Boyz II Men in Nairobi: Sh8,000 for bad sound, rain and faulty screen

In Swahili, the saying goes “mgala muuwe na haki umpe”. It translates loosely to give praise where it’s due but also fault the same where necessary. There’s also the expression, “if you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything at all”.

Stanbic Yetu Festival had been one of the most anticipated event since a silhouette of what many had deciphered would be Boyz II Men as its main act was released about two months.

When the hour of reckoning came, however, the show both delivered and disappointed in equal measure.

Touted as the VVIP event, those in that and VIP areas would go on to have the night of their lives being serenaded to by the greatest R&B band ever as well by the hottest band in Africa giving their final performances before they take a hiatus from music at the end of the year.

The VIP tickets sold out two weeks ago while the main arena sold out a week ago. The event people had said was too expensive when the announcement of prices was initially done now had everyone wanting to be there.

Calls, texts and emails to request complimentary tickets, or to be those known to be attending’s “plus one” were coming in thick and fast even on the day.

With that build up, the show had all the makings to be the best thing the Kenyan concert-goer would experience this year.

Getting there

This writer got to the event just as Sauti Sol was doing the first song of their set. In terms of keeping to schedule, the event organisers were very much on point and the band was on stage at 7pm promptly.

However, the writer had to run in the rain from the Uhuru Garden entrance that is opposite the fairly dormant Uchumi Langata Hyper.

This was not the entrance to the venue and those who had released their cab drivers due to the traffic that was building up at the time had to walk (or run) to the other entrance that faces Carnivore grounds a few hundred metres away. There was no indication to where the drop of point was to be, so all the drivers followed the cars that were in front of them.

Hence, the build-up of traffic at that first entrance that was actually where the parking was.

The ticketing area was well-marked for those who had invitations or who had bought tickets for the sections provided and it was really fast to get in.

To honour the theme of the event as a nostalgia for those who grew up in the times of Boyz II Men’s heydays, even though their music runs eternal, there were booths set up with different props such as the old school turntables and more that people could take photos with.

Sound

The first thing that stood out was how the sound one heard coming in from the back had been so much different than while running through side of the venue. While the instruments levels were a bit audible, the levels for the vocal microphones really stressed one’s ears.

Some of the musicians’ words, in some cases whole verses, went completely unheard depending on the pitch they were singing in.

The farther you were from the stage in the main arena, the worse the sound got. If that wasn’t enough, with the sound and visual engineers’ station being right in the middle and obscuring the vision of what seemed like a corridor or tunnel for the main arena (it was sandwiched between VIP sections on either sides) once the main screen went blank, the frustration of the fans boiled over.

They would chant “Fix the screen! Fix the screen!” or “Fix the sound! Fix the sound!” as the performers sang, but especially at the intervals to catch the attention of the organisers. And this frustration was directed towards anyone.

They barred anyone from moving forward as those who were behind sought to make their way to the front for better viewing and listening. Unlike last year’s show, this show was packed to the brim. With little to no room to move, it would mean those coming from the back and moving towards the front would be pushing those already there backwards. No one wanted to cede ground.

As the night wore on and the drinks wanted out of the body, even those in the front trying to make their way to the back now found themselves having a difficult time as they were met with “There’s was no way!” at every turn. Temperatures flared, resulting in shoving, shouting matches ad in some instances drinks thrown as the moods soured even more.

The screen was eventually fixed, but the sound didn’t get any better.

Highlights of the night

Now to the performers and highlights of the night. Sauti Sol gave everything they have to their audiences.

A precursor to what they have in store for fans at their final Solfest for some time later in the year, the quartet took us on a trip down memory lane with songs like “Still The One” and a mesmerising “Isabella”, as well as giving electrifying performances of their newer joints like “Midnight Train”, “Feel My Love” and “Lil Mama”.

Showmanship is the adjective that comes to mind whenever you think of Sauti Sol, and this time was no different. They most certainly left a raised atmosphere by the time they walked off the stage an hour later, the crowd not having had enough of the eclectic artistes.

DJ Dream and hypeman CNG had the crowd well marinated for the arrival of Boyz II Men, whose entry to the Uhuru Gardens and walk to the stage was broadcasted on the screens.

The trio got on stage to a roaring reception from the crowd as they sang “Motownphilly” to the rich instrumentation from their band.

They even still had the steps from the video of a song they performed in their teen years still locked down even in their 50s. And the moves were seamless and looked effortlessly done.

We know that the band is talented vocally and lyrically, so it was no surprise that they sang the crowd into their feelings.

However, when Wanya Morris belted the first line to Sam Cook’s “A Change Is Coming”, the men introduced us to another side of their performances many weren’t ready for.

Nathan Morris was on bass guitar, while Shawn Stockman was on lead guitar. This was the start of a highly-charged, four-track cover session that spanned songs like “American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz and “Locked Out Of Heaven” by Bruno Mars.

Shawn was shredding (a virtuoso style of playing the electric guitar, based on various advanced and complex playing techniques, particularly rapid passages and advanced performance effects) and killing it vocally at the same time. “On Bended Knees”, “One Sweet Day”, “4 Seasons Of Loneliness”, “Colours of Love” and “End Of The Road” were just some of the favourites the had in their one-and-a-half-hour set that finished at 10pm.

“If you go with nothing else from this night, we want you to remember the night Boyz II Men performed in Nairobi,” Shawn told the crowd.

There was a lot to remember about the band. How Shawn seemed on the verge of tears after hitting an extended high falsetto to close out “On Bended Knee”. How they thanked the fans for coming out at every interval.

The ladies “caught in 4K”, one refusing to let go of Shawn’s hand while another kissed it in two different incidences. And how they took time even after their set was finished to just acknowledge fans and shake hands with those next to the stage. They are indeed the blueprint.

The festival had the potential to be the greatest night in Kenyan concerts history, but attention to detail (or lack thereof) made it a regrettable night for so many who put their scarce and hard-earned money, in the current economic times we’re facing as a nation, to make it to the show.

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