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Royal Festival Hall, London
Four years ago it was Femi Kuti who headed the annual African Soul Rebels tour, joined, as has been customary, by two other bands. This year it's very different. His younger brother Seun is the new afrobeat hero and the more fashionable of the legendary Fela Kuti's musical sons, and this Soul Rebels Special consisted only of Seun and his band, with one support group.
The Soul Rebels concept now seems rather tired, especially as there is nothing rebellious about the openers, Donso. A four-piece French-Malian band, they mixed keyboards, electronics and the deep twang of a donso ngoni, played by the Frenchmen, with electric guitar and harsh-edged vocals provided by the Africans. The result was a pleasantly swirling set that veered between the gently rousing and the forgettable.
Seun Kuti fitted the bill far better. Introduced by his band leader Lekan Animashaun, famous for working with Fela, Seun dared to start with Fela's angry Original Sufferhead, inevitably inviting comparisons with his dad's wildly original style. An energetic performer, he looks more like an athlete than a musician with his cropped hair and powerful physique, and concentrated on full-tilt songs from his new album From Africa With Fury: Rise, helped by tight brasswork and percussion from his 12-piece band. He rarely sounded as genuinely angry as his lyrics might suggest, but echoed his dad's bravery when he broke off in the middle of Rise to discuss Libya and Gaza.
It was an entertaining, efficient set that showed how well Seun has re-energised his father's Afrobeat style. But there were few musical surprises. He deserved the standing ovation, but he will need to introduce new influences and ideas to retain this level of success.
