Some Weekend Musics

This weekend was full of musical adventures.

Friday I went to hear "Balti," a famous Tunisian hip hop artist here in Tunis. He gave a concert that was attended by a really interesting group of people: lots of young boys (some under ten!) and teenagers as well as middle-aged men and the fathers and mothers of the younger boys. The show was complete with an opening act put on by a Tunisian break-dancing group, "Upper underground," and extensive sampling from some pretty old-school American hip hop and rap as well as some more recent stuff. The place got pretty crazy; full of smoke and the entire audience teetering (and rocking out) standing on the backs of their seats and on the arm rests. One man just behind me and my friends caught Balti's hat and lost his balance pulling four of five men down onto the ground with him. A good time, but I'm not sure I'd do it again...

Saturday I have my second Ma'luf lesson and was invited to join an "orchestra" rehearsal just as I was leaving. I obliged and joined 7 or 8 little kids who were seated in violin I and II sections in white lawn-chairs in the interior cour yard of the conservatory here in Sidi Bou Said. What did me play? An arrangement of "Angeline the Baker," the American fiddle tune (Appalachian I believe) for two violin sections and double base. Utterly bizarre. My Darbuka teacher walked pas as we were playing and joined in as well, bringing the strange factor up even further. It was great just to play with people no matter what we were doing; I hadn't realized the extent to which I was desperately missing that. I talked to the director afterwards and he invited me to return next weekend at 4:00—I'll be there. When prompted about "Angeline the Baker," he told me he did a "project on Arab and Appalachian music" what ever the heck that means! And traveled around the US giving some performances including one at the Kennedy center (if I understood his broken English correctly). This has got to be looked into; really cool stuff!

Sunday morning and early afternoon was spent perusing through the used clothes at the weekly souk in La Marsa with Colleen and Gabi and a good chat on the beach at La Cornice. The weather is getting to be fabulous. In the evening I went with my mom to one of the wedding parties for one of her colleagues 30 years ago with Tunis Air. I got to meet some of her friends, but basically sat there and just got to people watch. The music was great as well; a lot of Ma'luf-style styuff but with synthesized keyboard riffs meant to sound like kanuun and 'ud and drum-pad synthesized drum kit and darbuka right along side a violin and ney with pick-ups and a live darbuka. Strange and fasinating. We return tonight at 7:00 for another part of the wedding. I'm not totally sure what's going on all the time but it's nice just to people-watch.

That's all for now.

Just a heads-up, I will be on a Northern Excursion starting this coming monday (23rd) morning and returning on the evening of Sunday the 29th. Sweet! I am ready to mix up the routine a bit.