Concert: Femi Kuti at The Montreal Jazz Festival

Photos By Stone - The Couch Sessions
Every artist who even dares think about performing should check out a Femi Kuti performance.
Not only did Femi put on back to back 2 hour plus performances, but he did it with more style and ferocity than I've sever seen in a performing artist this year. His concert at the famed Metropolis venue, which fell on my last night in Montreal, was most certainly the highlight of my trip and the best indoor show of the first half of the Festival.
Unfortunately, I missed fellow Nigerian King Sunny Ade's opening set. However, Femi's 2 hour plus long salvo made sure that anybody who didn't stay for the opener got their money's worth. Femi's setup is massive: Dancers, Horn Section, Guitarists, and anyone else you could fit on stage. The massive band could overshadow a lesser artist, but the focus this time was all on Femi, who paced the stage, engaging the crowd, and whooping them up into a frenzy, as he switched from saxaphone to his Korg Organ between songs.

My favorite Femi song is Shotan, and Femi did not disappoint viciously destroying the song right in front of my eyes. It was an amazing site.
Unfortunately, since I had to be at the airport at 3AM for my flight, I could not stay for the finale, which came around 1AM or so. Still, the amount of concert I did see was more than enough to hold me over.