Nopp - Ears

On Thursday night, we went to a bar/restaurant highly recommended by the guide books. it was a more tranquil scene than expected but the music was good and I met some very interesting people (all of whom I spoke to in French. after a drink or two, the language somehow gets easier.) i spent a good amount of time talking to a guy named suleiman, but who went by jules. he was the musical director of the bar and asked if i knew any senegalese music. i admitted that i had only ever heard of akon, but listened to a lot of orchestra baobab while studying. orchestra baobab is one of the most famous acts to ever come out of senegal. they play a very much cuban-influenced afro music. jeff kay gave me a CD of them a few years ago and since then i ve listened to it many times, particularly while studying (it's got a good rhythm and i can't understand the wolof words so it doesn't distract.) it turns out that jules is a tour manager for orchestra baobab and told me that they'd be playing their last show before going on a world tour at the same spot on saturday night. he gave me his number and email and told me to contact him if we wanted to come and he'd reserve us a table without cover. on saturday night, we had a big table for ten, a little far to the back but still had a good view. orchestra baobab played a great set, with the dance floor up front packed throughout the night. during the concert, jules came up to say hi and saw i'd been taking pictures. he asked if he could borrow my camera. with some hesitation, i handed it over to him. he went right up to the stage and started clicking, getting the band members to look straight into the camera and getting to angles, i as an audience member couldn't reach. here are a few of those photos. (not working will have them up