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MAMADOU AND THE LIBIDOR BAND AT LA CASA |
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Send us your review:
Describe the atmosphere and live music at a local pub, restaurant, festival, church or temple, club night.... inspire other people to check it out!
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Venue: The Casa
Style of Music: African, Senegalese, Spanish, Salsa
Location: 29 Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BQ
Tel: 0151 709 2148
Reviewer: Roger Edwards, Photographs Freddy Layton
 听听Listen (5'32) to 'Nigki Nanka', performed by , with Mamadou on vocals and percussion, Marcel Musset on Keyboards, Dave Ellis on base, Martin Robertson and Dave Gilbertson on saxophone, Brian Kelly on rhythm guitar, Martin Smith on trumpet, Tilo Pimbaum on drum, Gemma Breed and Ann Marie Howard on backing vocals.
听听Listen (1'14) to 'Nigki Nanka' performed solo by Mamadou Diaw
The Casa is alive with buzzing bars and bistro, a learning centre, I.T. Suite, and one of the city's most adventurous music venues.
 A plaque on the wall brings a lump to my throat: 'With respect to the 500 Liverpool dockers and their families who refused to cross a picket line from September 1995 to January 1998'. These guys sank their redundancy money into transforming the old Casa Blanca after-hours drinking club into a 'community-based multipurpose centre'. And they had to use their own money; even though funding's being poured into Liverpool left right and centre, they were refused time after time.
Tonight I've also got goosebumps. I've seen before, since he's based in Liverpool, and memories of dancing myself stupid to insanely persistent African beats linger long. Amazingly, the Casa is one of very few venues in the North West where he can get gigs - and there's Manchester just up the road hosting the Commonwealth Games. As a result, it's hard for him to keep a stable line-up.
So tonight it's down to the bare essentials. Does Mamadou care? Senegal have just beaten France in the World Cup. He's in party mood, big style. The band strike up and he's singing and launching into the hand drums and timbales lining the front of the stage with such passion a set of sticks is in smithereens in the first number, the crowd are swiftly on their feet and the night is well on its way.
For me, the high point is when Mamadou slows things right down, sits on the edge of the stage just kicking his feet and singing a staggeringly touching tribute to the late president of Senegal who died last year - a Christian ruling a country 80% Muslim for 30 years in total peace and harmony.
The Casa is a similarly wonderful achievement.
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Your reviews:
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