Live: Les Boukakes @ Blue Frog

Multi-regional “world rock” act Les Boukakes (pronounced leh boo-kah-k) performed at the Blue Frog recently. We were there.

“Salaam Alaykum,” is not the first phrase usually uttered from a Mumbai stage but that’s exactly what Les Boukakes opened with.

It wasn’t much of a surprise; the France-based group were always going to be different, with their multicultural blend of styles from North African to classic rock.

The scattered influences must come, in part, from their varied nationalities. Just some of flags flown by the group are Algerian, Kurdish and Tunisian.

This was the first night of a Blue Frog double-header and a really enjoyable gig. Despite walking on to a muted reception, Les Boukakes played with energy more fitting of a trashy house party. It didn’t take long before the audience responded, if a little sheepishly.

The man leading celebrations was singer Bachir Mokhtar, who smiled broadly while thrusting around his pelvis. A few minutes of gyrating was all it took for him to comfy, he discarded his suit jacket and paused for breath. Bachir was just getting started. Next, he confidently roped the crowd into a call and response, no mean feat because the lyrics were in Arabic.

The real contrast in the Les Boukakes sound comes from Thierry Chadelle’s classic rock riffs mixing in with the accordion and derbouka or goblet drum. In other groups such a combination would be a clumsy fusion but it worked well, largely thanks to percussionist Imed Alibi, who was able to keep up with the heavier moments.

My criticism is the gig went at the one breakneck pace with little variance in tempo. It made the songs feel familiar but also made it hard to appreciate individual moments. There was one exception, with a jarring transition to a slow, earnest number about the plight of orphans. Suddenly, Bachir’s smile was gone and replaced with an intense stare.

What was impressive was the competency of each musician. Les Boukakes have played a huge number of shows in 25 different countries and the tightness of the group showed.

Despite his charisma, Bachir was unable to get the shy crowd to dance. However, with the threat of band finishing he was able to get a dozen audience members going. It would have been a crime to for the shoe gazers to dominate a Les Boukakes show but it turns out, they were just playing hard to get.

Indiecision: B-