Les Tres Bien Ensemble
Buffalo Bar, London, 23rd June, 2006
I have high hopes for this night as I approach the Buffalo Bar. If you've
never been, then you should find an excuse soon as there is usually
some gem of a night being totally overlooked by the general public.
Tonight seems to be no different, although there is some stiff competition
from the likes of Bearsuit at the Barfly. But the crowd were a suitably
supportive if slightly random rabble.
When the band take to the stage my eyes and ears light up. They look
great, impressively French, and as the first few chords blurt out I
can tell this is going to be fun. Their sound is firmly rooted in 60s
French pop, which effortlessly transports you to 1960s Paris, dirty
underground drinking dives and the kind of dancing you only see on Top
Of The Pops 2. The music was great and the random Spanish/English translations
between the songs were as entertaining as they were informative, ("this
is about us, les tres bon ensemble, as we get on together very well")
but even as a massive French pop fan I found it difficult to keep entranced.
The impressively charismatic presence of Suzette de la Grace Fabergé
shines through the whole performance, inviting the crowd to join her
in jumping around with joy at the effervescent pop, and there was always
some driving melody or great drumming (I have found myself a competitor
for my new favourite drummer in Serge Clavier), but even though they
are really good at what they do, after a while I begin to drift off
into wondering what it would be like if I was French, or if they bought
their jumpers together or if it was just coincidence that they both
happened to be wearing them tonight.
Having said that this is defiantly the music I want to have in my possession
next time I feel like dancing around my bedroom. It's excellently written,
infectious driven pop, and I would recommend listening to them any day
of the week. The only drawback is for a non French speaker it can be
tiring to not understand anything being sung. Still if there was ever
a reason to learn...
Clare Charles
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