Hey did anyone else catch Rachid Taha last night on the Blacksheep. Sweet merciful god what a good show, This was the sleeper hit of the festival so far. Not only was his band off the hook, I can only best described as a mix of spanish/middle eastern dance rock with elements of groove and metal, especially that bass player.
The crowd at points was a seething mass of energy which was amazing to see on a Wednesday night at Bluesfest. Rachid's stage presence was a show within itself, doing everything from crowd surfing, to chain smoking, to talking about drugs, love and the war He kinda reminded me of a an Arabic cross between Keith Richards and Micheal Franti, but in a much more honest way. He closed the set with his trademark Arabic version of "Rock the Casbah" and if you were earshot of this last night, you know what a magical moment it was.
Thank you Rachid Taha for reminding me why I love Bluesfest, it the shit you don't know about that always ends up blowing your mind.