i had invited this new author friend to go to the talk through the alumnae association of my college, but had forgotten that the family had also bought tickets to a rock concert. jj heard that this american band was playing in paris and we had agreed to take her and a friend. the talk was at 7:00 and the concert was at 8:00, but we figured that with the warm up band and the way they draw out concerts, the main act probably wouldn’t go on until 10:00.
so i went to the talk first, waiting for p’s texts telling me the status of the concert.
the talk was at someone’s house in a lively neighborhood– the area around the corner of boulevard montparnasse and boulevard raspail. it is one of my favorite areas. some old time big brasseries are there – le coupole and le dome. we got there early so we went to have a drink at “le dome” which is famous for its (pricey) seafood menu. our waiter looked just like robin williams dressed up as a serious waiter. for a moment i thought i was in a surreal real-life comic movie and i almost burst out laughing. i couldn’t help smiling every time we interacted with him. we had a nice aperitif and chat and then went to the talk.
the talk was in an alumnae’s apartment which was loft-like with a double height wall of windows and a mezzanine with ancient exposed beams. the journalist had wonderful stories of how she started out in the business and her views on its current state. she actually specialized in following the media and said that even she had trouble keeping up with all the amazing changes. we were an hour into the talk, when i got the text and a call from p saying that the warm up band had just finished. since the concert was across town, i had to go right away to make it on time. i was very sorry to leave.
however, the concert was quite amazing. i haven’t been to a rock concert in a lonnnng time. i haven’t wanted to go to a rock concert, but this band had a hit song that i knew and liked and jj was hot to go. i thought it might be fun, especially because it was in an old concert hall which is more like a club and NOT a stadium. the band was “train” who has the hit “hey, soul sister” and the venue was “bataclan” inside paris. bataclan dates from the 1860’s but was rebuilt in the 1950’s. it is a small venue that can hold around 1300 people. i arrived a few minutes after they started playing. the lead singer, patrick monahan was a real performer. he didn’t just stand there and sing. he moved and interacted with the audience. jj was most impressed with him when he asked if he could sing a song without the mike. he has a very good voice and it was very personal to hear him sing that way. the venue is really small, the center floor was for standing, and it was not totally packed, so one could get right up to the stage. he also did a tour through the audience while singing a soft song. it was amazing to be able to get so close to a fairly famous performer.
i did feel a little old there, but i wasn’t the only one. there were many middle aged people. funny, our generation, the rock and roll listeners are old now and seem out of place at a concert. the lead singer seemed a bit older, himself. since i thought it was a new band, i thought he would be a kid. i hadn’t realized that they have been successful since their first album in 1998. i guess that would explain the slightly older people in the audience. i figured he’d be maybe, 28, maybe 35. turns out he is 41 so he’s practically old too! but he’s in very good shape.
i really enjoyed this concert in such an intimate setting and will keep an eye out now, for upcoming events at bataclan.
Print this post
No comments:
Post a Comment