Former Blu3 member Lilian Mbabazi put up a great show at the Kampala Serena Hotel. Jennifer Ochwo, a fan summed up her experience.
I would sum up Lilian Mbabazi’s #UpCloseAndPersonal concert using one word … ‘EASE’… There was no feeling of stress to perform; or struggle to be perfect! I guess this comes from years of performing with her band – The Sundowners. Their performance was like a body with various parts – with each part doing exactly what they are meant to do – at the right time. I attended the concert as a ‘student’ and I learnt a lot.
- Lillian knew we had paid UGX 100K or more to go see HER and that’s what we got: Lilian; in four outfits.
- The show did not start with curtain raisers, Ah! Ah! The first person who spoke was Lillian – PS: we had no MC – She sang like 3-4 of her songs straight… Real Value for money.
- There was an air of calm and ease that perhaps came from the band’s familiarity and performance experience. Lillian did not overdo the “See Me. See Me, I am having fun” Or “You must sing along come hell or high-water” thing that artistes usually do. Ah! Ah! She gently and skillfully drew the crowd in – #UpcloseAndPersonal – and took them along on her musical journey: sometimes visibly overwhelmed by the crowd singing along.
- 4. The singing was perfect; Instrumentation cool and skillful; Voice control on point; Not once did we feel that Lillian was screaming at us. Oba how did she do this? She sang like she was lying back in a swimming pool
- The LIGHTS and display screens – WOW… Fenon Records went above and beyond. They outdid themselves. It was like they were a part of this body creating the mood for each song.
- The production for the show was on point. I think this was also done by Fenon Records. They made sure the concert flowed like a gentle stream. They were there to support the artistes and yet they were skillfully ‘invisible’. They were at their best when Lillian invited Irene Ntale on stage. They speedily located Irene in the crowd and handed her a code-less mic so she could come on stage.
The only TWO issues I had were:- ONE: the video at the beginning of the show. I always wonder why artistes spend money to make these videos. The crowd usually looks on like . “What is this?” – but that’s my opinion. TWO: My neighbour who through bad-breath, kept burping beer.. Ewwwwwww!
All-in-all, the show lasted about 2 hours but NOT ONCE did I feel TAYAD or fed-up. I was actually shocked that at the end, I DID NOT feel fatigued, tired or have a headache due to the LOUD unbalanced music, Screaming musicians, over performance or being forced to sing along… THANK YOU for the experience Guys…. You did exceptionally Well.
I remain committed to learn…
NB: This article was first published on Jennifer Ochwo’s Facebook page.