And thankfully, Mathews Anyumba of EHS was there to assist with the technical aspect.

It took about an hour to set up everything to the bands satisfaction, after which they all left for a bite at Dorina’s.

By 7:30 p.m Bana Kadori had made it back and were already scorching the hall with some of Kabasellah’s hits like Achie Maria, Wuora Ogolla and Millicento.

Within the next two hours, the music kept on a gradational tempo as the crowd grew sluggishly, typical of all African events.

In the meantime, early birds like Arina Olum took the liberty to request his favorite songs like “Jajuok wendo na” to bring fond and doting memories of his “long ago” at Safe life bar in Huruma pasi.

At 11 p.m the crowd had grown incredibly to full capacity of approximately 250 and counting, just in time for the hit song Nairobi Wololo. The rest of the night was nothing short of a blazing show that blended soft Benga beats and unrelenting dance rhythms that soon turned into a sweat fest for revelers both young and old.

The bullnecked lineup of Odindo (solo/vocals), Omosh (second solo), George Oduor (Rhythm), Ogwella (bass), Moseso (drums/vocals), Calleb Tall (drums/vocals), Onyi (vocals) and Balla (vocals) kept the delirious crowd on their heels till 1 p.m. Thanks to the Fire Company attendant who was nice enough to let the music play for an extra hour.


  The rest of Bana Kadori tour is tentatively as follows
  §         August 3rd, 4th, 5th 6th and 8th   - Bethlehem Music Fest (Bethlehem
Pennsylvania) Click on the link below for further details
        http://www.musikfest.org/ticketsevents/performers.asp
  §         August 11th - Baltimore, Maryland
  §         August 18th – Allentown Pennsylvania