Apr 4, 2014

8pm. PRESENTED BY STUART'S, OHIO UNIVERSITY AFRICAN STUDIES, and OHIO UNIVERSITY PERFORMING ARTS. THE MELODIC WILL OPEN THE SHOW. How do you compress a thirty-year epic into a few pages Tinariwen, whose back-story has variously been described as -the most compelling of any band- Songlines, -the most rocknroll of them all The Irish Times, hard-bitten Slate.com and dramatic The Independent, are both a dream and a nightmare for any aspiring music writer a dream because the most superficial -headlines- of their tale rebellion, guns and guitars, desert nomads, Ghadaffi, the real Saharan blues are like easy nuggets of gold to thrill-seeking journalists and literary prospectors. And a nightmare, because none of these clichs really do the band justice or even begin to describe who they are, what they feel or the music they play. The following comprises only the chapter headings, the main way markers of the long road the group have travelled from the wild empty places of the southern Sahara desert to the concert stages of the world. In 1991, Ibrahim and his friends had no doubt that they were musicians first and foremost. They had become soldiers only out of necessity, for a brief and painful period. It was all over in a flicker. Floor $25 adv $30 door Balcony $20 adv $25 door Box Seats $35 adv $40 door

Arts/Music/Film