tinariwen

On Monday we saw Tinariwen perform live in Chapel Hill. They were amazing! They are Tuaregs, nomadic Berbers, and their style is influenced by rock (blues actually) and by their own musical tradition. Really incredible.

The performers didn't seem to speak any English so there was almost no patter. All they said was "Thank you," and one of them would call out "Ça va? S'okay?" in between songs. At one point the main singer, Abdallah, apologized in French for not being able to communicate with us. He asked if we understood French, and the funny thing is that when a good percent of the audience yelled back "Oui!" he didn't really say anything. Maybe he was expecting us to say "Non!" Then near the end, the other singer (the one who kept saying "S'okay?") said in French that they were about to play a good song for dancing, so anyone who wanted to dance should feel free. A bunch of people on the main floor did dance. We were up in the balcony first row, so we did not. (By the way, I do not recommend row AA in the balcony in Memorial Hall. You have to sit all the way forward in your seat to see over the railing. It was fine, but a seat that allows you to sit back in your chair and still see the stage would be finer.)

Anyway it was a terrific show, one we were lucky to see. Georg had had tickets to see them over a year ago, then they had to cancel because of scheduling conflicts. Really glad they finally came to this area.