I had to go over to the Galerie 106 to see the exhibition of my friend Olivier Rodriguez’s photos yesterday and when I got there, I found I not only had a feast of photos – with Olivier’s, but also with those of Aurore Gorius, Julien Navas and Victor Paimblanc – but I also met up with my friend Calvin McEnron. And as we spoke eventually Calvin said he wanted to play one of his new songs. So I handed over my guitar and he played and sang, right in the middle of the vernissage. That’s Calvin – and he writes some damned interesting songs….
Olivier’s photos were all taken with an iPhone, and I recognized a lot of the subjects of the photos – ie, the people being photographed. Olivier is the guy who took one of my favorite photos of me, which I use as my profile photo on my myspace. Olivier used to do a lot of the photos of the musicians at Earle’s open mic, so he’s got some wonderful stuff.
But in the end, I had to leave after an hour or so from the Galerie to get over to Le Cavern to hear the concert of a woman singer I discovered last year, and whom I immediately fell for. Gaelle Buswel has an amazing voice, extraordinary charm and stage presence, and she…gee, she has a little of that Bruce Springsteen quality of looking like she’s loving every minute of the performance and the communication with the audience. Last night she played with her band, Cam On, the two brothers of Vietnamese origin playing bass and lead are extraordinary. Last night it was mostly cover songs, that they did, but Gaelle also has some of her own.