Danny still in command

Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

If you thought Danny was retired and finished musically, you would have proven yourself wrong last week on Saturday as the Zambian music pioneer entertained revelers at the fast-becoming popular joint Lay By Pub in Chilenje.

This was one of Danny’s rare shows in Lusaka at a venue where the patrons mostly go there to watch free music performances. But Danny, like he has done at many other venues, insisted that for his show, revelers had to part away with something so as to appreciate the art.

“I normally don’t perform for free. You know that free things lack value and so, with my shows, even if the promoters do everything for me, I always like it that people pay something to watch me. That is the only way they can appreciate art,” Danny said in explaining why he was charging for his show when many other artistes have performed at Lay By Pub for free.

True to his word, many of his loyal fans flocked the venue to watch him and his long-found band ‘The Mo Fire’ do their act. The venue was filled to capacity and that gave Danny’s entourage courage to give their best. The show kicked off with Danny’s protégés Naso and Titus churning out cover performances blended with a few of their own collection.

While that was going on, Danny was actively interacting with some members of the audience, taking note of what songs they would later want him to sing. His entry to the stage was signaled by a powerful instrumental carefully handled by the Mo Fire. He had no time to waste but immediately threw in his vocals to make a start of a two-hour performance. In his act, Danny took the revelers down memory lane with hits like Kaya, Live, Chikondi, Joni plus more receiving great response.

At times, he raised the tempo that proved Naso and Titus to be very good dancers besides providing backing vocals. Lay By Pub was filled with all the excitement which for some moment appeared permanent. However, after a series of stage creativity and musical mixes, Danny left the stage with revelers calling for more. The love, support and feedback they gave the singer was no doubt a strong belief that he is still in command of live music performance.