A Kurdish Concert

The other night I attended concert of Kurdish music that was a charity event to raise money for a cancer hospital. Held in the very flash Shari Gwan hotel, it was a bit of a glamorous affair with the who's who of Slemani society and most people reasonably well dressed up. I guess I was the only foreigner.

The star attraction of the evening was the Iranian Kurd group the Kamkars in concert with local Slemani singer Bahyat Yahya. A family group, the Kamkars are seven brothers and one sister with her daughter. While the songs are recent compositions, they are all performed on traditional instruments, creating a very unique sound, at least to my western ear.

In typical Kurdish fashion the evening was a bit chaotic. The starting time was 8pm but it didn't get going until 8.45 and went for 90 minutes. At first everyone stood up for a minutes silence to remember those who have died fighting for Kurdistan and the final number was the rousing patriotic song Kurdistan Xweshe (Beautiful Kurdistan)

During most Western performances the audience lights are turned off and you sit in the dark. But here the lights were left on, people wandered about, talked on their phones and went for drinks. It feel really odd, like an outdoor concert, but no one seem to be at all bothered.

Some music links for the really keen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyQbtLYLpH8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MLtFUTyATU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1R6_JlyqwQ