This week’s concerts in Paris

Perry’s Music Picks

Elysian Fields

John Zorn and Tzadik present the music of Serge Gainsbourg at the Salle Pleyel: Composer and saxophonist John Zorn brings a collection of musicians from the Downtown New York scene to pay hommage to one of France’s strangest … click for more

Perry’s Music Picks

Cyro Baptista. Photo © Shawn Scheps

John Zorn and Tzadik present the music of Serge Gainsbourg at the Salle Pleyel: Composer and saxophonist John Zorn brings a collection of musicians from the Downtown New York scene to pay hommage to one of France’s strangest pop phenomena, Serge Gainsbourg, as part of a series related to the Cité de la Musique’s exhibition. Brazilian-born percussionist and band-leader Cyro Baptista and his Banquet of the Spirits quartet tackle “Melody Nelson”; atmospheric pop group Elysian Fields adapt “Bonnie and Clyde”; Marc Ribot‘s trio Ceramic Dog, along with actress, singer and violinist Eszter Balint, cover “Un Poison Violent” and “Hier ou Demain”; Sean Lennon interprets “Comic Strip” and “L’Homme à la Tête de Chou.” Zorn joins in for the big finale, “Contact.” (Also coming up in the series is, of course, Jane Birkin, at the Cité de la Musique on March 28.)
Salle Pleyel: 252 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, 75008 Paris. Métro: Ternes. Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. €60.

Datsuns at Point Ephemere: The hype these New Zealanders benefited from a few years back has faded, but they are still playing their unpretentious brand of fast-paced, big-guitar rock and roll. Watch the crowd in Galway in the video below to see the proper response to the Datsuns.
Point Ephémère: 200 quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris. Métro: Jaurès or Louis Blanc. Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m. €15.70. Link for tickets.

A recent Datsuns show in a Galway bar:

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Socalled at Café de la Danse:Producer, rapper, pianist and accordionist Socalled has put Hannukah and Passover together with hip hop and led a klezmer cruise down the Dneiper River in the Ukraine from Kiev to Odessa. His musical collaborators have included the likes of former James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley, former Wu-Tang Clan member Killah Priest and jazz-and-klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer.
Café de la Danse: 5 passage Louis-Philippe, 75011. Métro: Bastille. Tuesday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. €20. Link for tickets.

Surnatural Orchestra at the Studio de l’Ermitage:This 19-piece orchestra started out as a klezmer-playing brass band but has branched out into other types of music, particularly structured improvisation. For this concert, they’ve announced ragas, two-time waltzes, orchestral tutti and wild techno.
Studio de l’Ermitage: 8 rue de l’Ermitage, 75020 Paris. Métro: Jourdain, Menilmontant.
Tuesday and Wednesday, March 10 and 11 at 8:30 p.m. €10.

Perry Leopard

Perry plays music around town with his band Los Caballeros Simpáticos and other friends.

Perry’s upcoming gigs:

With DrKev on guitar at Corcoran’s St Michel: Thursday, Feb. 19 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. 28 rue Saint-André-des-Arts, 75006 Paris.

With Balthazar on piano at Carillion Abbesses: Sunday, March 1 from 7-10 p.m. 1 rue des Abbesses, 75018 Paris.

Perry’s upcoming plays:

“Bad News Gospel,” a one-act musical, with Lari Lucien:
March 21 at the Petit Ney: 10 avenue de la Porte Montmartre, 75018 Paris .
April 16 at the Ogresse (with Antonio Garza’s “Men in Uniform”): 4 rue des Prairies, 75020 Paris.

For Perry’s playlist and other goodies:http://perryleopard.free.fr/playlists/

© 2009 Paris Update

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