The blue and yellow whistle

The great thing about being unemployed and having a lot of free time is that you are constantly discovering new talents. A couple of weeks ago it was singing, now it's whistling. Since I am crap at whistling per se, I managed to get me a whistle, and dear me am I talented!!! Last Friday I went to Etnikafe on my own since my sister gave me a complimentary ticket and no one could accompany me on that day (sob sob). The show was good. There's no other way around it. Being rather illiterate musically, I cannot really wax lyrical on the technical prowess of the band. Yet, from what I could hear, they have managed to blend their traditional folk roots with more modern urban sounds, such as reggae, ska, rap and whatever other genres they cite as influences. I had been a great fan of theirs in the time when they released Zifna (their second album I believe), yet then they reached a bit of a dead end. They had managed to revive Maltese folk music and convince people that it could be great fun. They had injected energy into what we thought were dead forms of expression, using traditional Maltese instruments such as the zaqq, and involving folk singers (ghannejja) and bands which regularly play at feasts. It was all a load of 'briju' and newfound joy at being the quirky, loud, temperamental inhabitants of this flawed yet ultimately adorable small sunny island. The sale of things such as pastizzi at the shows added to this feel-good aura. Yet, a year later, in 2004, they immediately seemed to be losing their spark and becoming repetitive. However, now, to cut a long story short, they've found a way to retain what made them so special, while progressing at the same time. I particularly liked the song about the immigrants ("Klandestini Rock") sung (or rapped) by John from IQ, "Kollox tal-Plastik", sung by the ex-Lumiere frontman, as well as a song about the waves and the sea and the guitar (its name escapes me), sung by the sweet-voiced Alison Galea from Beangrowers.

Hmm seems this reviewing thingy is drawing me in. Anyways,my favourite part of the evening was when I got to make a lot of Briju. I was very quiet for most of the evening- the atmosphere was very civilised- lots of journalists around (I think it was Complimentary Ticket Night). However, at the end of the night, they gave us each a lovely whistle to blow. My beloved beloved whistle: Its tip is white, yet then it opens into a lovely shiny plastic blue with yellow paper ruffles at the end. Pure art haha. But I loved the thing the moment I saw it. I shall probably draw a smiley face on it with tipex, to match the tip and to give the thing a face if I have time. Anyhows I blew it so much!!! Wiii! That's what I love about Etnika. They always manage to end with a bang. I also loved the routine of the drunk hamalli, which involved five "dancers" pretending they're drunk and fashionably lacking co-ordination. Apparently they were supposed to be co-ordinated, but my sister's accident with her shoe put in an odd, endearing delay. Ah the graceful Galeas. Furthermore, I liked the way they entered and exited on the "karru"-like structure. Very mass-meeting/ festa tar-rahal-ish. Very happily noisy and Maltese.

I had other things to write about (such as racing and spluttering and laughing in the sea with Claire :-D). I also met up with a former teacher and good friend of mine who came from Luxembourg :-D. Yet, this blog is already long and I am already tired, hence now I will conclude it and bid you farewell. Till next time,

Take care,
Lizzy
xxxx

PS I could not not post a link to this song, even though I had promised myself I would not mention Keane so much, to give the impression I'm not too boring and one-track minded. But I just LOVE this rendition of this heart-wrenching Rufus Wainwright song, probably more than the original. And it's best to be honest to blog readers, rather than give false impressions lol. Enjoy!