The Giza Club

The two Los Angeles dates were the last of the tour, unfortunately.

The show in Berkeley (San Francisco area) on February 22 was fantastic! I really enjoyed Hakim's very poppy set (that man has some good moves in him!), but as a huge Khaled fan, his show was what blew me away. His music is very powerful, and seeing him play live was a dream come true!

Interesting about the LA crowd; in SF it was a mostly Arabic and North African audience; I also saw several folks I recognized from the dance scene, which was great.

My only real complaint would be that the venue might not have been appropriate for the show. People wanted to be up and dancing, but the theater had stadium style seating. The promoter, Cheb i Sabbah, had to ask people to sit down several times during the show, or the fire marshal would shut it down. It would have been great to have a place with a general admission area for those who wanted to stand or dance. I am also glad I did not spring for the hundred dollar 'orchestra' seats...those were overrun by excited fans in no time at all! I admit that I am also spoiled...the last few bigger name Arabic artists who have come through SF (Rachid Taha, Natacha Atlas) have played smaller style rock clubs, my preference for any show.

A highlight of the show was Simon Shaheen's set. He came out and played violin with Khaled, then did an oud solo (featuring a speck of Batwani's Beek!). Before his solo, he spoke about the fact that the three featured artists were Egyptian, Algerian, and Palestinian. He said the music they were playing is about joy and celebration, concepts that are not usually associated with discussions about those countries. He told us that for that night, we had much joy and celebration through the Middle Eastern music. I am paraphrasing him here, obviously, and I hope I did his meaning justice.

Local singer MC Rai did a song with Khaled as well. I had seen his band play a few months ago, and was underwhelmed. ;-) But he did a really good job, so I might have to check them out again.

I am ready for their next tour! Those of you in the US who were not able to attend, or for whom the shows were not geographically viable...try not to miss Khaled next time he tours here. He is worth seeing and supporting.

*Zakiyya*
San Francisco, CA
www.zakiyya.com