Anavantou

Two members of this band we saw yesterday evening in Marseillan, on the Etang de Thau. Described in the programme thus (I translate): 'When the exuberant madness of forro rubs up against the Belgian surrealistic spirit, the result is Anavantou!' That was about right - take five musicians from the north-east of Brazil who are into Luiz Gonzaga, and four Walloons who like manic ska and 'oblique folk music' and you'll hear frantic rhythms to jump up and down to, hipswaying and haunting melodies, and hot dance music. Often introduced in a mixture of Walloon and Portuguese, to the delight of those nationalities present. Good to see a triangle-player in the front line.

They were preceded on stage by The Jolly Boys, a quartet of very laid-back Jamaican musicians who mixed old mento and ska classics with their own banjo and cajon-fuelled versions of everything including Rehab, Ring of Fire, and Passenger. I half expected a boom-chicka version of Voodoo Chile.

It was all good fun, the night was warm, the drink cheap and the crowd good-humoured. M and I were there with a good friend, and tore ourselves away, reluctantly, around midnight. No, the Jolly Boys didn't do that tune, either, but one day they just might.