I'm guessing these gals are singers but honestly, I have no idea.
I really don't think I'd pay to see Ben L'Oncle Soul live. (And by the way, do you suppose this artist is aware that the term Uncle Ben is considered perjorative to black Americans?)
Paris seems like the wrong place for a John Mellencamp concert. Do you think they sing along "ain't that America"?
Wow, Cyndi Lauper's still rocking? But who the heck is Raphael Saadiq? I'm pathetically old and out of touch. On the other hand, my kids don't know who he is either.
In fact, it's been years since I've been to a big concert. So it's not like I can feel cheated because these events take place after I leave Paris. But I'm kind of wistful all the same.
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Raphael Saddiq is an American singer/guitarist who does has a great vintage Motown sound. He is worth checking out on You Tube. I saw him first on Jay Leno a couple of months ago and have since bought a couple of his CDs. Very upbeat and happy sounds.
Saadiq definitely deserves more recognition. Emma already mentioned the vintage Motown sound.
As for Ben l'oncle Soul, his first stage name was indeed Uncle Ben! After a few words with Mars, inc. lawyers (Mars owns the Uncle Ben brand), he switched to Ben l'Oncle Soul.
If Ben goes international one day, he may need to reconsider his stage name to something more US politically correct. But as for now, it does not ring any racist bell to French ears.
Painful signs that Paris will go on without you, like a lover moving on with his life. The city should mourn for awhile before it gets over you.
Poor Tori Amos is number three on the bill.
I think you're getting confused about the uncles - - Uncle Tom is the derogatory connotation and Uncle Ben is a brand of rice. I love Ben L'Oncle's song La Petite Soeur. I thought it was kinda funny to use that name and the video shows he has a sense humor.
Cyndi was on a French tv show a few months ago - 'dans l'univers' with Lara Fabian.
haven't been to the revamped Trianon - but it is looking good.
Just back from Casino de Paris seeing Patrick Fiori (twice!) and le Prenom.
I love the way that most venues in Paris are relatively small and easy to get too (and I include Bercy in this!). So much nicer than London's O2 and Wembley
Thanks to everyone for educating me. I still can't see these folks here!
And Susan, while Uncle Tom gets the lion's share of the bad press, there's no love lost for Uncle Ben either: http://www.petitiononline.com/546bensm/petition.html
Thanks, Anne for pointing out that petition. I've always considered Aunt Jemima to be more offensive, so I wasn't surprised to see a petition against her, too.
I just looked up Ben L'Oncle's wikipedia entry and, if I'm translating correctly, he is deliberately imitating Uncle Ben by wearing the bow tie. And I guess he had some copyright infringement issue with Mars and changed his stage name to Ben L'Oncle Soul. And here I thought his look was just vintage nerd-chic. Hmmmm, maybe he just doesn't know that "Uncle" has a negative connotation in the US. Too young to know, maybe.
Still, I was more shocked by an ad for "Black N Blues, a minstrel show" that I saw last week. Here's the link http://www.idamarktompkins.com/?q=en/blacknblues_en. Now that was shocking to me!
I looked up Alela Diane out of curiosity and she is fantastic! She has a great folk sound with meaningful lyrics and interesting guitar work. I love random introductions to music like this, thank you!
And I know how you feel about the after-you-leave thing. I felt exactly the same way when I left Tokyo and then more recent DC. It just keeps going...
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