Tuareg guitar ace Mdou Moctar and his band made a triumphant return to New York City this week, playing back-to-back sold-out shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn in support of their latest album, Funeral for Justice. The album, which was released in May via Matador, is a scorching political salvo, with Moctar writing songs that bluntly address sociopolitical issues facing the Tuareg people and others in Niger, including terrorism and the long, ongoing legacy of American and European colonialism. These weighty issues are paired with some of the most forceful and propulsive rock music ever made, courtesy of the Mdou Moctar band: rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, bassist Mikey Coltun, and of course Moctar, who’s solidified his spot as one of the world’s most indomitable lead guitarists.
In a four-star review, Rolling Stone called Funeral for Justice the band’s “most forceful album yet, tailor-made to melt minds at massive festivals,” and filled with “anti-colonial and anti-corruption declarations.”
Rolling Stone caught up with Mdou Moctar at their second gig at Warsaw, a Polish community center-turned-venue in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn (and yes, you can still get a pierogi at the gig). The band delivered a rapturous eight-song set, and even brought on a special guest — fellow Tuareg guitar legend Bombino — at the end of the gig.
