No one loves me BETAAAA

This is an excerpt from the Vibes & Notes Festival I had the privilege to attend a couple of weeks ago, from a newsletter update to Nyx: 

I had a blast! It is the second time I am seeing Mutoriah perform live, and he exceeded my expectations! The line-up was Shad Mziki, Bridget Blue, and Mutoriah, and if I were to go again, I would a million times over! I arrived at the venue at 3 pm, which was waaayyyyy early than I should have. It has happened twice, but I SHALL be looking for more event information for future events because if I had seen their IG promos, I would have had better timing. Now, after arriving at 3, I had to sleep in a seat for almost four hours before the event started. I was lucky enough to carry some KC Ginger and soda using a friend’s water bottle, so I could enjoy the festival to the fullest. As far as first solo concerts go, I think it was amazing; though next time I’ll try the vendors’ food and products. This time, I went for the music, and I got the music. 

Shad Mziki is tinier than you would think, and Bridget Blue is taller than you imagine. Shad Mziki has some really crisp vocals, while Bridget Blue has a pristine sound. Their performances were really good, though there were some technical sound issues with Bridget Blue hadi akasema “huwa haiko hivi guys”. We watched the final before Shad Mziki’s set, and I have to say, collective schadenfreude is an amazing feeling. Arsenal lost, and the whole world was happy, quite literally, and I could not wish for a better place to hatewatch. It became a running joke with all performers, and it was crazy, to say the least. Mutoriah came on close to midnight, and I have created a whole album on Google Photos (I’ll be doing more of this because it is very convenient instead of sending a million pictures via WhatsApp) and shared how I sang my heart out because I believe words won’t do his performance justice. The “Beta” performance was spiritual, and I don’t throw that word around lightly. He performed with the crowd, and not at the crowd, and all I can say is that I had goosebumps. He also brought on The Babaz and Tha Movement, and there was an electric guitarist from Seychelles who performed a Rema song ON the guitar, and he really knew what he was doing! I have never seen someone so skilled at what they do, and he really stood on business!

Now, while the performance and concert experience was a 97932/10; I had a couple of hiccups. First, for the life of me, I don’t know why I left with my phone at 50% knowing I would not be getting home until the early hours of the morning. That was my mistake number two — number one was not checking IG posts about the event. As you can tell, my phone died TWICE. The first time was just before Shad Mziki’s performance, and I had to pay a security guard 100 shillings to “boost” it up for me with his powerbank. I ended up charging it up to 11%. The second time was after Mutoriah’s event, and when I looked for the guard, his powerbank had died; for one who is thinking about gifting my friends powerbanks, I really should get one for myself. I walked around the venue and ended up at the technical box (where Bridget Blue was having a lot of sound issues) and asked for a charger, but all were in use. Funny enough, another artist from The Babaz also came to ask me for a charger while I was looking for one, and it was comforting to know that performers also face the same problems I do. I ended up charging my phone in a Bolt driver’s car while he waited for his client, who didn’t show up. At least it got to 5%, and then I called another Bolt home, and guess what? When I arrived at the house at 5 am, stima zilikuwa zimepotea! I was too tired, so I just plugged in my phone and went to sleep. I was woken up later at 3 pm by my neighbour with some food and told that a lot of people were looking for me.

So what have I learned when it comes to festivals and venue concerts? Leave with my phone at 100%, carry a powerbank if I have one, have some kamnyweso, have petty cash in case my phone is off, don’t go for a night event with open shoes because at some point I was shivering my balls off, if a seat next to you is empty give it to the first person who asks otherwise it would be empty throughout, LOOK AT PROMO VIDEOS/POSTERS for the event ALWAYS! And take a lot of videos and photos for posterity and upload them to a cloud service to save space. 

After the event, I was looking at the stories of the event, and funny enough, some former classmates of mine happened to be there, too, but I did not see them. I think if I had met them, it would have negated some aspect of the experience for me because I did not go there to make friends but rather to enjoy the music, and my goal was achieved. If I were open to the idea of going there to meet people, I would have met them, and I am glad I did not. From their IG stories, they had fun, too. Afterwards, another friend asked me where I went and told her I went to support Kenyan music, and she is open to attending a concert, and I shall get her a ticket, but I won’t go with her. I want her to experience going to a concert solo and figure out what she likes on her own, because I know if I go with her for her first one, I might end up getting what I like and influence her decisions, which would give her a biased experience.

From Me To You

Nyx got me the tickets and I shall forever be grateful to her, and pass her kindness forward. However, this was an excerpt from an extremely lengthy email that will never see the light of day; it was so long that it took me three phases to write from beginning to end. 

In other news, I have become even more important at work and I will pause on the rants for a while, hoping that they have turned the corner for the better. 

For the June babies, I hope you know you are awesome and always remain awesome, and that your team wins all the games in the World Cup, unless it is facing Portugal.

If you feel FOMO, please read my last story about her rastas.