Keresimesi '22 || How We Rock Christmas In Father's House
Christmas in Nigeria means many things, and one of them is that there will be a lot of events surrounding it. My church, Father's House, is never last on the list to host one. As a matter of fact, they have been doing so for, ughh, I think over 15 years.
Keresimesi is the name of our annual Christmas concert, and it has always been the biggest for us and a massive one in the city of Abeokuta. It normarlly is scheduled to be held on a Sunday that's really close to Christmas day, so we had it slated for December 18th, 2022. Keresimesi means Christmas in Yoruba, by the way.
For months now, we have been rehearsing in and out over many songs and arrangements, and they have been intense. And personally, it has been challenging for me as I have had to deal with it and school at the same time. It is even more challenging because I am in my final year, and it is not in any way easier than it has always been.
At some point, I didn't want to participate any longer, and this was because the whole pressure was taking a toll on me. In the middle of preparing for the event, we had to juggle regular church activities like ministrations on Sundays and Wednesdays. And besides, I couldn't afford to pay for the uniform. It was going to cost me $25 to have my uniform sewn. And we all know how deep the dip has been lately.
I had earlier made a decision to not join them to perform, but I reconsidered it for certain reasons. I thought about the fact that it may be the last time I get to jam with my friends like @starstrings01 and @vheekthorjay, whom I have grown fond of in the last couple of months.
Vheekthorjay and I playing with long-exposure camera settings
And moreso, Starstrings and I were the only guitarists (out of three) that were available. I couldn't leave him to learn and play all of the songs we'd be performing. It may have been a little too much for him.
Unfortunately, life happened, and Starstrings was no longer going to play. So it was all me for the program. That wasn't funny in any case.
Fast Forward to the D-day
The event was to start at 5:00 p.m. and then end around 7 p.m. But with my experience over the years, I knew we could start late, and that may result in the event ending really late, say, at 8 or 9 p.m. And leaving so late would mean that getting transportation back home would be hectic and expensive. So, I made plans for scheduling rides to and from the event.
Starstrings was eventually going to show up, but because he had not been with us for rehearsals, he was still not going to play. And then @creativepearl sings with the choir, so we all met at my place on that day and were to leave together. However, we couldn't get a ride as we had planned, and then we eventually had to take public transport as we were already running late for soundcheck.
We got there quick enough, and while creativepearl went on to join the choir, I went up stage to get my guitar and effects pedal all set up. It took a little while as things changed; the sound system was different, and I didn't know where all my equipment was at first.
 That's me under the arrow with the guitar |
Now, you would expect that our uniforms should have been available before D-Day, say, the day before (at least).But no, it was a few hours before the show, and we still had not seen our uniforms. I, personally, did not like this as it did not allow me to prepare adequately for my dressing. I was even afraid that there may be errors, and had I been given my uniform the day before, I would have been able to correct the errors early enough.
Just after I had finished setting up my guitar, we began to soundcheck. Some choir members with microphones started to sing, and then we all collectively started to perform together, just to ensure that everything was right before the show started. The soundcheck lasted for a long time, and I really enjoyed it as I played really well.
Thankfully, we got our uniforms on time, and they suited me perfectly. I was really glad that it was fine and there were no errors, as it may have affected my mood that evening. Looking good was somehow a top priority for me.
Soon after, the show kicked off, and the energy we started with was already high. This was a good sign that everything was going well. And just then, we, the musicians, went to take photos and make some videos. At this time, we weren't supposed to be on stage, so we seized the opportunity.
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And here's me...
Our time to minister came, and we (the Crystal Sound musicians) had to welcome the singers (the Crystal Sound voices) with the montage we had prepared for the first session.
The video you see is the first montage we had for the first session. The only thing I didn't like about the video is that I was only shown for about five seconds. You'd see me somewhere in the video carrying a guitar.
As a matter of fact, I didn't even get to take photos or make videos of myself playing the guitar. I was really pained to learn that nobody helped with that. But I am glad I didn't even think about that before it was time to play; I wouldn't have been happy with that. Nevertheless, I had a job to do, and I was required to do it right, so I focused on what I had practiced for the show.
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Of course, we had to go eat at some point...we actually ate a lot that day.
From the beginning until the end of the whole performance, I played like I was not going to play anymore. Not that I went overboard, but I made sure to play what I had practiced and also enjoy myself while doing so. We had the second session to perform, but because it was already getting late and the guest minister was yet to perform, they cut our time by a lot and we could only do a bit of the second session. Getting home Remember when I talked about getting home really late at night was going to be an issue? Well, our plan failed again, thanks to me, and we all had to struggle to get home with all our luggage in our hands. The church had, however, arranged food for us to eat at the end of the program, but we couldn't wait to eat so we just left with our food in our hands and went on to struggle for food. We mangaged to find a cab and we got home not too late. Although, I couldn't wait to get home before devouring the chicken I found in the plate of jollof rice and as well as the plate of rice in the cab. We go home around 10 p.m. that Sunday night. I had a long day ahead of school ahead, and a lot of responsibilites unattended, and I was really exhausted, so I went to bed immediately. I felt really fulfulled as I eventually performed that day. We all had fun together, made music together, ate a lot of junks together. Here's a vlog that covered some parts of the show. And the photos with the Keresemesi '22 watermark are from our IG page. The others were taken myself.
ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕥, 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘, 𝕠𝕣 𝕦𝕡𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕥'𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.
▶️ 3Speak
Ohh so this is the Keresimesi you talked about... Judging from the visuals, it must've been a wonderful experience. More like a better version of Christmas carols. I so love the uniforms especially that of the males, it looks really cool and suits you well.
Hehe, I can spot our dexterous guitarist Olujay doing his thing 🤩... It's unfair that the camera mostly focused on the drummer, you should've been on the spotlight too na. Anyway, this was an interesting read... It's a relief to know that despite all the stress, you still had a lot to eat and drink. It wouldn't have been funny if you didn't get any food 😅.
Oh yes, this is Keresimesi I was hoping you'd be around for...but you stood me up. It's fine. I know celebrities' lifestyles can be like.
It was a wonderful experience, indeed; it has always been, in fact. It actually is our Christmas carol, but with our spin on it. And you better love that uniform. We spent 15k to get them.😁
Don't mind my friend jare. He was meant to split the video between the drummer and myself. It was my phone, for crying out loud. But nothing spoil, I don learn lesson.
The lot that I got to eat was all thanks to @starstrings01. He sponsored it all. I know big men. Otherwise, I would have been vexed to be playing with hunger.
Ahh, I don't remember doing that plus you never invited me tho 🙁.
15k is a lot of money but it was worth it.
Haha, it's fine... At least you appeared in the shots.
😃 He's a big man normally, it's good to know you've got real friends who look out for you ☺️.
I like the word you used: dexterous. If there is any word better than dexterous I would have called him that.
I'm not sure I know any word better but yeah, dexterous is the word for Olujay. He's too good!
Which church do you attend, I kinda love the setting and the video is awesome. I am so much attached to musical instruments and it would be a lie if I told you that music is not one of the reasons I go to church.
Music and teaching are the two things that win my heart in the church, I am a poor dancer but I love to dance.
There is the businessmen's fellowship I do attend every year, I do dance all through because of the good music. You guys had great fun and the food aspect made me wish I was there, @olujay and food, we should have an association and you should be the president. 😂
Father's House is the church I attend in Abeokuta. It is around my school, FUNAAB. But what you see there is not our actual church. It's a rented space, Muda Lawal Stadium.
It would be a lie if I told you that music is not the reason I joined my church many years ago. I think it applies to many people as well. Some just go to church because of the songs they'll hear on Sunday. And that's good enough, in my book anyway.
I don't think there is anything like poor dancing in the house of the Lord.😁 I am equally not a great dancer, but I move my body however I can, whenever I want.
What is the businessmen's fellowship?
The food aspect was all our doing, @starstrings01 and I. We only got a plate of rice from church.
You want me as a president? You like food, you this man😂
The businessmen fellowship is a gathering hosted yearly by businessmen who are also spiritual fathers.
It is open to everyone though.
Man!!!
The instrument play was fantastic. I loved it. That’s a big compliment coming from someone with no sort of taste for instruments. Lol
Definitely loved the outfits too.
Is it just me or did any other anime freak read keresimesi in japanese. No cap bro it sounds like how you would hear people say Christmas in anime.
The long exposure shots were near perfect. I’m sad I can’t play with it on my phone as well. I’ll add that to the list of reasons I should change a phone:)
Man, thank you so much. A lot of argument and intense rehearsal went into achieving what we delivered in that video. That was only the montage to welcome the choir, though. How much more if you had seen the whole performance of the choir.
Thank you, man. Many people loved our uniforms, to my surprise. And some even said we were the best dressed for the evening. I didn't really think much of it other than it was my size.
I just thought about it now and realised that Keresimesi that sounds normal to me would definitely sound odd to people that are not from my tribe. Y'all should deal with that.😂
I have been looking for avenues to try long-exposure shots. I just saw an opportunity and grabbed it with all my might. I am looking to take night long-exposure shots of moving vehicles with their lights on. It'll be mad. And as for your phone (iPhone, I presume), I believe it should be able to do that. You may just need to learn to use the Pro camera mode.
Haha only thing you thought of your uniform was that it was your size? Come on, man. You did the outfit dirty.
As for the long-exposure shots, I’m going to need a third party app for it, because long-exposure doesn’t come built into my phone’s(iPhone yes) default app. I only have time lapse shots (which are videos).
Oh this is a great event at your church and everyone really prepared for it, from the costume, to the songs and everything.
Oh yeah I have read @starstrings01 reason why he was not able to join but still opt to attend there.
Oh yes! It took us months of rehearsal. But notwithstanding, it could have all been a big flop. We are glad that didn't happen.
It was poor leadership skills of our music cordinator that lead to him not playing, and starstrings just had to respect himself. But he still came, to show that he wasn't resentful about it.