The Dave Matthews Band inspire extraordinary fanaticism among the most unlikely of people. Fellow zealots stick together, bosom buddies united by this strange passion for what is, to the rest of us, an averagely good jam band. Big Whiskey is being hailed by DMB fans as a return to form and fitting tribute to the band's late saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died last year. There is plenty of accomplished playing here. The late Moore had many improvisational tricks up his sleeve, though whether you enjoy the polite wibblings of the soprano sax is another matter. Carter Beauford's drums are varied and interesting, if sometimes heavy-handed, and Stefan Lessard's bass is sufficiently funk driven to counter that characteristically anodyne acoustic strumming. Matthews is a versatile singer, as ever, though his enunciation has, over the years, become mannered, missing some of the freedom that characterised his earlier work: these days it sounds like a cross between Adam Levine and Ronan Keating striving in vain to be Eddie Vedder. As for the songs, well, they're perfectly nice. There's certainly nothing offensive about the rocked-out riffs and winsome ballads, and the lyrics will appeal to lovers of wise sayings and telling observations. It's the sort of music that turns up on episodes of Dawson's Creek or One Tree Hill. One of the bonus songs, Corn Bread, has some serious punch and groove but ultimately, unless you're already a fan, this is a pleasant, forgettable collection of musical dawdlings.
* Gemma Champ
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
