Le Thor Concert Reports
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"I was longing for this concert and neither Russell nor his band were under my expectations. Many people have already written about this concert , so I would rather tell you what I felt. Russell wished us to have fun : we had it, but much more than that, so much better ! Happiness…that's what Himself and his fellow musicians gave me. You know, once more he displayed such a talent expressing a bunch of emotions and making you feel them , which is far more difficult . When he arrived on the stage , my heart was bouncing quickly and then : he was there, not impressive by the size but he was in command , and it was as if you were taken over by a swirl of complete bliss ….As I couldn't do it with my arms , I opened my heart to welcome him and his friends with a big virtual hug….: Russell's singing , as well as when he's acting , you feel he's giving you what his heart is made of , through his words, the inflexion of his voice , his body language…especially during some very subtle moments such as this one : when he sang "Raewyn" ,at the precise moment he said " thanks to my Charlie Crowe" he looked at his wife with such a tender and thankful look… There was also truly funny moments : teasing his musicians , or joking many times with Alan Doyle , especially about Doyle's ability to speak French : at the beginning Russell said he will explain things in French when more fluent, so he asked Alan to translate his words in French …what he actually didn't … only repeating the English words… Later , Russell asked him :"Ca va ?" and Doyle answered ,imitating a Quebec accent : "Je vais très bien". We also had what I'll call Russell as a could-be-clown: complaining about his earphones especially one making an awful noise , imitating the awful the noise then finishing his explanations with " Shit! Merrrrrde!"(the French word for S !) This said with a twinkle in his eyes !!! The venue was rather small, you felt very close to the performers. That was really great ! great music, great atmosphere, great fun for the audience but, as it seemed, also for the musicians . You definitely have to see these boys on stage ! I can't compare with the late Tofog , but I enjoyed this gig with the whole of my ears, eyes and heart . So thanks to Russell and his fellow musicians for coming and sharing with us…May they come and sing again in Europe….We'll be there!" Rose, from France - And sung by Alan...
Paroles: Jean Renoir ( a famous french movie director, son of the great painter, from J.Renoir's film " FrenchCancan") En haut de la rue St-Vincent
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Hello,
I'm Patricia, from Versailles (France).
First of all, sorry for my bad english.
I was with Lyly from Brussels for this absolutely
fantastic concert. It was like a dream come true for me, cause 2
years ago I was in Brisbane (Australia) for vacation and I was very
disappointed when I saw that Russel was begin touring the same day
of my flight to France. (only 8 heures after). I decided to change
my flight to see him, but it was too expansive. It was a nightmare
for me.
So when Lyly said to me Russel pays in Avignon,
my heart exploded. I was like a teenager. I bought my ticket and
Lyly and I took the train in Paris to see our big love Russell.
I saw more than 400 concerts in my life.
(I'm manager of a record store), but I can tell you that's one of
the best and great moment for me. What a feeling. Cause I told you,
my dream came true. Suddently, HE WAS on stage, we were on the 7th
raw and I can't controle myself. Too much emotion for my little person.
After 3 hours outside, Russell was in front
of us, under the moon, to sign autograph. What man it is! So simple,
no star attitude. A great man. All my respect for him.
Now I'm waiting for another concert of TOFOG.
I pray for that. Russell, you and
your band will always welcome in France. Forever.
Crazy Pat. |
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| First, sorry for my English,
I don't speak English very well.
My name is Luc. I am Belgian (French speaking) and I live in Brussels where I run a Marketing & Communication Company. I have a second house (Holiday House) in Provence at Menerbes (5 miles away from Le Thor). We were (me and my wife) just in our house in Provence to spend 8 days of vacation when we have the surprise to see posters that announce a concert of Russel. What a surprise! In a so small village. We go directly to the Auditorium to buy tickets. The day of the concert, we arrive at 7pm at the Auditorium, there was already a big queue. When it's our turn to enter the theatre, I chat with a crew's member (I don't know who) and finally he invites us to sit on the first row (just in front of Alan and Bones) and also give us a special badge to participate at The After Party. What a surprise! I will not speak a long time about the concert (others have that done already and surely better than me)(sorry for my english again). Just some words about the After Party.
It was FANTASTIC !!!!!! The party start at 12:00 pm untill 3:00 am. We were about 60 people (with the musicians). What a "Privilege". All the musicians and Russel with Danielle were there. It was fantastic. We had all the time to chat with everybody (with my poor english), ask autograph and so... Russel was so lovely, so gently... he speaks to everybody and he kisses all the time Danielle. He was so happy to be there. The catering was perfect (pizza's - quiche... wine - beer and sodas) and there was a french band that make music in background all the night long. Many people are dancing. At a moment, Alan made a jam session with the french band. Alan at the guitar and voice, a boy at saxo and another one at bass. Wowww. Finally the party ends at 3:00 am, we left Le Thor and were at home at 3: 20 am. What a night, what a night !!!!! If Russel come back in Provence, I promise to invite some Russell's fans at home to make that more wonderful (if it's possible). What a lovely way to learn english !!!!! Thanks Russell, Thanks Music, Thanks everybody. |
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| The link to Sabry's Diary/account
is HERE |
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Le
Thor - The Diary (by Lizzy)
"This diary is dedicated to a friend of mine who was not able to see the concert. I wrote this diary of course in first for myself to remember my little adventure but I hope she and everyone else who didn't make it to France can experience a little bit of this wonderful trip through my words." - the link is HERE |
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From Bea: “Le
Weekend” en Provence |
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From Amelie: Lizzy (of Crowetopia) kindly invited me to join her and Karen (Mostly Russ) travelling to Le Thor, and I left my house at some Godforsaken hour on Saturday morning to meet Lizzy at London Bridge and then Karen at Luton Airport. The journey was fine, although driving along the French motorways in the pouring rain was hair-raising at times. By the time we reached our hotel the rain had eased off, we checked
in, changed clothes and drove to Le Thor to pick up our tickets at
about 5ish. I met so many new people; Carol, Bea, Jan, and Susie and the very nice chap from America whose name I missed and heard so many great stories. So we are all stood there chatting and starting to wonder if they were going to let us into the theatre. I agree with CGee about how nice it was that everyone there was a 'real' fan. There were people there who had travelled thousands of miles. Eventually after an hour and a half, and a couple of 'let's tease the fans by pretending we're going to open the doors', we were finally allowed in. Lizzy and Karen had got in before me and had found really good seats for us behind a friend of Lizzy's, who I know now was Babette, and her son (the deeply cute Lukas). The opening acts were very good, the female guitarist stood out and I wish I could remember her name; she had a beautiful voice. The Luberon Quartet were good and Blades of Hades were entertaining, and clearly very pleased to be there. I hadn't heard any of "My Hand, My Heart" up til then as I have no Internet access at home so I didn't know what to expect, particularly (and I know this is heresy) as "Bastard Life or Clarity" hadn't done a lot for me. I loved every single track, especially "Swept Away by You", "Breathless", "Mr Harris" and "Testify". "Mr Harris" actually made me quite tearful, and still does when I think about the lyrics, Richard Harris was someone I grew up watching and there is no-one quite like him; I think he would have been very touched by the song. "Folsom Prison Blues" lit up the theatre, I thought it was one of the best versions of it I have heard. "Testify" was just brilliant, and Russell asking us all to stand up and wave our hands because "all that shit will look great on the video" was hilarious. At the end of the concert, when we had realised that Russell and his friends definitely weren't coming back some of us noticed a cameraman on the stage who was filming us. For a laugh we all started waving at him, and he waved back! And kept fillming us waving at him, by now the whole theatre had joined in, until he had all the film he wanted then he bowed to us with the camera and that was it. One thing I liked most of all was how much not just Russell but all the band were enjoying themselves, highlights were: Russell teasing Alan for showing off his Quebecois French all week and then 'forgetting' it when confronted by a room full of French people; Ridley Scott nodding his head in time with the music; Alan singing "Les Escaliers" in French and forgetting the words; and everybody having a thoroughly good time and having a really good time in the encore of "Testify". At the end we piled out into the foyer where the bar was still open, the French do this so much better - the theatre bars over here are closed by the time the performance finishes. Eventually a lot of us ended up outside because it was so hot and we were all chatting away again about what a great time we had had, and how our journeys were worth every minute and difficulty. I met up with Bea and the others again, and also met Polly and another lady from Sweden, and we talked about anything and everything. Lizzy wanted Russell's autograph, as she didn't have it and hadn't seen Russell in the flesh before so she was queing up by the crash barrier in front of the car park next to the stage door. We waited ages, everyone was good-humoured and one very nice local man had brought pastries which he was sharing around. There were also some photographers there, presumably from the local papers. Eventually after two hours we decided to go back to our hotel, which turned out to be a mistake because Russell came out about 40 mins later!!!! C'est la vie. We met up at breakfast the next morning, tired but pleased. The hoteliers were amazed that we had travelled all the way from London for a concert and were going straight home again. I have had this reaction from a lot of people for some reason (LOL, :)). The three of us decided to go back to Nimes via the local winery, where we made the vigneron's day by turning up on a Sunday morning and buying some of his wine, and Avignon. We were trying to find a Tabac to see if we could find a copy of the local paper (name unknown, does anyone have it?) which had had some great shots of Russell and the guys plus a long article. We looked all over Avignon, which was interesting in a largish car driving through medieval streets ......... but we didn't find a Tabac or anywhere to park so we headed back to the airport. The journey home was uneventful apart from an incredibly abrupt and
very fast landing at Luton, I don't know where the pilot was going
but it must have been important. I think we each of us got home about
6ish in the end. Thanks Russell. |
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From babette: (The picture with her report is one from Abaca Press) I really DO NOT regret that I finally decided to make
that trip - it was MORE than worth every single cent I spent and every
trouble and the long travelling (I could have get to US in the same
time)!!! On Saturday Sabrina, Petra, Lukas and I agreed to have a picnic at the Auditorium and went into Le Thor to buy some bread and cheese and ham and fruits before we got dressed for the concert and our picnic. We saw a concert poster besides a shoe shop and Petra went inside and asked if she could take it off – she COULD. Shortly after that we went back to the hotel to get ready and then
went to the Auditorium. We arrived there around High Noon and shared
our picnic and just enjoyed ourselves. So we went back into the line
(the front places of course again :winky) and I texted D, but my
hands were shaking and I decided to call her (though she denied I
BET I woke her from the sound of her voice :giggles) Whilst waiting
the line built up! More and more people from “our” group
came and I finally got to meet Lizzy too! I don’t know how it is when you already saw him on stage – but when you’re new at this (like I was) there’s nothing you can read or be told that can prepare you for what will happen to you and the whole audience. To me the closest description is what Dani sings in White Monkey – “Waved a spell over everyone, walked on stage and became the sun”! Finally the band entered the
stage and Russ came and. I think you already know which songs he
sang – but
I will send the complete songlist with the long report! At one song (I don’t remember which one) where there’s just a music-part, he just stepped back a little, looked down at his feet and tapped from one foot to the other in the rhythm of the music. That was so cute :lurve At the end of the first part of the show he announced his new song. He said that actually they’re not giving a concert but shooting a video clip and as such things always costs time and money Alan Doyle had told him to play a concert and let us pay for being in a video clip :lol He told us to put our hands up and shake them when he does – and if we’re not doing it right we’d just have to do it but 10 times :lmao He teased about his ‘intercourse with the law’ too (sorry can’t remember what he really said) and then finally they started playing his new song “Testify” (which sounded very familiar to me) After that he went backstage to change and let Alan Doyle sing a French tune – a folk song or such. Before he had teased Alan about his fluent French :giggles Though he had the lyrics in front he missed some of the text and just went “lalala” then until he found where he was. It was really cute! When he sang My Hand My Heart
he rose a can of beer to the audience and said “Cheers” :lurve After he’d asked us if we’d mind to do “Testify” for
that video-clip once more they played it again. This time the audience
was standing and dancing and it really was a hoot! One of the security (I think)
drove up with a car and the spotlights on so he could see what and
for who he’d sign stuff. But he wasn’t
close enough so he turned and told him “Mate, move closer with
the car and leave the lights on.”(Okay those might not be the
correct When he came over I said almost unison with another girl - thanks for the concert and when it was my turn for getting autographs I pointed to the luggage tag from Lukas and asked one for my boy. And said “He got an autograph from your wife too”. He looked up smiling took my stuff (I put it in some kind of a clip-board) and I just asked sign wherever you want to (stupid -giggle) and he signed the first three things - then he briefly flipped through my stuff and I think he noticed Dani's autograph and the Calendars from Carol and I just couldn't help but ask if he'd sign one too. He looked at me and said no, but winked at me too (and on MY calendar is a 'line' from the pen) And I apologized and said thanks for the autographs - and made space
for the next one. Okay, I had to try, right? (giggle) Then it was really time for me to get back to the Hotel. Because meanwhile my son had been gone to the car we came with and was asleep. That was the VERY best weekend trips I ever had in my life! |
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| My name is Anna Bahgat ( I and my husband Tarek went on Friday to France (Marseille) and on Saturday to Le Thor. At 1pm I arrived at the theatre and got my tickets at 2pm. At 5pm I went to the main entrance to have a seat at the front. But it started to rain so I decided to go back to the car and to wait there. Suddenly a Mercedes M-Class arrived at the theatre stopped 10 meters in front of me. Russell went off the car, beckon to us said hello but didn’t autograph. He disappeared at the artist entrance. The sound check started and I was able to hear everything. All the fans stood at the main entrance but me. I and my husband went to the artist entrance to wait there. At 6:30 pm the sound check ended. In the mean time 4 French fans joined us. We stood 5 meters away from the artist entrance. Suddenly the bodyguards became very flustered. Two chauffeurs started the cars and parked them in front of the entrance. Russell came out. Went to the car – stopped – smilled – and went to us (6 people). We were speechless. He in person stood in front of us. He started to sign the cover of a CD of a French girl beside me. Then he came to me – asked me for my name – I spelled A-N-N-A. He looked at me and repeated with german accentuation Anna (actually happens) took my pen and signed my Gladiator DVD to Anna, Russell. Smiled again and went to my husband. He asked for his name and signed the Master and Commander DVD to Tarek Russell. In the mean time a lot of fans, camera teams and press photographer stood there. The bodyguards became very nervous. Russell started to sign only with Russell. Then he set off. Went back to the car. He closed my pen turned around and asked “Who’s pen is this?” My husband said “It’s mine”. Russell smiled and gave the pen back. |
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| Barbara - Wales: Hardly slept all weekend,
but what a weekend!!!! Started off from Manchester airport
England at 6am Friday and arrived home 12.30am this morning, and
I was in work at 9am!, but I've been floating about 6 feet off the
ground ever since Saturday night and I have this extremely silly
grin permanently on my face! As for the
gig itself, the 1st 3 rows were reserved, so the fact that I found
a seat in the 5th row was pretty unbelievable! The 3 other acts were
very good and everyone was very appreciative of their talent with
their applause, then the main event! The
band came on stage to massive applause, Dean looked VERY good
in his black suit, and Russells' black pin stripe suit and
black shirt were scrumptious! The music was out of this world,
and Russells' voice was perfect, and he really seemed to be
enjoying himself while giving it his all.All the people I spoke
to, who had seen earlier gigs, said that it was the best performance
they had seen. They did 2, or was it 3 encores? I forget, but in between
times, Russell changed into a French soccer shirt, that got the locals
going even more, then he stripped it off to reveal the black singlet
and plenty of skin! It was great fun joining in with the filming of
Testify, I look forward to the finished product. I have to
finish by saying how much my lovely husband(bless his heart!)
enjoyed the experience, he was up on his feet dancing with
the rest of us. He thought it was an excellent show, and that
Russell is a fantastic entertainer and showman. He was also
impressed by Deans guitar work and by Alan Doyle, who sang
in French, so I think he's going to check out GBS. Here's to the next time!
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From CGee: "My trip was such a blur and so
short that I really don't have much more to add to what everyone
has already said. I didn't even get a chance to say hello to any
of the guys and so a great concert was what I got for my dash across
the Pond and that's enough. |
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| Lydia from Brussels: First of all, I would like to thank you for all the information that you gathered nearly each day. Your site is a real gold mine. Thanks to all your hard work, I was able to attend the Le Thor Concert. And this is my little report of the event. After only 5 hours 30 minutes train from Brussels (God bless the inventor of the Speed Trains !), here I was in South of France, still not really realizing what I was about to see and hear. When I arrived at the "Auditorium du Vaucluse" around 20 persons were already there waiting. I was surprised that most of the ladies were about the same age as myself. No screaming youngsters, nor hysterical fanatics... Other surprise, they all spoke different languages (English, German, Italian, Spanish... But rarely French !). Around 7:30 PM, the doors were opened. No rush, no fights, everybody was nice and calm (Yes, another surprise). I found a really nice spot, just in the middle of the stage at the 7th row. The 3 first rows were reserved for VIP’s. I was not to far away of Dani (She is so beautiful !). We had a first act with 2 local bands : The Vaucluse Quartet who played some French songs from Nino Ferrer and Jacques Dutronc. Then, a very shy young woman alone with her guitar played 3 self written soft songs. We could tell that she was terrified, but the public gave her a very warm welcome. The 3rd band was from Australia (Unfortunately, I don’t remember their name) that made us a hip hop set. The crowd was warmed up to welcome Russell and his friends. He arrived dressed in a black with small white strips suit. He started his set with ‘Weight of a Man’, ‘How did we get from Saying I love you’ and ‘Land of the Second Chance’. But, he could not help it to joking around with everybody, talking slowly, articulate every word. He quickly discovered that only a few in the audience were actually French! Ridley Scott arrived then. If he wanted to arrive on the quiet, that was not Russell’s opinion. He introduced him to everybody by calling him ‘Riddles’ and asking him if he had to redo the set again ! The songs moved on : ‘Mickey’, ‘Swept Away Bayou’, ‘Worst in the World’, ‘Raweyn’, ‘I miss my mind’ (my favorite song), ‘Mr Harris’, ‘What you want me to forget’ (With Russell playing the Gretch), ‘Memorial Day’, ‘Things have gotta change’ and ‘one good Year’ (another of my favorites). It was really hard to stay seated. I wanna to dance and I was not the only one as I could see from the Ladies jumping in their seats below me ! Before starting one of his new songs ‘Testify’, he made a speech about the fact that he wanted to make a video clip for this song. But, paying extras to make the video was so expensive. So, Alan came up with the idea of shooting it during a concert and that the public will pay to see it ! Russell ask us to raise our arms and shake our hands during each chorus and if that was not good enough, they will replay the song 10 times if necessary ! That was really funny. After the first break, they played: ‘My hand My heart’ and ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ (with Russell on the Gretch again). The crowd went wild. Everybody was up, clapping, dancing and singing along. Alan made a French solo just with Stuart and Stewie playing with him. I was trying to wonder which song it was, I recognized the music, tho but could not make out the lyrics Alan was singing. At certain moments, he just filled it up with some ‘Da de la la di di da’!! But, it was just adorable the way he did it ! (For the Little Story. I made some research on Internet back home, the song is from Mireille Mathieu and called ‘Moulin Rouge’). Then Russell came back dressed with a blue jersey of French football team. But that one did not last long on him (he probably remembered that nearly no one was local !). He sang the last songs in a black singlet and Jeans with all the women totally getting wild (I must confess that I had to sit down for 10 seconds !!). ‘Breathless’, ‘Another Girl’, ‘Easy and Free’ (a drinking song – I like the lyrics of that one : ‘So be easy and free when you’re drinking with me. I’m a man you don’t meet every day’... Right, mate !!!). They finished this amazing concert with the retake of ‘Testify’. We were all standing up, so I suppose that they had better shoots for the video. (You know, I still wondering if this was another of Russell’s joke or if they really wanted to make a video. If you know the answer, please take me out of my misery !). And that was it... But what a souvenir I will keep from that concert. I really hope that our warm welcome will push him to make some other concerts in Europe. My last comments : I really have met a man with a beautiful soul that day. I hope that he will never change. Anyway, Thank you very much Russ for this wonderful evening and don’t forget, you will always be welcome in Europe ! |
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From Mirella: My husband and I arrived at Le Thor on Saturday evening at about 6:15 pm. I had already withdrawn our tickets the day before, just after our arrival in France and before heading to our hotel in Avignon (by the way, what a beautiful town!). The queue out of the Auditorium was winding through the parking lot; conversations in French, English, German. No Italian, for the moment. At about 7:00 we noticed some people heading towards a spot in the parking area close to the theatre. I didn’t want to lose my place in the queue, so only my hubby went and checked what was going on. But, that guy with a well known baseball hat on looked familiar… OMG, that’s Russell! So I ran there, too and there he was, signing autographs. My husband had already asked him one for me. I handed my MHMH cd, he signed and gave it back to me, with the sweetest smile. Pls understand me, I know this isn’t nothing special for the most of you, but it was the first time I could see him in flesh. His eyes were light green, a slight beard, thin but not skinny at all. He wore the Maple Leaf hat and the North Bergen sweatshirt. Giving back something he had signed to a girl next to me, he slightly touched the shoulder of a man with his felt-pen. Immediately that guy offered his entire shoulder to Russell, who signed the vest giving the man a pat on the back. After having taken some pics (that I hope to be able to post), I went back to the queue. Finally, at 7:40 the doors opened and we got in, after having our bags checked. Luckily, they didn’t noticed my camera and my audio-cassette recorder (yes, I know it was forbidden, but I recorded all the concert and took some pics and video, but having to hide the camera I couldn’t get good stuff). We took our places and saw Danielle getting in with some friends, I think. She was wearing jeans and a floral blouse that left her shoulders bare, loose hair, very cute as always. The show began with a quartet from Luberon, quite good, but I don’t remember their name. Then came a very nice and shy French girl, very good and sweet singer and guitar player. The last ones were the Australian hip hop trio, quite well received. And then at 8:40…the strains of Always Take The Weather resounded and the band made its entrance. Russell was wearing his pinstripe suit and a black shirt, sparkling shoes and sparkling ring, his hair short at the back and a little longer in front with a hint of middle parting. Alan had a suit on too, I can’t describe the others, sorry. Just at the beginning of the gig he noticed some people standing leaning against the wall near the stage (the theatre was full). Russell immediately invited them to come forward and take a seat in a reserved area not yet occupied. The music began and the songs quickly followed each other. Russell didn’t tell much about every song as I would have expected, having seen “Texas”, (he spoke about Memorial Day, Raewyn, The Land Of The Second Chance), he said he would speak not too fast and not too Australian, maybe thinking about the audience’s knowledge of English. But he didn’t spare himself at all, singing passionately, joking with the guys of the band and with us (see Carol’s report about 600 free extras for his video), sipping beer and lighting a cigarette from time to time. I was really struck by the tender and meaningful expression of his eyes when he looked at Danielle, singing some particular songs (Weight Of A Man, Raewyn). You already know which songs they sang. The audience participated enthusiastically, recognizing every song from their first bars, clapping our hands, singing along with him (but it’s quite hard to do that planted in a seat, without the possibility to stand up and dance!). He introduced TESTIFY making, with a funny face, a quick reference to his recent contact with the law. That’s a wonderful song, with an enthralling rhythm: he asked us to follow him raising our arms and moving our hands, in the gospel songs way, and snapping our fingers. At about the end of the show (he had kept his jacket on all the time, often passing his hand through his more and more sweaty hair), Russell came on the stage wearing a French football team’s T-shirt and waving the team’s scarf. The audience appreciated. And then… he gave his back to us and got the T-shirt off, revealing the famous black tank top over an incredibly pale skin and those well-known glorious biceps! The ladies went completely crazy!!! He said the next song would have been the last one, but since they are a bunch of sluts, they would dance for us all the night. And Folsom Prison Blues began, then they did (don’t remember the exact order) Testify once more, the song he sang when he was in jail I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day (asking us to sing the refrain all together) and two other songs I didn’t know. We were all standing, finally, dancing and singing and clapping our hands following the rhythm. A wonderful crazy atmosphere! I don’t remember the exact sequence of the events, I was too excited at the time, but I think that, after a very funny Alan’s almost-in-French performance (that guy is really nice and sweet), the gig was over. It was 11:30 pm. And we went out. We waited outside for quite a long time hoping to see Russell again, but then we heard that there was a party on and so we left. Luckily I spent all this time chatting with another nice Italian girl, Paola, (she came from Milan, too, with her husband) and this is another wonderful thing to add to this wonderful night, a night that will surely remain in my mind and my heart for life. P.S. (“Guilty I am, I won’t defend it”: I stole the gig poster from a shop window in Avignon) |
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From budsbabe: A
Day in Provence.....
(apologies to Peter Mayle) |
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words, but Mate is (giggle) Then he asked the other security
guy at his side to step back because he covered the light from the
car.