police beating and reggae...what else could you want?

so last night i went to the African Reggae Festival with Masta G/Jen and her sisters and their friends, and her sister's boyfriend...so 9 malians and two americans...i thought the concert started at 6, but we didn't end up leaving until after 8:30...malian time...so we get there and it's INSANE...there were people everywhere...it was put on my L'Association Jeunesse Pour Le Mali, so it's a bunch of young people...i thought it was just a concert thing, so i'm wearing a linen skirt...but all the other girls around are skanking it up in jeans and tiny shirts...but yeah...

so i thought we could never get in, but masta's sister evidently knew some guard, and he got us through the gates (i don't think we bribed him, but our other friends that went with french people not malians had to bribe the guards to get in) it was insanity...right after we got through the gates the police started beating the crowd with their belts (because they don't have clubs) to keep them back...i felt like i was experience some sort of revolution-type atmosphere, but no...it was a concert

so yeah...we get in and then the entire stadium is FULL compeltely packed with people, but someone (masta's sitser knew someone again) we got second row seats...well i mean kind of seats...we stood up for almost the whole time...people were pushing and shoving and dancing...it was sooooooooo freaking hot! i could feel the sweat drip off of me, which i'm used to, but last night there were literally lines of sweat running down my legs...and i was standing still! but finally the music started...it was such an odd experience...oh and as i think you can see from the pictures that will hopefully post with this, there was this big fence between the field (it's actually a sports stadium) and the stands...and they finally let people onto the field because there wasn't any more room in the stands, but some people jumped over the fence instead of going through the gate (because it was only open for a while)and sometimes the police would help them over, and other times randomly they would beat people through the fence...i tried to get pictures, but couldn't without being completely obvious...and i didn't feel like getting my camera taken away from me...but yeah..insane...the music was reggae, rap, and some malian women belting it out...i'm horrible with names, but i'll try to spell them out correctly here...tata pound is a malian rap group...they were really really good...political this is their website: http://mali-music.com/Cat/CatT/tatapound_en.htm

ok...no time...have to post this...off to timbouctou tomorrow...call me!