L’Amour des Chanteuses
I seem to be hearing more and more from the French chanteuse tradition. A friend has me listening to Carla Bruni, a singer who also happens to be the French first lady. And while veering away from tradition through experimentalism, Camille does manage to sing a very traditional cabaret-ish song every now and then. Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw the band DeVotchka play at the El Rey Theatre. The opening act was April Fishes, a very lively and rich-sounding French chanteuse/Latin band with an Indian-American lead singer (apparently she spent a couple years in Paris). Even their name is a French reference (Poisson d’Avril) to how children celebrate April’s Fools Day.
The latest in this line is Jessica Fichot, who played last Friday at Tangier in Hollywood. While I missed it, she’ll be playing the Hotel Cafe on October 18.
One of the first things I noticed on her website was the image of a pagoda. Surely, it must be some kind of Chinoiserie. But no, she is actually half Chinese half French. She grew up in France and sings in mainly French, but occasionally will dip into Chinese. Looking through her past gigs, she’s played some really diverse venues that make her sound like she might be my new French chanteuse of choice. Here are a few:
Monterey Park Chinese New Year! That’s right. She came out for the “unofficial Chinatown” festivities. Wonder how the crowd reacted to her. (added) Here’s a Youtube interview with Jessica for that event.
Noah’s Ark Gallery Opening at the Skirball! This is an exhibit I attended, which is really for kids since it’s an interactive room filled with toys that represent different animals on Noah’s ark. Go check it out…and bring kids to mask the fact that you’re there to have fun too.
Grand Avenue Festival in front of Walt Disney Concert Hall! Every year they have this event in downtown Los Angeles. And every year I happen to miss it. There are free performances and all kinds of booths. And of course, the Los Angeles Philharmonic gets involved since it’s in front of their house.
So hopefully, I’ll get to finally see her at the Hotel Cafe. And as if I needed to say more, she plays piano and accordion. I don’t know about you, but accordion is one sexy instrument.
