Saturday, June 12, 2010

An Evening With Keziah Jones




Mr Jones is strumming his way to our hearts...
Event: Keziah Jones is IN
Artiste: Keziah Jones
Venue: Terrakulture, Lagos
Organizers: Quirk and Glee
Let’s serenade our soul with some’ Blufunk’ music and let the sound of Keziah Jones’ guitar strings water our appetite.
If I was not persuaded to attend the show last night I would not have met a man who has mastered the anatomy of the guitar; seducing and caressing her with several fingers at a time; even using his entire palm, and, at times, his jaw.
And he didn’t need a bed to complete the activity. Right there on stage at TerraKulture, in Lagos,, before our very eyes, Mr Jones made love to his favourite lover; plucking string after string; strumming non-stop – creating sounds of music that make you want to join them to make it a threesome.
Keziah Jones’ umpteenth performance, yesterday in Lagos, was  laced with wild rhythm, electrocuting percussions – all displayed with some out of the blues acrobatic swags.
Have you ever seen the guitar tilted to the back, swung back and forth, thrown up and down, smartly  and skillfully while the artiste renders a soul-lifting song at the same time? I tell you, I saw that for the first time in Lagos yesterday (Thursday, June 10) as Jones gave the show of his life and recorded an unending applause from the crowd.
It took several minutes to set up the stage, compelling the guests, (which included Dakore Egbuson) to roam around the venue. Dakore got tired of glueing her butts to the seat for minutes without any action on the stage, so she stepped out of the hall and on coming back in, she was married to the can of Smirnoff Ice in her hands. I must note that her Ankara gown made her look inviting. And, knowing well that her hubby was not anywhere close, I thought to myself – ‘A hug from her might just complete my already fun-filled night’.
As soon as Keziah mounts the stage, everyone rushes in and immediately maintain  pin-drop silence.
Even Cobhams Asuquo sitting right behind me ended the off and on whispers with his fiancĂ©e as the stage got being set for the lanky guitarist.
Keziah Jones, born Olufemi Sanyaolu is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He describes his musical style as “Blufunk”, which is a fusion between raw blues elements and hard, edgy funk rhythms. Also his Nigerian roots in Yoruba music and soul music can be considered a major influence on his sound.
He’s known for his distinctive style of guitar playing, including his percussive right-hand technique which is similar to a bass guitarist’s slapping technique. He’s also famous for playing most of his live shows with a bare torso.
Jones knows how to handle the guitar...
The swagger of a master strummer
He clapped and slapped and strummed, while the audience went wild with excitement
(Pictures by Victor Obot)

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