“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” - Benjamin Franklin
When MySpace announces a “secret show”, it’s hardly a secret. Bedouin Soundclash discovered this when they made one of the few non-campus stops on their current tour this past Sunday in Winnipeg. With doors opening at 7:15 and a lineup around the block by 6:00, it’s not hard to figure out why the “sold out” sign went up mere moments after the herd was let in.
Containing a mix of Rastafarians, Rude Boys and MySpace junkies, the packed house had a pleasant feeling of diversity within it’s walls. This diversity transformed into a very lively and open-minded crowd. The opening act was 27 year-old Zaki Ibrahim who currently resides in Toronto but is originally from South Africa. Zaki (who also sang background vocals during Bedouin Soundclash’s set) hit the stage to cautious applause from a crowd that clearly had no idea what they were about to experience. Using a mix of jazz, soul, hip-hop and a little beat boxing thrown in for good measure, Zaki quite literally blew the roof off of the place. Her sheer talent is unmatched by many of the female artists in today’s spotlight and her modest personality combined with her fantastic stage presence had the onlookers wide-eyed in pure astonishment. To try to put Ibrahim’s performance into words is almost a disservice. While I picked up her EP and haven’t stopped listening to it since, it doesn’t even come close to watching this girl wail live. If you have the opportunity to catch her coming through your city, heed my advice and don’t miss this one. In a year full of them, I consider seeing Zaki Ibrahim perform to be this year’s greatest surprise, hands-down.
Sandwiched in the middle of a three-act show were local Winnipeg boys, The Afterbeat. The high turn-over, ska-punk outfit did what they do best: get everyone pumped up. With several shout outs to Bedouin Soundclash and a fast-paced performance, The Afterbeat made sure to keep everyone interested before the main event. While they might not bring much that is new to the table (in terms of musicality), The Afterbeat’s addictive enthusiasm and adrenaline driving tunes were more than enough to keep even the smokers from stepping out for a puff.
Not to be outdone by their supporting acts, Bedouin Soudclash came on stage and immediately went into the anthem-like “Until We Burn in the Sun”. Lead vocalist/guitarist Jay Malinowski used a clever (and non-cheesy) echo effect to give the crowd a small sample of what to expect for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Malinowski often addressed the crowd in the form of comments and sing-alongs. Whether it was letting us know that “It’s already been two years since we’ve been here”, (of course garnering the random crowd member response: “two years too long!”); generating one of the most enjoyable and entertaining sing-alongs I’ve ever taken part in during “Money Worries” (upon which another crowd member, or possibly the same one, added his own counter melody that was quickly adopted, accepted and eventually expected by both the band and the crowd); or revealing, much to everyone’s amusement, “I used to think that Japan had the quietest [most polite] fans in between songs, clearly I was wrong. The most polite fans in the world are actually hiding right here in Winnipeg!” Needless to say, the “politeness” seemed to dissipate shortly after that.
Playing a mix of songs from all three of their records, the closer (pre-encore) was their mega-hit off of 2005’s Sounding A Mosaic, “When the Night Feels My Song”. The boys transitioned into the song covering “In the Still of the Night”, one of many covers played throughout the evening including “Fever”, The Clash’s “Rudy Can’t Fail” and The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”. Even amongst all the fanfare of the covers and the singles (“Walls Fall Down” was a definite fan-favorite), there was one song that completed my night: “Hush”. The traditional Negro spiritual hymn was even more amazing live than it has been the few hundred times I’ve heard it through my speakers. It actually gave me shivers. Yes, really.
Bedouin Soundclash is a band that has consistently evolved through their six year existence. They don’t leave anything in the studio as their live show is even better than their impressive recordings. These guys understand that a strong performance should be built around strong music and they excel at this in spades. If every so-called musician had half the entertainment value of Bedouin Soundclash, live concerts would have a higher stock market value than Apple. The ironic part? This show was free. I guess some people really do still care about the music. Go see these guys and dance your heart out like my “RastaRudeSpace” companions and I did. A better time to be had? There isn’t one.
