On Saturday night, November 14th, Youssou N’Dour and Super Étoile de Dakar left everyone in Hill Auditorium with a smile on their face. The performance was absolutely incredible.
The positive energy from Youssou N’Dour and Super Étoile de Dakar completely turned my day around. During the entire concert, I was either clapping my hands, tapping my feet, nodding my head, or dancing. Youssou’s voice resonated so beautifully in Hill Auditorium. When he sang, it looked effortless. While singing, he was simultaneously dancing and connecting with the audience. Since the band members, and especially Youssou were so engaged with the audience, I was deeply engaged the entire time as well.
I knew Youssou would put on a great show because of the background reading that I did before the concert, but I still underestimated how talented he is. He had so much confidence on the stage and was so smooth. He was relaxed and I could tell that he felt nothing less than pure enjoyment by being in Hill Auditorium singing for us. He is an extremely loved and influential man and he could have easily had the whole show focused on himself, but instead he showcased how talented the band members are. At times, he would be still singing, but the spotlight would be directed on the drummer in the back. There was a point where Youssou stepped back and just held the microphone out to amplify the sound of the skill that Assane Thiam, who played the tama, had. Thiam played the tama at a fast and consistent pace. His impressive solo showed me how Youssou really wanted to give his band members a lot of credit. The backup singers, Pascale Kameni Camga and Birame Dieng had exuberant voices. Youssou is amazing, but the backup vocalists enhanced his talent.
Not only was the music a joy to listen to, I always wanted to keep my eyes fixated on the stage. There were colorful spotlights that were bright enough to catch my attention but dim enough to add a warm and inviting feeling. I also never wanted to miss when Pape Moussa Sonko came on stage. His vibrant dancing added even more excitement to each piece.
There was a wider variety of ages that attended this performance than any other UMS performance that I have been to, and everyone enjoyed it. Toward the end of the concert, they turned the lights on. It was weird to me at first, but it was awesome that they wanted to look into the crowd and see everyone having a great time. I think that Youssou wanted to highlight that the audience was a big part of what made the show so extraordinary.
Youssou N’Dour and Super Étoile de Dakar had everyone dancing off all of their worries and responsibilities. At some points, they had almost everyone in Hill Auditorium on their feet. I kept picturing myself in an outdoor venue during the summer because that is truly what it felt like. I would recommend a Youssou N’Dour concert to anyone because it was a great atmosphere to be a part of.
