mamadou diabate bobby singh jeff lang

womadelaide 2008 late saturday afternoon and a treat was had
mamadou diabate on a small stage in perfect conditions
had the crowd besotted including me sitting down the front
and that was without him being joined on stage
toumani diabate reminding us all how lucky we were
a rare ocassion to have the cousins playing together
and totally special it was to cap an extraordinary show
so the opportunity to see mamadou again so soon was welcomed
though sitting at the end of a very long travelling day
an early morning flight meaning the day started at 1:30am local time
the temptation to sleep was great but less so than seeing this performance
and so it was i walked into an relatively uncrowded basement club
a few minutes later and the big man is on stage seated with his kora
going through the familiar tuning process that had the crowd confused
some clearly seeing this as part of the performance
until the volume was cranked up and off he went
i think my musical pulse is tuned to the same key as a kora
an instant connection and total focus on the sound coming forth
unlike anything else except the obvious harp-like ringing sounds
but you don't get african rhythms, feel and groove with harps
neither in my limited experience do you get 3 instruments in one
a bass line underneath holding it all together
a high-pitched melody providing a tune to lock in to
and then all sorts of other random noises being made
staggering that one person and one instrument can provide so much
but best to avoid the marvel of the technicalities of it all
and just be totally swept up in the granduer of the performance
i couldn't help but think it just does not get better than this
so happy to see the man at home in a amall club environment
with a crowd completely besotted with each tune receiving rapturous applause
me again thanking my lucky stars that i was at this place at this time
and to wrap it all up such a humble, gentle, gracious man
he in turn thanking the audience for having him to play
and assuring us we would be very happy with the next part of the show
after a break jeff lang and bobby singh took to the stage
mr lang a local favourite and well regarded master guitarist
me - well - can't recall the last time i had seen him (or not)
bobby singh on tabla which is a favourite instrument of mine
there is no doubt jeff lang possesses an incredible talent
his mastery of steel and acoustic guitar there to be seen and heard
a blues based sound, a nod to neil young and a willingness to sing
combined with the tabler sound making for a unique experience
but i think tonight he had inadvertently been overshadowed
the opening act still fresh in my mind and high in my thoughts
so when mamadou diabate came back on stage it was a relief
and the 3 of them then combined brilliantly visually and aurally
tonight's performance a celebration of the album they have recorded
much happiness on stage as the musicians clearly revelled in the moment
producing a sound that required eyes closed at times to appreciate it
a combination of quite diverse instruments and players
sounding and looking so natural together on stage
3 players on 3 instruments from 3 continents
proving once again the uniting power of music
an amazing night at the end of an amazing day
the first live show for the year
it's going to be a good one...