Johnny Clegg at the Aotea Centre

Johnny Clegg's Scatterlings of Africa is one of his best-known songs and it took on poignant meaning when he sung it for a largely South African audience at his first Auckland concert.

Nostalgia is what drew a number of expatriate Scatterlings and New Zealanders to hear Clegg, but it was his polished performance that kept them enthralled.

Although he said he was jet-lagged, it did not really show. He immediately put the audience at ease with his warm and friendly manner, memorable songs and highly entertaining narrative.

Clegg was so comfortable with the audience of 2000 that at times it seemed to be as intimate as a group of old friends hanging out and remembering good times.

But that's just Johnny Clegg, a natural storyteller who draws on his anthropologist training and his musical roots to tell tales of people and their changing cultures.

He's older and doesn't dance as much, but he still knows what his fans want and last night he and his band delivered. The songs - many forged during apartheid - have taken on new meaning in the ensuing years, but still sound as good as ever. They were all well received, especially The Crossing, a haunting tribute to Dudu Zulu, a former band member killed in the violence that gripped South Africa in the early 1990s.

However, the overwhelming favourites were Scatterlings, the rousing Impi, the love song Dela, and the ode to Nelson Mandela, Asimbonanga.

The ode, sung as an encore, had particular significance for me because the last time I saw Clegg perform it live was in 1988 in a politically charged hall in South Africa. I kept on expecting the South African security police to burst in and arrest Clegg. But this time the song was a reminder of the changes in South Africa.

This was Clegg's first tour to New Zealand and Australia, a demanding seven concerts in seven days. Judging by the audience's response and Clegg's casual "see you next year", it won't be the last.