Fête de la Musique

Last Thursday night was Fête de la Musique in Paris.  I wasn't able to go last year, so I was thrilled when we decided to get a group together this year.  Fête de la Musique is one of those wonderful things that the city of Paris does for free, for its citizens and visitors.  I wouldn't say there was a huge headliner, but they had several small, well known bands set up all over the city throughout the night for everyone to enjoy.  There were also small choir groups, 4 piece bands, random musicians, young and old set up along the streets....for your passing enjoyment.  Some delightful to stop and have a listen, but others...not so delightful.  Since its one night a year, everyone comes out of hiding and there are people wandering the streets everywhere....in some places you had to go around the crowds through a different street just to pass!  

We met at Grand Palais hoping to find Jamie XX, but turns out, you had to have a special ticket to see that show....so, we walked down the street, hopped across Place de la Concorde and wandered through Tuileries at sunset.  At that point I was certain it was going to be a good night as the sun was setting over the Arc de Triomphe and the last rays of sun glistened in the puddles of water left in the dirt.  I didn't care if we didn't see any music, for at that moment in all its glory, is what I love about Paris.  

We met Flora and her boyfriend, François...and eventually Alison on the Pont des Arts for our "lock ceremony."  Yes, its cheesy...but Laura conveniently found this little tiny lock on the ground one time and so what else better to do with it than whack that baby on the Pont des Arts?  We got our finest tipped sharpie, with our smallest, most cramped handwriting and got everyone on...barely.  We added the date and of course our nickname and wished upon the key as we tossed it into the Seine.  Then headed off to find some good music....

We stumbled upon some musicians near Saint-Germain-des-Pres who were gathering a pretty hefty crowd.  We got on the metro at Cité, down to Denfert-Rochereau were a handful of musicians were giving it a go on the large stage set up just above ground from the Catacombs.  Rozy was dying to see the Cutting Knives or Concrete Knives or something that I had never heard of, but turns out we just missed them.  We ended up catching Carmen Maria Vega's show which was pretty good.  She's very rocker chic with an intense attitude and a tongue that just couldn't stay in her mouth.  Her new single, On S'en Fout got the crowd going and the easy lyrics made every nationality sing along.  

Carmen Maria Vega....and her attitude. 

Although the metro was running all night long, it only hit certain stops and Courcelles wasn't one of them.  I got on the metro at Charles de Gaulle Etoile and the conductor came over and said that the next stop would be Place de Clichy and I quickly hopped off as I am much closer to Charles de Gaulle Etoile!  My 10 minute walk home was peaceful and silent as I walked toward Ternes with the glow of the Arc de Triomphe at my back, lighting my path home.  It might sound crazy as I was walking the sidewalks of one of the largest, most well-known cities in the world at 1 am, but I couldn't have felt more safe...more at home...than I did in that moment.