About six weeks ago, many Nigerians in New York City were very disappointed when their Labor Day plans to see Lagbaja went up in smoke. 
Whispers claimed President Clinton's visit to Nigeria had disrupted the artist's travel plans.
At that point there was no certainty about when Lagbaja would come to New York and where he would perform.
Luckily for me, I have my cultural connections - hence I found myself at Latin Quarter at about 8:45p.m. on Wednesday night.
The show was scheduled to start at 9:00p.m. - I don't think I need to tell you that at 9:00p.m. Lagbaja was not present on the stage, and the audience was just trickling in. DJ Funmi tried to calm our nerves by taking us on a musical journey spanning the West African Coast - from Fela to Meiway to Youssou N'Dour.
By 10:15p.m. I began to grumble. It was afterall a school night. Some of us had day jobs to wake up for at 6a.m. and the idea of leaving what promised to be an exhilarating performance midway was just not in the plan.
About 10:20p.m., someone headed towards the microphone on stage to announce the reason we were all there and to introduce a man named Olajadu (a former Fela band member) who would pay respect to our ancestors before the show commenced. Olajadu's introduction called for 5 minutes but by the time he finished I felt like I had been thrown into a deep forest for at least an hour. The apparent sacredness of the moment got lost in the fact that I couldn't understand a word of what the man was saying in Yoruba and it seemed to me like he would go on forever.
Finally, a drummer came out with high energy and talked a praise session before the rest of the band took their place on the stage. Then it was time for the masked one to make his entrance.
The sounds from Lagbaja's powerful horn and the strong drums ushered him into our vision. He greeted us with call and response (including Ikira) and promised to take us on a journey back to the homeland.
That journey started with a song that playfully shifted tempo between fast and slow as if teasing the audience. We would be treated to more songs like that, and sets filled with amazing interplay between the drums, the bass and the horn during the three-hour performance. Songs like "Konko Below" from his new album "Me" carried the audience to the dance floor where people expressed themselves through dance movements ranging from Salsa to Samba to Bata. When words accompanied the sounds, they imparted social messages like "cool temper."
Like Fela, Lagbaja had some very long instrumental sets, daring us, the audience to release our spirits for the promised journey to the homeland. And then there were the moments we shared with lead vocalist Ego. Best of all was her rendition of a yet unreleased track "Never far away", a song about lost love. The woman has a voice that can soothe the most troubled of hearts. From her tiny frame comes a very strong sweet voice - in one word, hypnotic.
To top off the night, the band ended with a playful Bata dance session.
I was very impressed with Lagbaja's flexibility, the ease with which he moved between Afrobeat, Bata, Highlife, Juju and Jazz. His sound is a well-measured cocktail of all these styles and more. He also carries the same Fela charisma that engages the audience and guides them through a spiritual excursion. You don't have to be "under the influence" to enjoy the ride.
By the end of the night I had gyrated and shaken my backside to its breaking point.
So here I am on Thursday morning and I don't think one cup of coffee is going to keep my head from falling to my keyboard but I wouldn't have traded last night's experience for feeling good at work today.
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