Concerts at Olympia have mostly always some class. Wemba's show at Olympia was excellent and is one of the best Olympia's. He went from classic music to world music, from the original rumba-rock of Viva La Musica (unfortunely they cut a big part of the show out) to Ndombolo, from hip-hop to folkloric music. While apart from Abeti & Tabu Ley, most just focused on their original music style and giving just a smal folkloric part. This show made him getting a special jury award from ACMCO along with Koffi who performed at Bercy. The succes of Zenith, overshadowed the succes of his Olympia. I liked for the way Wemba paid tribute to Tabu Ley, who's the first black african artist to have performed at Olympia, by singing the song Fetiche.
That were though times for Stino, Reddy and the original Viva La Musica, who weren't selected for Olympia. Only Ikonola and Demukuse (their part isn't on the VHS). It was better if they decided to leave immedialty instead of following Emeneya's advice to stay and prove Wemba a point, because Fin d'Exil made their situation worser and made them being finished before even having left Viva La Musica.
I'm looking for the cd-version of Olympia. I want to hear the song Bokulaka and the Ba Ngombe-folklore choreography, who didn't make it on the VHS. Choreographer Lambio Lambio did a big job for Wemba. The fioti-fioti's did like at Zenith, an excellent job. Wemba was stressed when he wanted to work on Olympia, not knowing if he could give something special at Olympia, having already performed at Zenith. He then asked to Lambio Lambio to work with the Fioti-Fioti on something special. After the show he was in euphoria and according to Lambio Lambio, its from there that Wemba gave him the nickname "Ndoki ya Ndombe". But unfortunately he wasn't paid for the work he did at Zenith & Olympia. Maybe that's why the show at Bercy with the Fioti Fioti's and the newly recruited Nion Nion's was lacking something, since that he hadn't put the 100% anymore like he did at Zenith where they pressure was high after Bendo, Ramazani and Pompom's departure and Olympia.
The interviews Papa Wemba had before Olympia, were like before his first Zenith of 1999, very annoying. Congolese journalists still keeping why he dediced to follow Koffi's path, like it was Koffi who was the head of Olympia. Forgetting that it are tour-promoters who organise those shows, that it was very hard to perform there before 1998 and that Wemba already performed there, but just doing the first part. Wemba was in those interviews still cool, saying that Koffi did a good job by making it easier for African artists to perform there and it was an old dream of him to perform there like many of his generation when Tabu Ley performed there in 1970 and that he wasn't getting the chance when he was doing world-music (1986-1999) and it coming a little bit late.
Felix Petit and his LOM Production produced alot shows at Olympia and Zenith. He totally dissapeared. I haven't heard of him since the missed show of JB Mpiana at Palais des Congres. What became of Felix Petit ? Before the concert-ban in Europe , I was only hearing about Meganet production, which is from a Tunesian man.
