Tinariwen 28/7/10

I have seen Tinariwen fairly regularly over the last few years so I was in two minds about going. However last time Ibrahim had been ill and the lead role was shared reasonably equally between three of this music collective. This gig turned out to be the exact opposite. Basically Ibrahim took the lead throughout except for the first track of the encore which he ducked out of. There were two percussionists, a bassist, a rhythm guitarist and one male and one female backing vocalists and all were familiar personnel. They played without a support came on prompt at 7:30 and rolled out the groove for an hour and a half. It was good to hear it again. It rolls over you and envelops you and takes you to a place that is just them and damn it if it doesn't remind you of the desert. 'Imadiwan' as second track of the encore was the highlight - they had built up a head of steam by then. The encore was enlivened by a tuareg supporter who got up on stage to dance holding their flag. It took security some time to react and yet when they did it was of course with inappropriate force. The band didn't seem to mind.