Tinariwen : Water Is Life

Schlepped off to see this week's color-supplement favorites Tinariwen down in Guildford on Monday.

from Wiki . . .

Tinariwen (Tamashek for "empty places") is a musical band formed in 1982 in Moammar al-Qadhafi's camps of Tuareg rebels. They play in the Tishoumaren ("music of the unemployed") style, and sing mostly in the French and Tamashek languages. Their songs mostly concerning independence for their people from the government of Mali. They are said to be the first Tuareg band to use electric guitars.

Bottom line, these guys have probably have fired a shot or two in anger.

With hindsight it would have been better to forgoe the overpriced Stella and Cornish Pastie that was available at ridiculously rammed Waterloo Station (ADB being a strictly Zone 1 animal these days) for the delights of the Eletric Theatre's really rather nice restaurant area (the organic ciabatta burgers looked quite nice and the Rioja was decently priced) but hey . . . it's a gig right?

Tbh they could do with ratcheting up the tempo if you ask me (I know it's pretty boring in the desert but c'mon guys) and the rather luvvy intro by a terribly earnest and well meaning lady ("I first saw Tinariwen at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2005" etc) didn't exactly stray into "Kick Out The Jams Motherfuckers!" territory, but they basically rocked.

Three prizes have to be awarded.

First, "Coolest Bass player On The Planet"


Second, "Coolest T-Shirt Available For £10 and Under"



Finally an honourable mention in the "Shoot The Tour Manager" catagory Check the gigs out . . . London this Friday then up to Middlesbrough! Brighton on May 1 then Gateshead then Bristol on consecutive nights . . . DOH!

But, please check them out if they're in your area.


MARCH 2007
20 : UK, Manchester - Bridgewater Hall
22 : UK, Dartington - Dartington Hall
23 : UK, London - Barbican
24 : UK, Middlesbrough - Winterfest
26 : UK, Dundee - Bonar Hall
27 : UK, Inverness - Ironworks
28 : UK, Langholme - Buccleugh Centre
29 : UK, Glasgow - The Arches
30 : UK, Edinburgh - Queen's Hall
31 : UK, Aberdeen - Lemon Tree

APRIL 2007
02 : HOLLAND, Amsterdam - Melkweg
04 : FRANCE, Lille / Tourcoing - Le Grand Mix
05 : FRANCE, Paris - La Maroquinerie
06 : FRANCE, Marmande - Festival Garorock
07 : FRANCE, Paris - Le Bataclan (with Robert Plant)
08 : FRANCE, Nancy - L’Autre Canal
12 : ITALY, Torino - Cavallerizza Reale
14 : FRANCE, Lyon - Le Kao
17 : FRANCE, Stans - Festival Stanser Musiktage
18 : FRANCE, Bourges - Printemps de Bourges
19 : FRANCE, Evreux - L'Abordage
20 : FRANCE, Nantes - L'Olympic
21 : FRANCE, Brest - Le Vauban
25 : FRANCE, Angers - Le Chabada
26 : FRANCE, Annemasse - Chateau Rouge
27 : FRANCE, Strasbourg - Festival Artefact
28 : FRANCE, Montpellier - Victoire 2
29 : FRANCE, Perpignan - El Mediator

MAY 2007
01 : UK, Brighton - Komedia
02 : UK, Gateshead - Sage Centre
03 : UK, Bristol - Trinity / Fiddlers
04 : UK, Leicester - De Montfort Hall
05 : UK, Liverpool - Philharmonic
06 : UK, Coventry - Warwick Arts Centre
08 : BELGIUM, Brussels - Festival Les Nuits Botanniques
http://rapidshare.com/files/22003831/Tinariwen.rar.html