Bombino at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (08 October 2016)
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Niger’s internationally acclaimed Tuareg guitarist and singer/songwriter Bombino recently stopped by the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, playing some selections from his latest Azel album, available now on Partisan Records.
Local garage/power pop band Teenage Moods (Gordon on guitar & vocals, Taylor on drums, Julian on bass, Kyle on keyboards, and Eliot on guitars… although they currently lists “Nikki and Pork chop” on their roster).
According to singer Gordon, they have written a lot of songs… but “we don’t know [how to play] many of them,” after turning some requests from the audience.
After 40 minutes of their set, they realized that they had enough time for one more song, so they stretched out their set to 45 minutes with a song I think was called ‘Pop Song’.
As soon as Bombino and his full band took the stage at the Cedar Cultural Center, a flock of fans filled out the main dance floor, eagerly awaiting to hear Bombino play his distinctive guitar style.
If you didn’t know, Bombino (real name Omara Moctar) came from a troubled time in Niger, when there were the Tuareg people rebelled against the country in the early 90s. Niger, in fear of another rebellion, basically banned all guitars (which was seen as a symbol of rebellion). Bombino was one of the key musicians representing his people, stated, “I do not see my guitar as a gun but rather as a hammer with which to help build the house of the Tuareg people.” After two of Bombino’s fellow musicians were executed, Bombino was forced into exile from his beloved country.
The 2010 documentary Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion touch on the struggles of Niger’s largest city (Agadez) and featured Bombino as its subject. That’s about the same time that he was able to return to his home, and probably was the moment that made Bombino an international music icon.
In fact, many of today’s most popular musicians, like Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, were influenced by Bombino’s music.
With that long, rich history, the audience was made up with a big diverse group of some rare Tuareg fans, Nigerians, and some Algerians…. not the typical NPR-esque audience that the Cedar Cultural Center is known to bring in (although there were still plenty of NPR-ish fans in the audience!)
Bombino decided to play mostly from his new album Azel (Partisan Records), including the show starter and lead single ‘Akhar Zaman (This Moment)’.
Local garage/power pop band Teenage Moods (Gordon on guitar & vocals, Taylor on drums, Julian on bass, Kyle on keyboards, and Eliot on guitars… although they currently lists “Nikki and Pork chop” on their roster).
According to singer Gordon, they have written a lot of songs… but “we don’t know [how to play] many of them,” after turning some requests from the audience.
After 40 minutes of their set, they realized that they had enough time for one more song, so they stretched out their set to 45 minutes with a song I think was called ‘Pop Song’.
As soon as Bombino and his full band took the stage at the Cedar Cultural Center, a flock of fans filled out the main dance floor, eagerly awaiting to hear Bombino play his distinctive guitar style.
If you didn’t know, Bombino (real name Omara Moctar) came from a troubled time in Niger, when there were the Tuareg people rebelled against the country in the early 90s. Niger, in fear of another rebellion, basically banned all guitars (which was seen as a symbol of rebellion). Bombino was one of the key musicians representing his people, stated, “I do not see my guitar as a gun but rather as a hammer with which to help build the house of the Tuareg people.” After two of Bombino’s fellow musicians were executed, Bombino was forced into exile from his beloved country.
The 2010 documentary Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion touch on the struggles of Niger’s largest city (Agadez) and featured Bombino as its subject. That’s about the same time that he was able to return to his home, and probably was the moment that made Bombino an international music icon.
In fact, many of today’s most popular musicians, like Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, were influenced by Bombino’s music.
With that long, rich history, the audience was made up with a big diverse group of some rare Tuareg fans, Nigerians, and some Algerians…. not the typical NPR-esque audience that the Cedar Cultural Center is known to bring in (although there were still plenty of NPR-ish fans in the audience!)
Bombino decided to play mostly from his new album Azel (Partisan Records), including the show starter and lead single ‘Akhar Zaman (This Moment)’.
Bombino’s remaining tour dates:
10/14/16 Desert Daze
10/22/16 Ramblin’ Roots Festival
10/23/16 The Hague, Paard van Troje
10/25/16 Darmstadt, Centralstation
10/27/16 Monte Carlo, Grimaldi Forum
10/28/16 Amersfoort, Fluor
10/29/16 Ghent, Belgium Centrale
10/30/16 Rotterdam, Netherlands Bird
11/03/16 Rouen, France Le 106
11/05/16 Bourgoin Jallieu, France SMAC Les
10/22/16 Ramblin’ Roots Festival
10/23/16 The Hague, Paard van Troje
10/25/16 Darmstadt, Centralstation
10/27/16 Monte Carlo, Grimaldi Forum
10/28/16 Amersfoort, Fluor
10/29/16 Ghent, Belgium Centrale
10/30/16 Rotterdam, Netherlands Bird
11/03/16 Rouen, France Le 106
11/05/16 Bourgoin Jallieu, France SMAC Les
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Teenage Moods: Gordon |
Teenage Moods |
Teenage Moods Setlist |
Bombino |
Bombino |
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Bombino at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (08 October 2016) |
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