According to official estimates, over 100 people attended the Atommy Sifa show last Saturday that was organized at Central Skolan in Märsta. The gig, which was coordinated by Chairman Charles Otieno Owiyo, was a big success and Atommy lived up to expectation. From 23 hours when he hit the stage, he entertained fans well into the morning and at the end of the show, everybody was happy and exhausted.
Some Kenyans who stayed put up to the last second were seen staggering “from pole to pole” at 9.30 in the morning looking for transport. When one tried to call for a Taxi through his mobile, the booking officer could not understand what he was saying. Others were detained by the organizers so that they could sober up because they attempted to crawl on their knees to the bus stop. When they were examined, they were found to be in need of distilled water so a pack was brought to try and revive their senses so that they could get back on their feet and walk to the nearest bus stop.
Kenyans who were interviewed by KSB said that it was one of the best live shows they had ever attended. Asked what was special, they said that unlike other artists who normally play for 1-2 hours then vanish into thin air, Atommy was there the whole night with his fans. He was either on the floor working up fans or chatting with Kenyans during break time.
Throughout the session, it was like revelers were suffering from “High fever” because everybody was sweating profusely as if they were suffering from acute malaria transmitted by anopheles mosquito. Whenever temperatures reached “boiling point”, people would zoom out to get fresh air then return to action.
A huge group of Kenyans who popped up at 2.00 am actually had a good chunk of the action because Atommy was still behind the mike. His CDs were readily available and once he sold a copy, he also gave an autograph. Atommy is a very down to earth, grass roots kind of Artist and he had easy time getting along with fans.
Kenyans from all walks of life came to enjoy. Although Atommy is a Luo artist singing in Kijadhe, Wakikuyu, Waluhya, Wakale, Wadigo, Wagiriama, Wakisii and others were well represented. It was good that Wakenya from all ethnic groups were there to enjoy and show solidarity with Atommy. The diverse clientele that showed up is a demonstration that Kenyans in Stockholm have moved away from tribalism.
Munala wa Munala, Bizzman Clay Onyango, Mwana wa Pappa Msakolo aka Gerry Changa Midenyo, Judith Waweru, Amina Rose Mohammed, just to mention but a few, are some of the top names that graced the occasion. Apart from white Swedes who represented their country, Ugandans, Liberians, Nigerians, South Africans and Gambians were all represented in the mix. Samson Mande, who is the coordinator of Network for Africans Unity, was also present and he brought with him a crew from the Network to enjoy the occasion.
It was interesting that a Tanzanian guy who tried to hook up a Kenyan chick was stopped in his tracks by some Kenyans who argued that he was simply taking advantage of the chick who appeared totally zonked. The Mtizedi had managed to engage the chick at “close quarters” on the floor several times and as the night withered away, the chick was more and more collapsing on his chest as DJ Jimmy set up “Lala salama” beats.
This was not a medical condition. When the chick collapsed on his chest, you could see that she “had fallen” and the only item that appeared to have been on the agenda was when the DJ was gonna blow out the last song so that the goods could be transported home for sumptous consumption.
It is at this point that some Kenyans thought that they had to rescue the chick because she did not actually know what she was doing. The gist of the argument was that the dude appeared to have seen so many Januaries compared to the chick and given the high level of inebriation, the general conclusion was that it was in the interest of the Kenyan chick that her goods be shielded from consumption by a total stranger who had focused and sharpened his equipment ready for action. The guy later left in a huff when he noticed that there was little he could do to walk away with his little prey of human flesh. When KSB followed him up for a comment, he promised to try another day.
Other Kenyans like Joshua Oyugi and Ndugu Obanda had travelled all the way from Uppsala to catch the action. Mr. Oyugi triggered an emergency funds-drive which eventually netted more than Ksh 20,000 with himself donating Ksh 3,000. According to Mr. Oyugi, Atommy had come a long way and he was scheduled to return to Kenya. Under the circumstances, Mr. Oyugi told those present that as they danced to the beats, they should also support Atommy financially with whatever contribution they could make and everybody appeared to agree.
At some point, people had to stop dancing to watch Atommy do some of his popular moves which you only watch on Youtube. DJ Jimmy was always on stand-by to chip in whenever Atommy took a pose, time when the DJ would engage popular numbers that got the revelers on their feet to show some of the latest in the world of Kenya-Stockholm dancing.
Elastic Madiabs brought Down 1 cm from the Floor
Wazee wa kazi competed alongside vijana as Mamanzi wa Stockholm provoked their male counterparts by rubbing stuff very close to the “strong room”, the kind of crazy distance that could ignite the “fire machine” aka chuma “to begin to cock live” and cause some “ground swell” around da danger zone. Interestingly, some Wazees were afraid of getting to the dance floor for one simple reason.
- Having fun at Atommy show
As soon as they tried, they were sent back to their seats almost immediately. A young cutie would come from behind and rub the Mzee proper until he became embarrassed then he would give room. At times, the situation was calm and Wazee were left to do their thing alongside the youth who were much more vigorous in body shaking. The chicks were not shy and once you got on the floor, you had to deal with the consequences.
There is one Kenyan girl who “scooped the World cup” on the dance floor because she was too good. She had a unique way of shaking her madiabs until you thought that they could actually fall down on the floor to be screwed back into place using some “magical surgery” from Kenya. In fact, you could be forgiven if you thought that she had a mass of “elastic tissue” fixed on her posterior because as Atommy’s voice blasted on the huge speakers, her proportionately round madiabs gyrated with the elasticity of fine rubber that had been well done.
To be precise, there are no words to describe exactly how she did it and I am only trying to give a rough guide to understanding the act. You just had to be present and watch her do it live to get my point.
The most interesting part was when she began to go down because as her madiabs approached the floor region, the gyrations also changed, both in rhythm and speed in a way that would give a male miscreant a different signal. If you have seen a hydraulic shovel mounted on a tractor, picture the backward bucket of the shovel moving to and fro at intervals as it tries to scoop soil from the ground.
Roughly put, that is how her madiabs were moving – to and fro – when she got them working about 1 cm from the floor. For the dirty-minded male observer, you could think that she was trying to swallow some invisible and “heavy metallic shaft” from the other side as she followed the Atommy beats. A friend, who had just returned from Kenya, updated me that itz how itz done in Kenya siku hizi.
Apart from the fun, there was plenty of food, ranging from Tilapia fish, nyama choma, ugali to wali, si-kuma and chapoz. Well prepared kachumbari was also at hand to help get down the samples of delicacies. It was a memorable occasion which will no doubt remain in the minds of those who attended. Atommy is emerging as a Benga musician to reckon with in Kenya. KSB takes this opportunity to thank the organizers for a job well done. Kudos to Atommy for having lived up to expectation.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
The Kenyan woman who shoved her ass back and forth, almost sweeping the floor should contact me because I loved her act.
KSB: He he he… that was unique kweli…
me too….
KSB: What do u mean by that?