racaille: originally "riffraff" or "hoodlums" but today used to describe people involved in the hip hop culture who sometimes try to intimidate or rough up people
Yesterday was the Festival of Music throughout France. I went out at dinnertime to see it, but I think I went too early. There were a handful of bands set up around the Marais, Bastille, and Latin Quarter. I had expected live music, but about 2/3rds of the bands I saw consisted of people with loudspeakers set up playing music.
Some savored moments:
Latin Quarter near Saint-Michel: Three middle-aged men played live music and were trying to sing classic rock songs in English. They weren't awful, but they weren't very good either. They made me smile.
The Marais: A woman and her friends had set up loudspeakers and a karaoke machine in the big French windows on the second floor above a gelato shop. The young woman had a really good voice and engaging manner with the crowd...kind of like a French Gloria Estefan. She sang some Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige, etc. At one point a garbage truck pulled up in front of her "stage" to get the trash. She greeted them, and the crowd all clapped for the garbage men who bowed to the crowd just before getting in their truck and leaving.
The Bastille: Near my apartment on a side street some guys has set up speakers and a turntable and were playing hip hop music. A big crowd of teenagers all dressed in black and hip hop clothing had gathered. I had to keep suppressing a smile seeing all these skinny French kids dressed up like Jay Z. It was a lot of fun though.
