John’s Blog

Well there were (at least) three big-time concerts this weekend in Kinshasa and I was hoping to make all or at least two of them.  I made it to one.  But I had good reasons, and it was a blast!

Friday night I ended up going out with quite the mix of Americans - we went to a bar where they have a cover band, where I’ve been several times before.  I’m hoping eventually to negociate being able to get on stage for one or two songs with them when I go there.  We’ll see.  Anyways, it was a couple of my “old” Kinshasa friends and two new ones - a backpacker who has been making his way across Africa for 19 months who found me through this blog, and a California-girl who is on an NGO-related tour of several work sites in the Congo and elsewhere in Africa.  We had a drink or two, danced, and ended up at a nearby night club.  The next day I took it very easy, went into town to pick up the spare TV of some westerners I met recently, and then was invited to a party at my neighbors’ place to celebrate a college graduation (ot some kind of graduation).  My friend was convinced that the neighbor girl invited me because she’s interested in me, but I realized they couldn’t have gotten away with not inviting me because when I went to bed after the party, I realized the speakers for the dance party were set up just outside my bedroom window…

The party was actually really fun - a new experience for me!  I was sitting with a bunch of music students, and we got to talk music, speak some Lingala, and they were the heartbeat of the dancing portion of the evening.  They showed me some moves (I was pretty embarassed) and it was interesting to see which songs got them up out of their chairs and which ones sent them back to their seats!  It was also a welcome break from my typical Kinshasa encounters because we talked for a long time but nobody asked for my phone number or tried to get money off of me or anything.  I’m not sure if it was the type of people that was different, or the context, or what, but it was really relaxing, and at the same time a cultural experience.  At one point, one of the family members started making an announcement in Lingala, and looked straight at me (I was the only white person) and kind of faltered.  The people at my table yelled to her, “azoyoka!”  “he understands you!”  It was pretty funny.  Also, I think people got a kick out of seeing me dance, including some of my other neighbors…

One observation is that these kids at my table were telling me how much they like American music (as well as how much they like American and how it’s their dream to go there - everyone says this to me) and how they weren’t that into modern Congolese music - that it’s all noise and people telling names.  But when the Congolese music came on (after a long stretch of 50 Cent, Sean Paul and Beyoncé), they were all up there dancing, and they knew all the moves.  I feel like this type of denigration of Congolese music is a stock speech that I get from lots of people (like the one about the dream of going to America some day), and I get the impression it’s a class thing, and also that it comes out when there’s an American around.  I’m not sure yet.  There’s also something that I might have understood before getting a TV, but that seems more clear to me now that I have one - people here valorize things that are not congolese.  Almost every ad on TV had some allusion to “international standards” or some at-least-partial foreign origin.  It really struck me.  We always get a laugh when people seem shocked to see me eating an ice cream cone or popcorn - many of them seem to assume that, because it is available here, it comes from here, and it is inferior to anything available to foreigners.  At least that’s the impression I get, in part because my friends explain it to me that way.  Of course, that might be coming from them too… I’ll keep you up on my findings.

Sunday it rained all morning, but the electricity was on, so I just stayed home playing guitar and reading.  In the afternoon, we met up with some Americans (the NGO-related folks) and tooled around a little bit with them, eating at our normal spot in Matonge.  It was really fun to show people around and answer their questions, and particularly the bright 14-year-old who, although he never stopped seeming guarded, asked great questions and couldn’t be dissuaded by vague answers.  It is everything that a person in my situation dreams about: an open-minded, curious interrogator who is visibly really trying to assimilate your anecdotes into their still-malleable world-view.  So often, when we come back to our home countries from a place so radically different, we find that our stories are so much in conflict with the way adults have learned to see the world that the conversation falters, and sometimes even leads to an unpleasant argument.

Anyways, I got a few phone calls and text messages from people interested in the Koffi concert, and we ended up going as a group of five.  For those who have been following my blog from the beginning, you will remember the concerts I saw in Brussels and Paris this summer, but for those who didn’t, you can just click on “France” in the right column and see my accounts and photos from those shows.  It was the same band, but not at all the same band.  Many of the musicians and even singers were different: obviously, Fally and Soleil weren’t there because they’ve left the band, but also Titina (the drummer, who I met on the train in Brussels and stayed in touch with) was not there, and the guitarists and keyboardists were different.  I suppose this is the “Kin” crew.  I did recognize one atalaku (or animateur) who I’d seen at our normal dinner spot and didn’t get a chance to talk to.  He was on the train in Belgium and remembered me.  One of our companions got a photo with Koffi - I might be able to post some photos if I can get her camera plugged into my computer… the music was fabulous, and three of the five people there had never been to a Congolese concert and had many reactions and observations: the Congolese seem “impervious” to the dance beat and the choreographed singers - they don’t even bob their heads; there are no women singing or playing instruments, only dancers; the couples who eventually do get up to sway subtlely to the music are right there on the stage with the singers; why is the sound system so loud?  The singers’ voices are almost distorted and don’t sound good; it seems like a reproduction of a village chief mentality with the band leader as a paternal overseer, but most of the singing and playing being done by others, and the designation of a “vice president” of the band.  These are all characteristics of the music culture that I normally might not even articulate.  I think there will be many more Koffi concerts in my future here.  It was really fun.

I think that’s all I’m going to write for now.  Thanks for reading, and keep the questions coming!

This entry was posted on Monday, January 22nd, 2007 at 1:08 pm and is filed under Congo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.