Out in the Sahara Desert, they take their electrified Malian trance blues seriously—as should you soggy Seattleites. Premier purveyors of said trance blues is the Tuareg troupe Tinariwen, whose two albums for World Village, Aman Iman and Imidiwan, introduced Westerners to their stunning translations of refugee hardship into slow-building, ecstatic sonic consolation. They put a dusted, Northwest African spin on Mississippi Fred McDowell and John Lee Hooker’s extended, hypnotic jams of woe that paradoxically uplift. (Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333. 7 pm [all ages] and 9:30 pm [21+], $25.)

Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when...