Big Crux

Tinariwen. Colston Hall.

Fuck me. Gotta admit Tinariwen are pushing it a bit now. Loved em for years & then …. & then …. & then …. AND THEN THE FUCKERS ONLY WENT AND JAMMED WITH FUCKING BONO. FUCKING FUCKING BONO FFS.

Robert Plant’s one thing. TV On The Radio’s another. I can cope with Tinariwen playing with both them, no probs. (Although obvsly I’d rather they just played with themselves).

But BONO? Crap in a bucket. Crap in a fucking bucket. There’s Youtube footage of it. It’s painful. Really painful. Not gonna embed it. If you must watch it go here. But I warn you, you’ll hate it.

Rather than that I suggest you try this youtube video instead. Press play & read on….

So Tinariwen played Bristol tonight. I’ve seen them before. They rock live. Low slung rambling refrains seemingly never-ending, speaking to you on an elemental level. “Dessert blues” the western press like to pigeonhole it. Dessert blues my arse. Talk about trying to make their sound sound romantic. Their sound sounds romantic enough on it’s own without you, you Western press you, making up dodgy monikers for it, making it less significant than it is.

Tinariwen were minus the lead singer, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, caught up in the ructions in his homeland, (he chose to stay & protect his fam from who knows what rather than swan off round the West with his pals) but I was pretty confident that this was gonna be a good night.

Also, despite the last album they released being a noticeably more slow burn affair than their previous releases & in my opinion not quite so good I was still sure it was gonna be a good night.

And also, even despite the fact that the gig was at a venue not known as a great place to see loud live music I was sure it was gonna be a good night.

And you know what? If I were judging on music alone it was a good night. Hardly noticed the slower pace of the music. They kept the pace flowing nicely, lots of trademark jams, mixed up the old & the new, indeed, they rattled through a lot of it. It didn’t matter that Ibrahim wasn’t here. Constant calls of “Ça va” were traded back & forth, audience to band & vice versa. Usually greeted with laughter. There was a bit too much audience clapping for my liking. Actually way too much clapping. Not keen on audience clapping. “Express your involvement with the music through dance”, I say, “And lemme hear the music, please”.

I’ve noticed that through the years (have seen them 4 times now in just over 10 years) their audience has been getting much older & much more upper middle class. They’re targeting the “beardy” world music fans now, not so much the “hipster” world music fans who are all priced out of the market with tickets being over £20. It’s a real shame, if they halved the ticket price & brought it more in line with the cost of every other show I go to they could have more than doubled the audience I’m sure. It was a pretty feeble turnout, gotta be honest.

If I wasn’t feeling overcharged enough already there was no support. Crazy. There are so many really appropriate bands in Bristol would’ve given their right arm to support Tinariwen tonight. The only thing I can think of is they wanted to pocket all the ticket money themselves. Or rather their management did. No band plays without a support. It’s not the done thing. This also massively irked me because no one announced, via twitter, website, facebook, on the tickets or wherever that there was no support. So as I never get to a gig bang on doors opening I missed the start of their set.

So, £20 for a one hour long gig. It’s not enough. It’s the most expensive gig ticket I’ve bought for years & I expected more. They’ve priced me out of their market. Hopefully their management will have a serious sit down & discuss what the fuck they think they’re playing at. They’re still a bewilderingly, bewitching band live. I’m sure the band want to take their music to as big an audience as possible & not stitch up the punters. It’s a shame I’m left with a nasty taste in my mouth & it’s nothing to do with Tinariwen themselves. The band still spill their guts for us & produce the most magical, wonderful, easy to dance to sound imaginable.

I swear I never thought I’d see the day when I’d wished a band had played at the O2 rather than another venue. But that day came today.

Rant. Over.

Wonderfully Mad Week Of Shows Coming Up

Sharks Monday, Snuff Wednesday, Flipper Thursday, Helmet Friday & culminating in the stupendous Tuareg bluesmen Tinariwen Saturday. (See pic above - bloody hope they bring the camel this time. They didn’t last time I saw them play Briz. Was gutted).

Especially looking forward to none in particular / all altogether. Gonna be siiiiiiiick & def will make up for january. (I bear grudges bad, me). 

Bit bummed out that I came off my fixie earlier today & took a shedload of skin off my elbow. Of course I’m dead manly so it doesn’t hurt at all but it might do if some yoof get’s squirted out of a moshpit & clatters into my arm. Which invariably happens at least once at every show I goes too.

Fuck it though. Live life dangerously (recklessly) is my motto.

Bought 4 Tickets Yesterday….

….For Broken Teeth, Tinariwen, Daedelus & Flipper.

That’s fucking me all over that is, a bit powerviolence, a bit saharan dessert blues, a bit whack electronica & a bit wigged out noise rock.

Happen after I’ve been to em all I’ll letcha all know which I enjoyed most. If i were a betting man I’d say smart money’s on the toss of a coin.