Tinariwen 5/5/2014

There was an unusual support in the shape of a talk about the Tuareg situation based around quotations of their poetry. It was actually more interesting than it sounds and was a better lead in to the desert groove that some local support act. Last time I saw Tinariwen, Ibrahim took most of the lead guitar and vocal - this time it was just four songs from him and the rest were shared between Abdullah and Elaga. Ibrahim played the most complex rhythms, Abdullah grooves like no-one else and Elaga had slightly more of a Western nuance to his Tuareg licks. There were six of them this time with an additional guitarist, drummer and bassist supporting whichever of the three was on lead duty. When the ecore came round after about an hour and a quarter, Abdullah came out solo and showed his virtuoso guitar skills for the first part of the song with a spanish-style intro that was both subtle and powerful. Tinariwen come in many formats and with different vocalists/guitarists featured but you always leave with sand under your fingernails and dry desert air in your throat.