Moh! Kayoute at the Spiegeltent
Beautifully relaxed and laidback
Ah, such sweet pleasure to see the return of the Adnams Spiegeltent to Norwich. That hazy, dazy, sweaty, multicoloured tent of dreams is an amazing addition to our fine city each year, and it's a treat to be inside, with a sold out crowd of excited festival goers, awaiting the arrival onstage of one Moh! Kouyate and his band. Known as the 'Hendrix of Africa', he's known for combining the traditional Guinean Mandingo style of oral storytelling and songs through music with Western pop, country and folk influences, taken from his travels in Europe and the States.
The audience tonight is pumped, and it warms my cockles to see 70 year old couples seriously getting down alongside young whippersnappers, all excited that it's warm and fun and we're in the city we love, all together. Lovely.
Moh and his band are beset by technical difficulties for the first half of the show. He's unhappy with the sound onstage and seems concerned that we can't hear him well enough - bearing in mind I'm right at the front throughout the gig I don't notice any issues myself, although there is the usual incessant chatting towards the back, but it's a shame that Moh can't quite let go and enjoy himself because of this. His band are all talented, the bass player in particular is a real showman, and they not only play well together but obviously start to really have fun together halfway through the set onwards.
Musically it's warm, enveloping and varied. The style changes with almost every minute, moving from country-style rhythms to almost unhinged jazz numbers to cyclical funk jams, and this really maintains my attention throughout. Moh is unshowy and plays his cherry red guitar extremely well, his voice is smooth and tender. I wouldn't go so far as to say he compares to Hendrix (who can, after all?) but some of his runs and solos are highly impressive. It's all beautifully relaxed and laidback, and the audience are fully into it, dancing from the get go and by the end fully enthusiastic.
The last song of the set, an hour and half after beginning, is a 10 minute extended piece allowing the drummer a funky assed solo as well as Moh finally really letting loose entirely and giving us some proper heat from his strings. Despite calls for more, curfew has been reached at 11:30 and we pour out into the balmy evening, where fellow Norwichians are drinking, hanging out, scoffing pizza and just being happy. What a night. Thanks Spiegelly Wiegelly, we love you.
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