Saturday, June 13, 2009

UPDATE: The Orb

You may have already heard the rumor that The Orb has cancelled their entire 28 day North American tour. This is indeed true. However, we have pulled some strings and are proud to announce that Techno-Tribal will be featuring the EXCLUSIVE North American summer DJ appearance by The Orb's Alex Paterson.

That's right -- the only place to hear The Orb this summer is at the Legendary Techno-Tribal Community Dance!

Friday Night Was A Huge Success!

Here are some Friday night photos by inflatabill

Thursday, June 11, 2009

WHY I WENT TO PARIS TO SEE K'NAAN...

June 10, 2009

Don't tell the wife, but I was secretly plotting the whole time: Oh, you want to honeymoon in Paris? Why not?

Surprise: K'naan is playing while we're in Paris? Why not?

Sing: Screamin' Jay Hawkin's version of "I Love Paris" in the shower, in the car, on the plane.

Actually, I had no idea the Somalian rapper would be crack a lackin' through the City of Light. So imagine my bright eyes when I picked up Pariscope and saw the listing - K'naan at the Alhambra (quite possibly the same joint where Duke recorded "Duke Ellington at the Alhambra" in 1958).

Man, what a freaking amazing show. With maybe 200 adoring (mostly white) fans sitting in his lap, K'naan tore through "T.I.A" (peppered with a sample of Bob Marley's "Simmer Down"), invited French rapper Oxmo Puccino on stage for a spell and reigned in Paris time for a stirring trip through "Fatima," the childhood remembrance of a girlfriend who disappeared one day.

But the highlight had to be the original version of "Somalia" - the one he played for his family before recording a kinder, gentler version for the new album "Troubadour" (released in February, landing at #32 on Billboard charts).

"It was haunting and maybe a little too much to put on the album," he told the crowd.

Stripped down and acoustic on stage, the original poem to his homeland underscores a few lines you won't hear on "Troubadour": "Somalia...they say since you know how to kill, you should learn to die...."

Before he plays two shows this weekend at Harmony Festival (11 p.m. Friday @ Techno-Tribal and 5:45 p.m. @ Saturday on the main stage), here's a quick tease: