We went to an Oumou Sangare concert back in October. (I'm catching up, Internet!) It was great. If you ever get to see her live, do.
There are a few parts of the Oumou Experience that are standard diva -
the commanding stage presence
(ALSO, I SWEAR THAT RIGHT BEFORE HER LAST SONG SHE LOOKED STRAIGHT AT ME AND BLEW ME A KISS, OHMIGOD)
the costume changes
the hair, the eyelashes (sorry, the zoom on my phone didn't do these justice), and so on.
to help collect the money pressed on you onstage by your public (below). (She needed a sizable handbag - and that's with an assist from the backup singers with calabashes.)
For those of you keeping score at home, farotage is alive and well in Cameroon, although Ms. Sangare's forehead and decolletage were generally left unplastered. The money mostly fluttered to the ground, to be picked up by the handbag holder and the ladies with calabashes.
Did I mention she looked STRAIGHT AT ME?
There are also a couple of things that are more specific to being a West or Central African diva, like:
The lady with the really big handbag whose job it is to announce your presence, and
to help collect the money pressed on you onstage by your public (below). (She needed a sizable handbag - and that's with an assist from the backup singers with calabashes.)
For those of you keeping score at home, farotage is alive and well in Cameroon, although Ms. Sangare's forehead and decolletage were generally left unplastered. The money mostly fluttered to the ground, to be picked up by the handbag holder and the ladies with calabashes.
Did I mention she looked STRAIGHT AT ME?
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1 comment:
Blair neglects to note that this concert was at Castel Hall, owned by Brasseries du Cameroon (the national brewery). Despite this, there was no Castel beer on hand! So we decamped to a bar called "Les Gents Font Quoi Ici" (What do people do here?) for a couple of beers as the show of course began 2-3 hours after its scheduled starting time.
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