white men can't jump....well french men can't boogie

During the summer here there are concerts, operas, ballets, and other types of entertainment in the old Roman ampitheatre. On Tuesday night, there was a concert called "a night of soul" featuring Isaac Hayes and Solomon Burke. And you might ask, "Why is a nice white girl like you going to a soul concert?" and the answer would be.... why not?

So we took the metro over to this theatre. We got there early and ate sandwiches that we brought. The security guys confiscated the bottle of water that Paul was carrying so we had to buy a bottle, and then they took the top off, I think, so Paul couldn't throw it at someone and hurt them. OK, whatever. We got seats front and center about halfway up, which put us on about row 20. The crowd was interesting - lots of old folks like us, some even older, and some younger people, and almost all white and french. Isaac Hayes (of Shaft fame) started things off and he was so awesome. That guy still can sing - with that really really deep voice. He was "rockin" but I found it interesting that the crowd just simply gave him a very polite, sophisticated applause at the end of each number.

Then the stage cleared and out came Solomon Burke. I had never heard of him, but he wrote much of the music of the Blues Brothers, and I really like the Blues Brothers music. And this guy was quite a performer! He could really play to the crowd, but he had to work overtime to get these french people on their feet. We were sitting behind a middle-aged guy who clapped as though he was spastic, and when he was ready to let it loose by swinging his hips a bit, it was really quite funny. I spent as much time watching him as I did the show. That is when I came to the conclusion that "French men can't boogie." The entire show was in English. I often wondered how much of what was sung and/or said was understood. Was this the collection of all English-speaking people in the city? Or were they just there to enjoy the music and "let their hair down" ?

Anyway, the concert lasted a really long time. We got our 24 euros worth and more. The music was fantastic and the setting was absolutely beautiful. It was clear, cool, crisp night and this ampitheatre is high on a hill that overlooks the city. Wow! what a night!