Tinariwen @ Norwich Arts Centre
Something different without a doubt
Tinariwen are a Malian desert blues group. There were six of them who graced the Arts Centre stage last night. Tinariwen’s story is very impressive. They formed way back in 1979 in Algeria as refugees and it wasn’t until the 1990’s when they could return to their place of origin in Mali. So without a doubt it was going to be something very special and unusual to see whether good or bad.
There was an impressive sized audience waiting in anticipation for Tinariwen to enter the Arts Centre stage. When they came on they got a great reception and kicked into their first track. This first song didn’t quite get the crowd going as it was a more of a mediocre sort of sound, not really as uplifting as we wanted. They immediately changed this round and played a joyous second track which got us all clapping along and thoroughly nodding our heads. What they were playing was amazing and it was really impressive to see how just a few people could create such a soothing and inventive sound. They were all very talented musicians as well. Multiple times they would switch from just backing vocals to then going on to play the guitar and sing lead vocals. Both the bass player and drummer sure knew how to play as well and make it look like what they were playing was just a walk in the park.
Seeing a band like this playing live is quite a special experience. You can see all of the in’s and out’s of how they manage to produce such a good overall sound; it’s like taking apart a car or a computer - you can see how it works and the different parts that when put together make it run. What made the gig more authentic was the their traditional clothing which really intrigued the audience, well certainly me, and made it that little bit more special. It was also great to see the use of traditional African instruments played with such expertise while still being able to use the more common guitar to such good effect as well.
At times Tinariwen really swept us all away when they took it louder and made it a bit more jagged and rough around the edges, and this was their one big downfall. They never took it quite loud enough for us and they were so in line; a good thing without a doubt, but if they had just made it a bit more rough throughout I think it would have made it better and more authentic. If they did both these things then it would of really been something truly incredible.
They played around a 90 minute set and although it seemed long I could of happily listened to more, especially as the last song was by far the best as they made it louder and drew the song out. Sometimes it would seem as though the songs ended rather abruptly stringing the songs out for longer would have really allowed both them and us to get into the groove of things. One of the band members, I’m afraid I do not know his name, really got the crowd going and smiling with his eccentric dance moves and his continuous smile. You could tell they were all having a good time and just enjoying playing their music to us which is always nice to see.
So in conclusion Tinariwen were great, a gig that I won’t forget and something that I am unlikely to ever see again. It was something different without a doubt and they played to perfection, but at times they just needed to take it a tad louder, roughen it up and play for longer, but that takes nothing away from their brilliant performance.
