Pretty Parisian Poetry

Last week I attended one of my favorite spectacles so far in Paris.  I saw the recital of some of the best sung-poetry artists in France as part of the 3rd Andrée Chedid Prize.

Poets sang their works alone, with a guitar or piano or even accompanied by large bands including drum kits and cellos.  It was definitely not your grandfather's poetry recital.

You may be asking yourself, "Alex, what made you decide to go see some French poetry that you will struggle to understand?"  Good question.  I sat through all of this poetry, because the main judge for the Andrée Chedid Prize is her grandson, Matthieu Chedid, better known by his alias -M-.

And to the delight of everyone in the audience, Matthieu- playing as himself, not his alias- played a tiny, five-song set at the end of the recital.

Chedid played alone without any bandmates behind him to the tiny crowd of about 100 people making the show quite intimate.  Despite the intimate setting, Chedid shredded.  His solos were exciting and tasteful and lived up to my expectations, affirming my opinion that he is one of the best contemporary rock guitarists.

He was only joined by his sister's backup singing/yowling.  Even so, Chedid showed off his prowess at controlling a crowd by playing older hits and fan favorites before ending with the sorrowful "Delivre."  This was especially poignant since "Delivre" was written for his deceased grandmother to whom the night was devoted.

Luckily, the entire event is available for streaming !!!

Highlights include a young poet named L's interpretation of a Jack Kerouac text; the prize winner, Fredda; and of course Chedid.

If you only wanna see Chedid, he recites one of his grandmother's poems near the beginning and then plays his own music around the 1:44:00 marker.

~Alex

Je. M'a. pelle. Skrillex. Je. M'a. pelle. Skrillex

As winter ends everything is starting to bloom in Paris.  The Tuileries are delightful, trees are budding in the Luxembourg Gardens, and of course the music scene is coming alive as well.  Last Thursday things got downright dirty at Social Club.  Skrillex played a live show, which obviously led to hysteria.  The line to get in was absurd and the crazy bouncers didn't help.  Unfortunately some people behind me got pepper sprayed-- some of which made my eyes itch like crazy-- but finally we made it inside.  It was a perfect setting for some dubstep.  Dark, dank and hotter than hell.  To add to the scene, when Skrillex took the stage, starting off aptly with "My Name Is Skrillex", a violent riot ensued.  I have NEVER seen a mosh like the one a bunch of drunk Frenchies started for Skrillex.

After moving back a few feet for our own safety we were able to enjoy Skrillex's filthy beats and he did not disappoint.  In a word, he was relentless. Every song was a face-melter, including some great sounding new material.  I was also delightfully surprised when Skrillex busted out hip-hop jams like, "Swing" by Savage.  Highlights were a crazy, elongated remix of "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" that changed directions many times keeping everyone on their toes, a personal fave in a remix of Benny Benassi's "Cinema" and the fantastic closer, his remix of La Roux's "In For The Kill."

Basically, this was exactly what I was hoping for from a Skrillex show.  Madness.  If you get the chance, do not miss him, he throws a great party.  It was definitely one night in Paris I will never forget, and I can't wait to see him again.

~Alex