My apologies for the quality of the photograph but you go ahead and try to take a picture in a crowded corridor in the metro on a busy weekday afternoon. Not possible. At any rate, this is a portion of my favorite metro musical group; I wasn't able to get a couple of their bandmates in the picture. (And if you're wondering, yes, I did put a nice donation in their basket.) I've seen them most frequently at Concorde but also at the Franklin Roosevelt station. They come from somewhere in eastern Europe and sing with wonderful harmonies that make me think of the Russian army chorus. Compared to some of the hapless singers with boomboxes who ride the number 6 line, it's heaven on earth.
8 comments:
hey Anne I saw them too...thought they were Russian...they were amazing...
Ya gotta love buskers.
Oh THOSE guys. Somewhere, I heard that the Soviet Union sent out hundreds of barely trained accordionists (had Midnight In Moscow and a few other tunes under their belts) to busk all over the world, and send spy information back home (perhaps encoded in a performance?). On the fall of the USSR they were all caught out, having to busk away until they could someday afford to get home to their wives and children, wondering what ever happened to dear papa. Maybe a group of the poor shpysky musicians have joined forces, in hopes of getting home the sooner. I wish them well, may they get home soon. :-)
I saw and heard these guys in March 2008 at the Bastille station. Yes, they are Russian (so am I). I didn't talk to them but it was fun hearing all those songs from my childhood :)
Ha. We just returned from Paris and saw/heard them too. Once at the Musée Carnavalet and twice in the metro. They were wonderful! I kept marveling that with all those band members, how were they making enough to survive? Obviously, they are very hard workers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lotsohats/3863010874/in/set-72157622157764294/
P: What a spectacular picture, so much better than mine. Thanks for doing them justice.
My favorite Metro group is Classique Metropolitain, a string orchestra of nine or so members. I heard them in 2004 in the Chatelet tunnels. It was a gloriously ethereal sound as the notes of the strings bounced off the subway tiles. There's nothing like a cello or double bass with a good reverb. I WISH that the Paris Metro authority had an online shop where one could purchase CDs by the various performers.
I love musicians in the corridors, I hate them in trains. Each time I would love to date to scream and cover their awful boomboxes...
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