Musical Redemption

Beyond the dud

Recovering from the dud of the previous night, last night provided a great night of music at Scène Bell. The first act was Julien Clerc; the second was Fred Pellerin; both were francophone, so more than a little was lost in translation. But, the performances were outstanding nonetheless.

Julien Clerc is a Paris-born singer who appears at this point in his life to be the "father of easy listening" in the French-speaking world. He reminded Alison of Andrea Bocelli, but to me more of a still-in-his-prime Paul Anka. No matter how you classify him, the audience (us included) loved his performance, singing along (us not included) to almost every song.

Fred Pellerin, on the other hand, was the single best entertainer that I've seen at this music festival (or anywhere, for that matter). He is, however, very hard to describe, since he's nothing like anyone that I've heard before (the French aside). He combines the story-telling prowess of Garrison Keillor, the boyish looks and musical skill of John Denver, and the manic energy of Robin Williams, all wrapped up into one energetic, French-speaking-and-singing ball. I can only imagine how entertaining he would be in English.

Videos

Two videos from the festival: Julien Clerc (left) and Fred Pellerin (right).

The Selfies

One measly selfie? Yes, apparently.

Tidbit

The standard greeting here in Québec is the endearing double cheek kiss, first to the left, then to the right. The greeting is used by two women of any age, a man and a woman of any age, but only among two younger men. Older men still prefer the more formal hand shake.

I am told that in France, the sides are reversed -- first to the right, then to the left -- but I have been unable to verify that in my less-than-exhaustive research.

Americans would do well to adopt the double cheek kiss, rather than the increasingly ubiquitous fist bump, which I really don't care for.