rokia traore live

another star from mali in west africa
i did see her live back in 2001 at my first womadelaide
she performed on a side stage in the middle of the afternoon
i.e. not exactly headline status but even then there was something about her
skip forward to april 2004 and this dvd captures her in concert
in front of a large audience at la cigale in paris
she comes on stage in her bare feet
with her acoustic guitar and slightly nervously i think
performs a tune called kele mandi
a very gentle number with some sublime guitar playing
her beauty is striking - she radiates it in spades
i hope this is not an insult to her, him or anyone else
she reminds me of a female version of george gregan
but with a guitar in her hand and a song or 2 in her heart
she is drop dead gorgeous and seems equally loved and adored
by men and women alike judging by the audience reaction
and the mix of genders i have shown this dvd to
the second tune is called sara
and she is joined on stage by the full band
2 men on traditional n'goni (lute) instruments
swinging away at stage left creating a unique string sound
a 3 member percussion section also on various traditional instruments
mr white boy on bass looking very comfortable
and an equally beautiful backup singer
they all look at ease with the music and each other
hard to believe that such a lineup can produce music of such complexity
but that is always what has struck me about african music
they make it look so easy when in fact it is all but that
at least for those amongst us that lack the genes
so can only look and listen in wonder at how it is done
the third tune called dianguina features the talking drum
and rokia now free of her guitar
she now gives us all a lesson in traditional african dance
body-twirling, arm-swinging, leg-splaying, head-tossing, bare-footing
with mesmerising effect to the infectious music
she breaks into a dialogue french at the end of this tune
which i suspect is quite political as i hear the word mali spoken several times
and she does appear to be in serious mode while this goes on
back on the guitar for m'bifo
which is one of the standout tracks on her last album
featuring beautiful vocal harmonies
one of these days i'm going to watch this concert
with the subtitles turned on just to also get the lyrical dimension
but in a way i don't want to do that
just take it as it is - a visual and musical treasure