By Victoria Ige
It was a specially designed concert, planned as a music and comedy gig, with live performances from some of Nigeria’s greatest entertainers.
But guests could never have anticipated they’d have that much fun on Saturday December 1, when the Tymeout With Tee A Live concert held at the MUSON centre, in Lagos.
Featuring a live recording of some segments on the show, the event took us into Tee A’s world and back, with skits drawn from his many years as a performer, as well as from ToWT colleagues MC Abbey and Madam Princess.
But it was the music stars, especially Sammie Okposo, Daddy Showkey and D’banj that set the hall on fire with superb performances that got everyone on their feet.
Okposo, a praise-and-worship maestro, got guests waving their white handkerchief in praise, as he wove through track after track, backed by a live band that rocked.
And Showkey, a rare performer these days, delivered a greatly choreographed set, mixing emotions, suspense, call-and-response, dance and acrobatics with the kind of tact you’ve never seen before, to show he still has the master key. Showkey pulled from his rich repertoire, starting from his 1994 debut, to get everyone singing and dancing, as he told the story of his life, progressing into different phases with different songs. And it didn’t appear for one second, like it was scripted or pre-planned.
Now pot-bellied, the musician could not take off his clothes as he’s wont to; and his ubiquitous back up guys were MIA. But he delivered 100 percent, making sure no one missed a thing.
If Showkey took the show to feverish heights, D’banj, a super entertainer who’s wild on stage, came on and took it to whole new levels.
With back-to-back hits drawn mostly from his Mo’Hits catalogue, D’banj gave one of his best performances this year, occupying the stage like the pro that he is, adapting lyrics and routines to suit the set, and working with Ikechukwu, and the session men to make sure each song got a unique treatment.
D’banj’s performance came after a revealing interview with Tee A. But the draining drilling did not deter him from ruling the night.
Dressed in all black, with his characteristic sun shades, the entertainer not just occupied the stage, he took over the entire hall, dancing with guests (and kissing some), as he took his performance to the heart of the auditorium, making sure he lost not a single fan.
Other performers brought their A-game too, including Lynxxx, Tunde Ednut, F.E.M.I., Dammy Krane and Skales.
But veteran Sir Shina Peters gave a rather drab performance, with unnecessary small talks, abrupt cuts and inappropriate language (he used the F word at least once, while performing for what was mostly a family audience) combining to ruin what would have been a good performance.
It was even worse for upcomer Yemi Aladee whose set can be best described as a ‘show of shame’. The talented singer chose a wrong costume, appeared tacky, and failed to deliver even one great song. If her life depended on that one performance, she would have since been buried…
The concert will be aired as a special edition of Tymeout With Tee A on January 1, 2013, according to Tee A.
