Beranger: Keep on rockin' in the accordion world.
Beranger is comprised to two unassuming, polite, slightly offbeat young French guys making approachable, pleasant folk tunes with a pastiche of accordion, ukulele, and other assorted instruments. Upon seeing them, you would consider them at home playing on a boheme street or a small commune in an unscathed forest. Now, take two said French folksters and throw them into a posh CD release fete at Palais de Tokyo in Paris awash with three thousand dollar suits, a chef making fresh by-the-minute hors d’oeuvres, and open service bars whipping up champagne and Grey Goose cocktails. It made for an interesting evening.
Up to my neck folk songs and crowd.
I was fortunate enough to be graciously invited along by Stephane Jais, one of my bosses at Fanshake, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so swank in my life. Donning a black suit and tie, I stood amidst an outlandishly packed, intimate little environment complete with stripped walls, mood lighting, and Beranger performing on the floor. At first glance through the crowd, seeing wave after wave of formal evening wear and haughty expressions, I thought the set would be a little rocky, to say the least.
This, however, was simply not the case. Playing their brand of folk which struck me as a French Jack Johnson with a nuance for traditional world and French folk instruments, Beranger had the crowd standing at attention and wholly enveloped in the show. The two guys, mostly playing just acoustic guitar and violin with dubs of drums and auxiliary instruments, strolled through the set with a light-hearted feel that elicited more than a few laughs and smiles. I was most struck by their closing number, a mix between a Dave Matthews-esque guitar part, a violin that reminded me of an Irish folk song, and dubbed hand-drums that recalled an African influence, Beranger had all eyes on them for the evening.
Swank times chic times a thousand.
Not content to end on the rousing number, though, Beranger donned lei’s and pulled out a jerry-rigged ukulele made from an old oil canister and dove straight into the middle of the crowd for an unplugged Hawaiian sing-along. Amazingly enough, everyone in the audience fell dead silent save for the few laughs at the antics of the two, and listened intently as they wrapped up the evening. So, between a solid set, a solid clientele, and a very solid open bar, I wouldn’t find myself wont to call Beranger’s CD release a pretty grand affair, I didn’t know it was possible to have such a good time on a Tuesday night.
Beranger:
