Rio X Paris

I know it's blurry, I'm awkward about flash/am bad at my camera...

Not sure how I keep ending up at "world" (don't even get me started on the problems with that term... alternatively, suggest another word I could use that is less obnoxious!) music concerts in Paris, but somehow they always seem to be the cheapest and coolest... so there you go. 

On Sunday we got a taste of Carnaval in Paris (i know there is actually a Carnaval in Paris, but bear with me here) with the Orquestra de Frevo de Paris, who were playing at l'Alimentation Générale. Honestly, every time I go out in pairs, I have no idea what to expect because each time is completely different. On this particular evening (when I had luckily convinced a pal to come adventuring with me) we got there and the vibe was basically just Williamsburg Mexican restaurant. Which was good.

Then people started just randomly dancing... in what might gently be called a non-professional, yet organized fashion. Needless to say we were perplexed. Also the music had applause recorded in (...unsure).

After 45 minutes of that, the band finally came on - with the dancers (now in much more sparkly outfits) accompanying them. It was so festive to watch and be a part of - also just adorable on principle (french people in matching outfits playing Brazilian music). The band and the dancers made up for any technical deficiencies with an abundance of enthusiasm, and by the end of the night, the whole crowd was dancing.  My friend and I decided to run away and become samba dancers (even though i later realized that they were not actually samba-ing (?), but rather performing frevo, a type of music and dance specifically associated with Carnaval... details) - perhaps taking the cute trombone player (whose name was Giovanni... fact) with us.

I love Brazilian music (blame my mother) and when I initially read that the group was called "Orquestra de Frevo" this was my first thought (1:17):

Here's a danceable Brazilian playlist for you, in case you too aspire to drop everything and run away to Rio.

Cute Boys and Good Music... What Else is There?

But seriously.

Last weekend, I took a visiting friend out to Caveau des Oubliettes to see a free concert by the group SETENTA, nebulously described on the website as "afro-jazz"... the question of genre is an interesting one - last time I went to this bar (ostensibly a jazz club), the band was doing Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson covers. jazz just has a really different definition here than in the U.S. - a jazz club is typically more easily defined by what it is not (at least in my limited experience): not pop, not rock, not rap, not classical.

Basically, I just figured it would probably be fun (generally I'm down for any music with "Latin" influences... whatever that means), but really didn't know what to expect. 

And that's when they all walked on in their not quite coordinated outfits, and started playing super danceable Latin/pop/funk. Probably best described as santana meets Tito Puente meets a hint of West Africa meets... French people. The band was so tight, with such adorably precise arrangements, that you really had to just not have ears to not want to have a total Shakira moment... they were all just having a fantastic time, dancing and singing and playing pretty much every percussion instrument you can imagine (I did not demand more cowbell, but I was sorely tempted).

The venue wasn't ideal (tiny cave crammed full of tables), since everyone (obviously) wanted to dance - I definitely would like to see them when they're playing at a larger venue (possibly one with affordable mojitos? I don't think I've ever heard more mojito appropriate music than these guys...). Here's another video of their live show... the most fun.

Unrelated: I just realized that online mixtapes exist.. like a day ago. Not sure where I've been. Anyway, found both of these on The Hairpin:

1. Just think slow jamz and dedications.

2. This is anti-valentine's (late i know) but also just a lot of good pop songs.