Neneh Cherry - 7 seconds and a Million voices in Nice.

The Nice Jazz Festival is anything but Jazz.
Tonight we witnessed, experienced, and tasted the talents of Joe Jackson, Beat Assilant(sorry I don't know who they are), CIRKUS featuring Neneh Cherry, wow.....let me pause for a moment Neneh Cheery.........wow. Oh and Randy Newman. If my kid was there he would have asked for Monsters Inc.
Now it has been a strange but wonderful weekend and to inform you of all I have done would take too much time so lets concentrate on the music. A friend met her man inside who was one of the riggers, and the first words out of his mouth were JJ was shit, so the company didn't really want to hang around, I was dissappointed but delighted with the bits I heard which although unkown were damn good. I think the 'Is she really going out with him?' is about the only song everyone knows, check him out here, it was a good gig and although people seemed to be sparse on the ground everyone was having a good time of sitting on the grass, looking at olive trees and easy listening,....I know it sounds weird, but take my word for it, you had to be there.
Afer some reasonably priced beer 25cl on tap or 33 in a can both for 3 euros (??? ) we waltzed into the arena. The french are very particular about their music. If there is a seat they will sit. Sit they did. Some of the most body popping, hip hopping, soul dropping, politically aware riffs and beats swam over the crowd from the CIRKUS and the only one digging the jive apart from the greats on stage seemed to be yours truly, In fact the audience was so dead it turned into a night long rap between me and the band.... I exaggerate, but only mildly. Neneh made the point it was a shame they couldn't communicate in french, I offered to translate, and she thought about it for a second, or maybe a half a second, or maybe I flatter myself. Basically a lot of new music, great great great stuff. The rapport between the band members, the children of the musicans, and the audience was typically french. Those on stage had a blast, while I had a lady behind me tell me sit down, its a seated concerted. I told her to stand up as it was music debout, stood up music,. She glared Neneh smiled and I had a blast. Sorry to Nenehs man, you were great with your dedication of the song 'Asshole'to George bush. I wondered later if it's why Randy Newman tried his new song, informing us they weren't all that bad. Also a dedication to those in Beruit and rightly so I thought.
Newman was fun, he was on late, but half way through he got maudlin and with work crying in the morning, I wondered about his political correctness, singing about short people, 'niggers' and rednecks and it got just a wee bit tiring. He also sang the song about the apparent, hipocrasy of freedom and what rednecks think. I was shocked as I usually am when I hear that N word, and at the end of the night I was left wondering was he serious or tounge in cheek?
It was a great set of gigs, no matter what your politics, a shame there wasn't any jazz, great to hear some political music again and hopefully CIRKUS and Ms Cherry and co will continue. So if you are around next summer and wondering where you could possible hand out on warm summer nights, don't worry there is no jazz, no shakespear, but plenty of good gigging.