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Angélique Kidjo at Zellerbach Hall Auditorium, October 29, 2021

Cal Performances presents Remain in Light featuring Angélique Kidjo
Zellerbach Hall Auditorium
U.C. Berkeley, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94305 USA
8:00 PM, Friday, October 29, 2021

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One Set

[8:03 PM] {lights down; greetings and announcements by Jereny Geffen; waiting for the band}

  1. [8:04 PM] (percussion solo) » Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
    [8:14 PM] {add Jerry Harrison: guitar}
  2. [8:14 PM] Crosseyed and Painless/Lady
    [8:20 PM] {drop JH; AK yack about Celia Cruz}
  3. [8:22 PM] Sahara
  4. [8:27 PM] Toro Mata
  5. [8:34 PM] the Great Curve
  6. [8:41 PM] Pata Pata
  7. [8:45 PM] the Overload
    [8:49 PM] {add Jerry Harrison: guitar, vox; AK banter about funk}
  8. [8:49 PM] Houses in Motion
    [8:55 PM] {drop JH; AK banter}
  9. [8:57 PM] Mama Africa (singalong practice)
  10. [8:58 PM] Mama Africa
  11. [9:03 PM] Once in a Lifetime
    [9:10 PM] {add Jerry Harrison: guitar; AK introduces the band}
  12. [9:12 PM] Batonga
    [9:17 PM] {9:15 PM AK off; set ends}

    Encore
    [9:18 PM] {just AK & DJM}
  13. [9:17 PM] Malaika
    [9:21 PM] {add others & JH}
  14. [9:21 PM] Burning Down the House
    [9:27 PM] {AK-DJM-JH-MO parade through the hall}
    [9:30 PM] {show ends; all bow; then off}

Performers

Angélique Kidjo

I was really bummed to have missed Angélique's first tour of Remain in Light in 2018-19, so I was really glad when this gig turned up on the Cal Performances schedule last spring. Then I got bummed again after reading Andrew Gilbert's long promo article with SFCV – whaaaat? playing to backing tracks? Lame! Given the uncertainty of pandemic times, I can certainly understand the decision to pare a touring band down to the essentials, but really, live is always better, and it shouldn't have been impossible to find a keyboard player who could adequately cover the horn charts of the album. And then the rollercoaster ran the other way: I was totally psyched to find out that Jerry Harrison would be part of the band tonight: even only as guest on a few songs.

I liked that the set wasn't a straight front-to-back reading of the album, though I was slightly miffed that the two deep album cuts Seen and Not Seen and Listening Wind were omitted in favor of other tunes. How hard would it have been to have played another 15 minutes? Does Cal Perfs now have a COVID-19 curfew that says shows must be limited to 90 min or less? Pah! Time to go break rocks or shout at the fog to vent my frustration…

Photos

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

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Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2021 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2021 event list! ☸ On to the next event!