A mammoth audience endured a torrid night at Lilongwe Golf Club on Saturday night as heavy rains nearly halted the much-hyped-must-watch concert of trailblazing Nigeria duo P Square.
The concert, which was initially expected to take place after the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) nomination gala on Friday night, was shifted to Saturday after equipment to be used for the performance was reported stuck along the way from Zimbabwe.
But despite the change, Lilongwe revelers thronged Lilongwe Golf Club as if it were free show yet the general entry fee was K10,000 with the other tickets selling at K15,000 and K25,000.
By 6pm there were long queues of human and mechanical traffic flooding the Golf Club but before the show went into gear and as some local artists, including Fortress were doing sound check, heavy rains came down and halted proceedings.
At the entrance, tussled with the security detail to get inside to avoid getting soaked but for some, they had no choice but stand in the queue and get soaked up. It was especially bad for many ladies who had dressed to kill for this major event.
The incessant rains also affected the equipment which had to be replaced after some of the speakers had been soaked. So was the purpose-built stage, which sagged to one side and had to be abandoned.
With rains slowly receding, people started getting closer to the stage with their umbrellas but nothing seemed to be happening which the audience to start chanting and throw bottles on stage.
This prompted MCs Fatima Nkata and DJ Malik to come up and keep the audience in check as the situation threatened get out of hand. But their gimmicks did little to stop the audience from chanting songs like ‘Wakwiya ndi Mfiti,’ and ‘Wapalamula Chitedze Chizakuyabwa.’
Things were getting out of hand as the MCs failed to explain the delay and they did not even have the courtesy to apologise as they kept on talking. This attracted the wrath of the angry and frustrated audience.
After several hours, things jerked into motion before P Square appeared on stage close to midnight.
The mere presence of the celebrated Nigerian twins seemed to melt all frustrations and anger. But there was more to come. P Square took their audience through a journey with their music, staging a highly energetic two-hour act which was adequately supported by their dancers.
The two, who also threw their tops to the audience and also distributed some free CDs, sprinkled all their well-known hits including ‘Beautiful Onyinye,’ ‘Chop My Money’ and the vibrating hit of the moment ‘Alingo’ which was played twice.
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