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Tinariwen @ Temple Bar, 11/3/07
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LAist, Tinariwen @ Temple Bar, 11/3/07 >>
by Thomas Dorn
There are many different ways you could have heard of Tinariwen by now - even if you don't keep up with world music, you could have heard Henry Rollins play them on Indie 103.1, or read that they opened for The Rolling Stones, or heard that Thom Yorke was inspired by one of their guitar riffs while writing 'The Clock' on Eraser. Not your usual buzz band, Tinariwen are part of a nomadic desert tribe called the Taureg in Mali, whose land was seized in the early 1900s during the French invasion of the Sahara. What Wikipedia says: The Taureg way of life was broken up and restricted; their territory was divided to form the countries of Niger, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Burkina Faso. In the 1960s, there was a Taureg uprising against the governments of Mali and Niger, in which members of Tinariwen were rebel fighters. The fighting continued until the early 90s, when peace agreements created a lull in the turmoil, however outbreaks have continued to break out randomly, and severe droughts have driven the Taureg into the cities, to wander unemployed.
Tinariwen mixed their traditional music with rock n' roll heard from tapes passed around their homeland. They started playing electric guitars (actually starting with homemade versions, out of a can and bike wire - now that is punk rock), and wrote original songs in Tamashek about the rebellion and the hard life of the Taureg in the desert. They have a new album out and are touring the states now, after playing with both The Stones and Robert Plant in Europe, so I was excited to get an invite to see them at Temple Bar last Saturday.
The place was packed and after a long crowded wait, I have to say it was kind of a trip to see them walk up onstage in their traditional garb, mysterious and serious as their expressions in the press photos. Because of this, I never imagined that once they started playing, the band would start pulling face covers down and beaming at the crowd. One member danced happily during some of the songs (in a kind of dance I've never seen), and the two guitarists and bassist kept coming up to the front and basically rocking out to the cheering crowd. The bassist even put his hands to his ears for us to yell louder. It was really fun to see these guys enjoying themselves, especially knowing their history and what they've been through. The music alternates between chugging, blues & classic rock-influenced grooves and upbeat, danceable drumming. I wasn't sure it would hold my interest for an entire set, but it easily did. My only disappointment was that Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, the frontman in the photos with the wild hair (who makes it a point not to wear the usual head covering), was missing this time, possibly due to illness. Although I have read in two reviews that Ibrahim never smiles, which is another reason I expected stone faces. The rest of the band were very charismatic though. After almost every song, one of the guitarists held out his hands, smiled big, and said "Thank you so much-ess!!" I cracked up every time. He also managed a heavily accented, "I am happy tonight. Are you?" to which the crowd cheered back.
Their album Aman Iman is very good, with its murky electric guitar and guttural, bluesy vocals, sometimes chanting with the whole group like in "Cler Achel" or muttering very blues-like on "Ikyadar Dim". I am pretty impressed. Check them out on their myspace or Virb profiles. 11/05/07 >> go there
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