The first night was what really got me to the festival this year. The first act I saw was Etran Finatawa, a Toureg group from Niger. They were really quite an amazing act. Its a guitar style unlike most others. While you may not be able to find their cds in your local Best Buy, they are worth checking out.
After Etran Finatawa, I stayed put for the one act I knew I could not miss. Vieux Farka Touré. Vieux is the son of the late Ali Farka Toure, who played a mean blues guitar. Vieux put on an amazing show. From blues to reggae pieces he and his band were solid and fun. His only album out is fantastic and a portion of the proceeds go to fighting malaria in Mali, so do yourself and the malians a favor and go pick up a copy.
Next I went and caught Reelroad, a post-folk-rock band from Russia. I won't say yoo much hereabout them since I will return to them when I wright about night 2 of Lotus fest. Let me just say, I was unimpressed with the crowd. It was a noisy crowd that made hearing the band difficult. Partially because this show was held in a bar that was half full of regular patrons and not people there for Lotus fest.
After Reelroad I headed over to another show and saw Sogbety Diomande’s West African Drum & Dance Company. The group is from the Ivory Coast and features stilt dancers. These are the traditional medium the Ivorians used to communicate with their dead. It was a great performance, and again, if you get the chance to see stilt dancers from Africa, do not pass it up. (No picture here since I was in the balcony.)
I closed out the night with Funkadesi, a chicago based funk fusion band. The part of the set I caught was full of some great Indian based funk. But the lost me when they melded in Sweet Home Alabama. I can understad what they are trying to do and appreciate that, its just not my schtick.
All in all, it was fantastic, although what really made it was the African musicians. They were just amazing. What's more is they seemed to attract this middle aged white guy in drawstring pants that kept getting on stage to dance. He was like the father of your one friends in high school who was hitting 50 but knew he was cool and would make your night if he hung out with you and your friends. Yeah, that guy.
Next I went and caught Reelroad, a post-folk-rock band from Russia. I won't say yoo much hereabout them since I will return to them when I wright about night 2 of Lotus fest. Let me just say, I was unimpressed with the crowd. It was a noisy crowd that made hearing the band difficult. Partially because this show was held in a bar that was half full of regular patrons and not people there for Lotus fest.
After Reelroad I headed over to another show and saw Sogbety Diomande’s West African Drum & Dance Company. The group is from the Ivory Coast and features stilt dancers. These are the traditional medium the Ivorians used to communicate with their dead. It was a great performance, and again, if you get the chance to see stilt dancers from Africa, do not pass it up. (No picture here since I was in the balcony.)I closed out the night with Funkadesi, a chicago based funk fusion band. The part of the set I caught was full of some great Indian based funk. But the lost me when they melded in Sweet Home Alabama. I can understad what they are trying to do and appreciate that, its just not my schtick.
All in all, it was fantastic, although what really made it was the African musicians. They were just amazing. What's more is they seemed to attract this middle aged white guy in drawstring pants that kept getting on stage to dance. He was like the father of your one friends in high school who was hitting 50 but knew he was cool and would make your night if he hung out with you and your friends. Yeah, that guy.
1 comment:
Sounds like an awesome experience! That's great that you finally got to go.
Hee, hee... I just thought of the "Music 101" skit from the freshman year ward talent show. Good times. And interesting music!!
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