Artists Against Apartheid 15 hits Montreal with Rhythm and Word.

Sunday March 13th, 2011 was the fifteenth edition of Tadamon‘s! Artists Against Apartheid concert series. In essence, fifteen is a fantastic number; it is not fourteen and it is not sixteen. Fifteen is a number that stands on its own and for those new to the series it is rather undeniable that they have missed much. Despite such givens, the concert series is a well oiled machine and is fully intent on bringing more acts to the fore whether Big Brosky will be part of it alongside Tadamon’s! amazing committee members or not.

Psychobiography in politics, or any other distinct discipline for that matter, is ordinarily a mug’s game. However, having mentioned this, there is no denying the Big Brosky position – sometimes, though, an assessment of inherited traits and ideologies can be telling. In the case of Tadamon! much can be deconstructed in context of the dedicated faces behind the art committee’s vision for prolifically thought-out concerts and events. In this regard, many green star stickers should be awarded and rewarded to the team comprised of six active members of Tadamon’s! art committee, each bringing a rather individualistic and rather critical approach to the details of how each concert series is to assert.

 

Nomadic Trio: Montreal's beloved ensemble brought three of it members fourth with a memorable cover of Marley's "War"

The waiting game is not a delusion. The running success of fifteen concert series’ and counting show that something is going right for the Artist Against Apartheid initiative. Quality shows without flops are quintessential. The repetitive banter of cliche hip-hop is not what one is to expect from the series. In essence, the collective is intent on bringing new acts and concepts to the fore, undeniably it is a priority to keep things fresh and devoid of uber-repetitiousness and mayhaps it is odd to have heard more outrageously reactionary table talk.

And so the tables are constantly laden with intelligible committee members who do debate, rather occasionally, on which acts should perform and what needs to be done simply make a concert series even better than the one executed prior. While the tables of Israel‘s Knesset are dictated by a despotic Netenyahu alongside the approval of a coalition government that includes anti-democratic, even proto-fascistic ministers, Tadamon! and its art committee table seems to be moving along quite nicely and quite democratically one should say…not too shabby at all as matter of fact (and yes the forces of progressivism here are undoubtedly a model for so many AAA committees to use a model as they move forward in attempt to better mobilize themselves with the BDS initiative.

Kalmunity's Jason 'Blackbird' Selman opened the show with a calm voice speaking of making sense of the world we live in, or rather trying to make sense of it. His poetic contribution was undeniably appreciated by a packed house.

 

Kaie Kellough and Jason Sharp brought forth an incredible set which featured the phonetics and semantics of a broken alphabet that rhythmically shifted forward and back.

Brother Narcy dropped his set to close off an evening of awareness.

Tagged: Israeli Apartheid Week, Jason Sharp, Kaie Kellough, Montreal, narcy, Nomadic Massive, Palestine, Tadamon!, the Narcicyst, waahli yussef

Posted in: Anti-Zionism, Apartheid, apartheid art, ART, Artists United Against Apartheid, BDS, Big Brosky, Boycott, boycott israel, divest, divestment, free palestine, Jason Sharp, jazz, Kaie Kellough, Mickey Boston, Montreal, narcy, Nomadic Massive, Palestine, Palestinian people., political hiphop, Politics, waahli yussef