Congo Vibes
Music => Congolese Music => Topic started by: Mfumu Vata on September 04, 2024, 16:47
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(https://i.postimg.cc/4xrq3t0s/02-DE1999-A23-C-4-F3-D-899-F-3764-C475261-A.png) (https://postimg.cc/rDNQndcP)
Today, it’s 25 years ago that Wenge Maison Mère performed at Palais des Sports, today known as Dome de Paris. The concert is consirered as one of Maison Mère best concert ever (for many fans even the best). Since the opening of Zenith de Paris in 1984, the hall has lost his signifance in the French musical landscape. But back in the 1960s and 1970s, all big stars of France and US used to perform there since that apart Olympia, there no being big halls in Paris.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9clDuDJizSE&t=43s
In 1999, Wenge Maison Mère was n1 in the Congolese music charts with their album Force d’Intervention Rapide. Despite the succes, they were struggling to get visa’s for the Schengen Area, because of the story we all know. When finally managing obtaining visa’s they performed in Villejuif the same day as their rival Wenge BCBG at were performing at Zenith de Paris. They also performed at La Madeleine in Brussels. There was a concert planned at the mythic Olympia on July 10th, however late Papa Wemba had also a concert planned the same day at Forest National in Brussels, to celebrate his 50th birthday and 30 years as musical artist. The huge challenge to fill hall of 8.500 and mobilize the Congolese diaspora to support the event, made the staff of Papa Wemba contact Maison Mère’s staff to reschedule the event. However, immedialtly concertpromoters Claude Mussay and Dario Kindongo scheduled an event at Palais des Sports for September 4th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc1cN3lXcWA&t=5591s
The decision to cancel event made many fans dissapointed. But through videos Werrason would calm the fans down, by saying that Olympia being a small hall and just meant to celebrate Ferre’s or Lacoste’s birthday and that if there would be a event planned over there, that they have to perform there multiple times, seeing the popularity Maison Mère has in Europe. Adding that Palais des Sports is a big hall, where important boxing and basketball matches take place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_viSuyMsF4w
During the tour of Maison Mere in Europe, the event at Palais des Sports was promoted as goodbye concert of the tour. However after the concert, more dates followed in the Europe. Fanclubs would hype the hall capacity up claiming that it had
7.000 as capacity some even 10.000.
The concert was sold out with delegations coming from Switserland, UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Them all (fanclubs, influent donors, etc.) receiving shout-outs during Kalayi Boeing and Chantal Switserland. The concert also created alot of polemic. Because during the event rhythm-player/bassist Patient Kusangila who was part of Wenge BCBG joined Wenge Maison Mère and there was a whole ceremony/comedie made around it. Him wearing a lifebuoy around his neck (referring to BCBG's Titanic) and Adolphe who had an outfit as Roman gladiotar taking him to “Angel Gabriel” aka Werrason, in order to make him enter heaven. At that time, Kusangila didn’t mind it, but today he sees it as humilation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdgB241d_U0
Like all huge events in Europe at that time, there was a VHS made of it. The video sold many copies around the world. There was a live-album made of it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGtBtynrZ9E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBrQkBbxkyQ