Fete de la Musique

I can’t believe I haven’t posted in a week!

Last Sunday was the Fete de la Musique. This is when, for the day, anyone can play music in the streets of Paris. From the bigger concerts to watching a guy play his ukulele in front of a store it’s free for pedestrians to experience a world of music. In doing a little research it looks like the Fete de la Musique first started in the 1970’s. Since then the idea has spread to over a dozen other countries including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Germany and even the states (in NYC).

John and I set out for Chatelet around 5pm. From there we planned to wonder the streets making our way toward St. Paul to La Marais, Bastielle and then home. But there is no real point in planning for the day because only some of the concerts published on the Fete de la Musique site. In fact, I think the best performances we saw were the ones that weren’t listed. I think John and I wondered from Chatelet to La Marais back to Chatelet and to the Pompediu and finally made it to Richelieu Drouot where we took the subway home (around midnight). There were a few performances that really impressed me. My favorite for the night was a Native American band. Though I think I was the most impressed with a handful of people who sang classical choral music in a corner on the street; though only four they sounded like a full chorus. From a rock band of teenagers to the communists to the Gay chorus to the “Gefitle Swing” each performance was unique and such a pleasure to see. I don’t think we heard anything we didn’t like. The coolest part of the whole evening was the fact that some people passed our sheets of music or just lyrics and a whole group of strangers would sing in unison. It was a great night, perhaps my favorite Parisian experience thus far.