For he’s a jolly good Fela, and so is David Lee Roth. This Saturday, celebrate the legendary frontmen and bon vivants at these two fests.
Rothtoberfest
Saturday, Oct. 17, 4pm at The Diamond, 43 Franklin St., Greenpoint; free.
Might as well jump. The Diamond’s annual birthday celebration of its namesake will have you doing air kicks like “Diamond” Dave himself. The soup savants at Good Stock will be serving up Brat.s for Teacher and Runnin’ with the Deviled Eggs, to go along with that Roggen with the Devil beer from Greenpoint Brewing Co. (Hopefully there won’t be an “eruption” in your stomach, har har.) And rest assured you’ll be able to dance the night away: DJs Easetheseatback and Frau Mary will be spinning Van Halen tunes along with German metal and (sorry, no way around this) Oktoberfest tunes. But please, respect The Diamond’s neighbors. No dancing in the street.
Felabration
Saturday, Oct. 17, 4pm, X Marks The Lot, 39 Knickerbocker Ave., East Williamsburg; tickets $10.
A couple of days after what would’ve been Fela Kuti’s 77th birthday, JunXion’s scrappy outdoor lot in East Williamsburg will become something akin to Fela’s Afrika Shrine. Jazzing things up will be Amayo’s Fu-Arkist-Ra, a Brooklyn-based band featuring members of Antibalas that practices what it calls FU-Afrobeat, “a blend of African spiritual rhythms, Traditional Chinese lion rhythms, highlife, funk, and jazz, infused with political messages.” Definitely sounds like they worship at Fela’s altar. And, yes, there will be an actual altar for Fela on hand, along with Nigerian food, DJs, vendors, and projections of Fela footage.