Last year (haha!) I wrote a couple of posts about Ali Bahar and his band The Brothers, and this is obviously a continuation of that series.The reason I’m writing this is because I went to see them live on New Years Eve at the Marina Club and it was simply AMAZING!
And this is from a person who has seen Metallica, Linkin Park (twice),Red Hot Chili Peppers (twice again), Slipknot (twice), Foo Fighters, Incubus (twice) amongst many
The last time I saw the Brothers live was in 2000 when I got their autographs (yes I was that big of a fan then and still am!) and they were alright
But New Years was way much better, the atmosphere was excellent and was so reminisent to the many gigs I went during my studying days in the UK.
Cold, dark, huge speakers and filled with the smell of beer..
Ali Bahar himself was well..’out’, when asked by the organizers to do the new year countdown he started off at “One!” and got confused when Khalid Al-Thawadi started teasing him by shouting random numbers and Ali just carried on after him. The organizers were not impressed when he mucked it up for them. True (but most unintential) Punk Rock at its best!
ZERO! Welcoming the new year..
Anyways let’s get to what’s important.. The music
Their three hour set (2 hours and an hour long encore) was intoxicating, mixing their classics with their latest songs, Santana and Bob Marley covers and some unreleased stuff.
Another highlight of the night was Khalid Al-Thawadi and his guitar playing, it was simply astonishing, power chords and solos galore, throwing (some) rock god poses and a cheeky rendition of Bashar ya Bashar
But what impressed me the most is the whole band with their great experience of more than 10 years playing with each other (this current line-up anyways, the Brothers have been around since the late 70’s early 80’s), they seem as if they communicate by telepathy, yes I know they rehearse before shows but there was a naturalness of their playing which just amazed me..
For more pics from the gig click the flickr sidebar or here
Yacoob, if Ali Bahar is the “The Masterclass in Bahraini Music”, where does that put Ajras? where does that put Salman Zaiman and the others?
Very valid question my dear friend,,
Salman Zaiman’s contribution to Bahraini music is great, and Ajras did help promote the simplicity,sweetness and innocence of Bahraini music but on the other hand, the band didn’t last long for different reasons and most people will only remember him for “يا بو الفعايل يا ولد”
Ali Bahar, after nearly 30 years is still going strong and has faced so many problems, setbacks and not forgetting being neglected by the Bahrain and GCC media for such a long time.
The Brothers did something nobody did before, they created a genre which inspired and spawned successful (and unsuccessful) bands around the Arab World. You can still turn on the radio and listen to a song and know it is Ali Bahar although you’ve never heard it before.
Even though Khalid Al-Shaikh, an artist and composer I admire a lot, created a sound that was recognizably his, and is by far more well known and respected in the Arab World, yet his music is ‘not so Bahraini’ as Ali Bahar’s..