Angelique Kidjo @ Festival Theatre, Adelaide 12/3/2024
Angelique Kidjo delivered an electrifying performance at the Festival Theatre, captivating the audience with her vibrant energy and infectious rhythms. She also played the day before at WOMADelaide as a late replacement for an act that could not attend. Angelique is synonymous with WOMADelaide and I have seen her several times at Womad but it was excellent to see her at the Festival Theatre in an air-conditioned venue with brilliant acoustics.
Opening with Cross-eyed and Painless from the album where Kidjo covers the complete 1980 Talking Heads Remain in Light album, she immediately established a connection with the Adelaide crowd, with her powerful vocals resonating throughout the venue. Kidjo’s stage presence was undeniable, effortlessly commanding the attention of the Adelaide crowd with her charismatic performance style. The band’s tight musicianship complemented her vocals perfectly, creating a seamless fusion of Afrobeat, funk, and world music. It was the first time that her current band had visited Australia and her four band members on bass, keyboards drums and percussion were world-class.
Kidjo took a moment to share stories from her life and the inspiration behind some of her songs, adding a personal touch to the evening. She played wonderful versions of Bemba Colora and Sahara which she explained were originally sung by Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa, who was an early childhood inspiration for her. She told us that she has been in the music business for forty years.
Kiddo played the excellent Agolo from her 1994 Ayé album, but another Talking Heads song called Once in a Lifetime got many of the audience up on their feet and dancing in the aisles. Some of my favourite songs were from her latest 2021 album Mother Nature and the songs Meant For Me, Choose Love and the title track are all infectious and are just as good as her earlier work.
As the concert drew to a close Kidjo was joined by her support act for the night Maatakitj as well as children from the Young Adelaide Voices Choir for an uplifting version of the song Afirika. The set ended with a cover of Miriam Makeba’s Pata Pata. Miriam was Kidjo’s “musical mother” and inspiration and she virtually always plays this song in her honour. After much applause, Kidjo returned to the stage and did three early hits in succession which was a brilliant end to the night. We We, Batonga and Adouma all provided us with perfect examples of the infectious spirit of African music, making tonight a concert to remember.
Adelaide Festival Review By Richard De Pizzol