Llamp te frigui

Or, "Lightning will fry you". I left this photo in colour just to show you how ridiculous gig lighting is. His face is not green and his guitar is not purple.

Tonight's show was not cancelled, as it was prudently relocated to the village hall due to forecast high wind. I know everyone else in southern Europe is burning, but it was decidedly chilly this morning -- the water at the pool was warmer than the air. It did get hotter later, but moving the concert was the right decision.

Llamp te Frigui are a Catalan duo with an eclectic repertoire, singing in a mixture of French and Catalan. Who knew Bob Marley, Sting, Prince, and Serge Gainsbourg were really Catalan, but fled to escape Franco? They had translated songs of all of these into Catalan, transforming Bob's Jamming into a song of Catalan resistance, Anim -- in this video sung in lockdown, with Catalan subtitles. If you understand French, Italian, or Spanish you'll probably understand these. They did sing original Catalan songs too, including the Catalan anthem of resistance to Franco L'Estaca.

They were lively and fun. I was particularly struck by the instrument Philippe Dourou was playing (extra). At first I thought it was just one of those electronic drumkits -- a pad played with the hands, plus foot operated drum and cymbal. But the pad, a Roland HandSonic, turned out to be much more versatile, imitating dozens of different percussive instruments, including a piano with admittedly limited range. You can add your own sounds to it and program it too. There's a demo here.For good measure he had a small head-mounted mike that let him make double bass sounds with his mouth (plus air guitar when his hands weren't otherwise occupied). Everyone crowded round for a look at his kit after the show.