- down the lively as ever Rue de la Huchette, to Rue Galande and the Caveau des Oubliettes, which I'd been wanting to check out for a while. I'd been really excited to finally get to listen to some live jazz - when we got there we saw that tonight it was in fact blues - but to my surprise, I really liked it; we all did. We had gotten there a little early so we could get a good spot downstairs in the small, cavernous (seriously) space where there was a small stage and tables lining each side, with extra stools dotting the rest of the floor. Within a half hour all the spaces were filled, and everyone was talking, drinking, smoking (I've really gotten used to it - what a nice surprise it'll be to be smoke-free back in the states!!) while waiting for the act to start. Though my host mom had told me that it was a famous place and hence a bit touristy where I would hear classic French chanson and that often the subjects of the songs-as-storytales were a bit vulgar and I probably wouldn't understand it all, it actually seemed like there was a pretty local crowd, and I didn't hear any other English spoken in the room nor see anyone (ahem.... else) with a camera. And uh, it was a modern blues band. Strike twenty-seven for my often quite adorably eager-to-inform, still-thinks-it's-several-decades-ago host mom. Lol.
Sus in sepia...
Ray and Abby getting ready for the "absinthe"
abby and sus... nice face!
bluessss
The next night I met Robyn and Dorothy on the Seine by Invalides, crossing the Pont Alexandre III and admiring Paris in its lit-up-at-night, cool summer air glory. We relaxed and shared a little of the fruity monoprix white wine that I’d bought a while ago and left at Robyn’s, and then we headed over to get in line for Showcase, a new club under the bridge we'd heard about. We waited for about 20 minutes and were surprised to get in – there was seemingly no rhyme or reason to who was getting in – they turned down groups of guys, but also small groups of girls, of guys and girls, of people dressed very nicely - in any case, somehow we three got in, and we exhaled and laughed about it when we got past the bouncers. Inside you’d think it would be really chic... The décor and atmosphere were certainly classy, but in a fun and inviting way, rather than a snobbish and exclusive and self-important way, I thought. Partly… or greatly… because of the music. First of all, there was a live band playing when we got in, and the dude was screaming in English – it was some sort of hard rock – what? Cool, but not really my thing nor Robyn or Dorothy's... they were just finishing up, thank goodness. But the crowd over there in that section was digging it… and then another band came on, who were actually pretty good, a mix of French and English being sung… and only after that did a DJ come on, and it was NOT typical club music at all. There was a great spell of dancy retro 60s and 70s music that came on, mostly American, that was just great, and everyone was having a good time. The crowd was more hip than chic - much like the music explained at one point: "Hip teens don't wear blue jeans/Cause we're cool cats, we got soul/Cause we're the in-crowd on the scene". Funny, I figured that song was from the 60s but turns out it's from a modern group (called the Frank Popp Ensemble) that's heavily influenced by 60s rock. I also remember them playing The Kinks' "I Need You", the original "Venus" by Shocking Blue (that we can't hear now without picturing a razor), and the Hawaii-Five-O theme song.
The one thing I did notice about the clientele, which perhaps also helped make it such a good time, was that there were no guys that looked like they were going to give one of us a suggestive smirk or eye and try to pull us over to them to dance, or ask for our numbers after a two-minute getting to know you conversation that includes little beyond "where are you from" and "tu me plait beaucoup". Nice for a change! I guess their one golden rule was to not let in sketchy guys – you can kind of tell who they are right away, I must say; not that there is one look, but certain looks can certainly scream sketchy. So anyway. We danced, carefree, during the retro spurt, totally loving the environment - we felt really comfortable; no one cared what they looked like, or even whether they were dancing by themselves. I got that sense anyway. Between dancing, walking around, people watching, enjoying the music and the scene, we had a great time. Somehow it got to 3:15 pretty quickly and we headed out, getting tired.
the crazy screamy band in blue
dorothy and robyn in red...
one of the bars
the good band
on the way out. In the back, past the arches, are windows open to the Seine, letting the cool air in. Awesome!
