It was with Africain à Paris that Tiken Jah Fakoly decided to open the show, after a brief musical intro by his seven musicians and two backing singers. The king of African reggae appeared in front of a huge crowd, wearing a colorful hooded tunic.
His interactions with the audience take place throughout the concert, either when he explains the background to each track or when he gets the crowd singing along to his choruses.
“Quand l’Afrique sera unie, ça va faire mal!” he declares before the iconic track, and without transition, he proceeds with “Alou Maye”, during which he grabs a djembe and participates in the song’s percussive section. At this point, a fan climbs on stage for a selfie with the artist, but is quickly checked by security.
“This song is about the history of the Mandingo people,” he says, before paying tribute to African youth who dream of leaving the continent. The balafon solos were a particular crowd-pleaser, while some tracks began with just a guitar solo, such as the classic “Plus rien ne m’étonne”. This was clearly the highlight of the evening, with the addition of nyabingi rhythms before all the other instruments came on board. The audience turned into a choir for the duration of this emotionally-charged song.
I discovered new songs such as “Toubabou”, ‘Kodjougou’ and “Djourou”, which refers to the cry of despair of a person who is refused payment after completing the work requested.
As at his concert in July 2022, this artist’s endurance is impressive. Even though he’s approaching sixty, he still manages to jump, dance and kick his feet in the air for 90 minutes without taking a break.
Another highlight is his song “Ouvrez les frontières” (Open the borders), addressing the injustice of Westerners being welcomed in Africa under the best conditions, while the reverse is far from true.
He took the time to pay tribute to his native Côte d’Ivoire on “Le balayeur”, but also to Senegal on “Laissez le peuple vivre”, with the Senegalese flag flying over the crowd.
He even got the audience to sing along in his native tongue on “Ngomi”, which seemed to please him. He ends by paying tribute to African “Martyrs” such as Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba and Jomo Kenyatta, to name but a few.
And hop! After a quick change of outfit, he returned wearing a t-shirt that read “Africa”, and ended the evening with a powerful, percussive rendition of “Massadje”. Montreal is sure not to forget this memorable concert, where the weather conditions were just right to welcome the great Tiken.
Photo: Benoit Rousseau
