Lurid

Another day, another evening entertainment. Sadly this one was held in the village hall because of the gusty wind making an outdoor performance impractical. So not the ideal background, and yet again a stage cluttered with amps, mike stands, music stands, trailing wires, and general gubbins. Another view in extras.

For some reason, I decided to get the DSLR out, neglected for close to two years. I had to remind myself how to use it. There is no doubt that the super expensive lens is a lot better in low light than the Olympus. I took a quick test shot at home to check everything was working (second extra).

The show was regular visitor Eric Fourcadet with his group Complicitat. He is the arranger for long-standing Occitan folk rock group Nadau, and the concert consisted of his arrangements of their most popular songs, adapted for the group. Nadau have been doing basically the same show for at least 30 years -- same songs, same stories, same jokes. Our mayor Serge loves them, so they have performed here twice. 

For people who grew up here, these Occitan anthems are part of their culture -- they spent their childhood hearing them played, and Occitan spoken, by their parents and grandparents. So I understand why they are emotionally attached to them. I'm afraid I found it a bit boring, and while Eric is a good musician, the singers were ... not great. I reflected that I enjoy these songs much more when sung lustily by Serge and his mates after a well-lubricated Sunday lunch on the square. I took my photos and sneaked out before the end. Here's an example of one of their most popular songs. There weren't quite so many of us in the village hall as there are in the video, although it was much better attended than the previous night.