Odd week... Three shows I wanted to see, all at Johnny Brenda's, which is conveniently located in my neighborhood.
Group Doueh are a guitar-driven band from the Western Sahara. I've been a fan of theirs for a few years now. I was pleasantly surprised to discover they would be playing at JB's on 4th of July weekend. I attended a BBQ in the Great Northeast, then hopped a ride over to the show.
Johnny Brenda's was packed to the gills. I can't say I expected that.
Group Doeuh put on a good show. The band was minimal - main guy on guitar, a keyboardist, and three women on percussion, one of whom doubled as their vocalist. M. Doueh had an immaculate sense of timing as a rhythm guitarist, and his leads stretched into Zappa/Hendrix territory, with a bit of Garcia randomness thrown in.
There were some chaotic moments, but once that band locked into a groove, they sure could ride it. (I'm told that their usual drummer, Doueh's son, could not make the tour as his high school graduation was impending.)
The crowd, on the other hand... Utterly bizarre...
There was such an extreme amount of reverence in the room. It reminded me of the crowds who went to see the dearly departed Grateful Dead in 1994 and 1995, in that what was going on onstage didn't matter so long as the performers were present ON the stage. There were, in fact, two separate occasions where Group Doueh tuned for 25-30 seconds, and at completion of said tuning, the crowd went nuts as if they had just played a great song.
I don't wish to diminish the good show that Group Doueh put on, but man, can we treat these folks like any other band? They've certainly got the chops and songs to stand up against anybody on the club circuit.
Next in the series: Khaira Arby...
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