Stromae at Terminal 5... A Month Later.

So I went to see Stromae at Terminal 5 on 9/19/2014 and it was awesome!!!!!! So, why didn't I blog about it sooner? Well, I lost most of the footage on my phone, but I found a video on Youtube, and I'm in it... kinda.

Look for the person with the puffy hair holding up her phone- That's me.

So what is my Stromae TERMINAL 5 story?

 When I landed in New York, I wanted to fast forward time and jam out at Terminal 5. I don't get excited about much, but this was a pretty big deal. When the day came my cousin tagged along. We got a pretty good spot in line, and as we waited I observed my surroundings . There was a woman in line that interviewed other fans, and another woman showing off the picture she took with Stromae after his June concert. She bragged about how nice he was, and I could hear her new plans to meet him again after the show. When we got in, the same woman with the photo was skipping the line. Luckily for us, two people put the woman in her place and we didn't see her for the entire concert.

When we finally got settled into the building, a DJ  tried to entertain us and it was the longest hour of my life!! I couldn't wait for him to get off stage, but I was so excited to be enjoying my first actual concert. I would count that 1995 Reggae Sun Fest ordeal, but I almost got shot that day... so I won't.

When the hour ended,  everyone gave a thunderous applause and the DJ vanished. Suddenly, I looked up and I swear I saw Dimitri and the photographer walking around on the second floor. I would have kept watching them upstairs, but I saw Stromae's band appear on stage, and the show had begun.


After the fantastic animation, Mr. Van Haver appeared on  stage and I was absolutely in awe. Some people call it star struck, I call it musician struck because Stromae hates the word "star".

The very handsome, and slender performer gave an amazing show. I couldn't help but wonder if he ever got tired of jumping around like that, but it was electrifying. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. He's absolutely gorgeous, and his charm makes you feel that when the curtain closes he was a regular guy who just enjoyed entertaining people. He didn't feel like a super star, I felt like I was watching a very talented friend put on a show. He seemed humble, and good humored; although I hadn't ever been at a real concert, I can sense snobbish attitudes from different celebrities when I watch their concert footage. Stromae didn't give us a snobbish or larger than life attitude. That's what really made the show special, and unforgettable. I told the woman in front that it was my first concert, and she said it would change my life forever. She and her family drove 12 hours to come and go to the show: I can't say it changed my life, but I will say, it's not the last Stromae show I will attend.

There was never a dull moment, and I learned to never say French Fries again. I was disappointed with one thing though: I really wanted to hear more songs from his last album. He did perform Alors Danse and Peace or Violence, but I was looking forward to hearing Je cours, Pipi au lit, Te quiero, etc. So the next time I go to a Stromae show, it will not be in America, I think his concerts outside the U.S. are longer, but I could be wrong.

Enjoy the recording that I manage to retrieve below. If you haven't gone to a Stromae show, I hope you will go soon, it is definitely something you will never forget. 


I promise this isn't turning into a Stromae blog: Ausar the Moor, Brittany Williams, Miso Agogo, and Will Harden, and Get Right Gee  Blogs are COMING SOON


Peace and Blessings
Tami-Lee
tamikalee7@gmail.com

The Maestro, STROMAE

   So I know it’s been a while boys and girls, but I came across some music and it has pulled me out of blogger hiding. There are a lot of things that inspire me, but attractive men are in the top ten. Handsome men maybe my vice, but handsome FOREIGN men are my kryptonite. I was in my own world being a film student, and suddenly a beautiful French man popped up on my Facebook feed via Afropunk. I had to come back to Song Love and tell you all about him.  He’s from Belgium and of Rwandan and Dutch decent, he’s 6’5, green eyes with a hint of yellow, and he has an awesome line of Polo’s and socks.

He’s also a Pisces, which means we are totally compatible (Team Leo).  I think I need to move to Belgium because apparently that’s where the beautiful people live. Ladies and gentlemen I’m done rambling, this gorgeous man’s name is Stromae.

The singer, songwriter, producer gained popularity with his 2009 song Alors on dance (So We Dance), the song is about everyday problems that we all have and it was an instant hit in France. The song also became number one in countries such as Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and many others. It was also number one on the European Hot 100 Singles (wiki). His debut album “Cheese” was released in 2010 and it went gold and platinum in 15 countries (Rockhal.com). In 2013, he released his second album Racine Carrée (Square Root) which includes the very popular songs “Papaoutai” (Where are you, Papa?) and “Formidable” (Wonderful).  Papaoutai is about a young boy dealing with the absence of his father and Formidable was inspired by an encounter he had with a drunken homeless man. Both albums are fantastic and packed with energizing music and poetic lyrics.

                          

           

            Honestly, it’s hard to put Stromae in a genre, although there are different opinions about his style, I classify him as a mixologist of music. His influences included: Hip- Hop, Congolese rumba, salsa, electronica, and something called French chanson. Some say his lyrics are a bit dark even with the instrumentals that make you move, you’re listening to lyrics about absent fatherhood, economic/relationship troubles, drunken sorrow, the dangers of love and twitter, STD’s and the list goes on. Stromae once dubbed his style as “suicide music” but I like to think of it as conscious music instead. He talks about real life issues and circumstances all while making us dance. He may do it all in French, but that doesn’t stop me from listening to him- and it shouldn’t stop you either. If you were bumpin’ "Gangnam style" in the club or in your car, you have no excuses. Go right ahead, open your mind and give Stromae a chance. Personally I like conscious music, it’s a break from hearing those “Twerk sumthing” and “I got diamond breath mints in my mouth” songs- okay I made the last one up, but I may have given someone an idea. You’re welcome. 

         This beautiful man may not be an American artist but there are rumors that he will be working with will.i.am and Pharrell Williams. Kanye West was on the remix for Alors on dance and Angel Haze has also contributed to the remix of “Papaoutai”. This Belgium pop star could be on your radio sooner than you think. In closing, check out the Videos for Papaoutai and comment below. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on graduating film school, learning French, and trying to figure out when and where the next Stromae tour is.
 Until next time everyone, and I promise it will be soon! I hope you like my new imaginary boyfriend, and his music!


         And a message to Stromae: Je t'aime! Quand revenez-vous à l'Amérique? J'aimerais venir à votre concert. Je vais aussi voyager.



If this translates wrong don't judge me I used Google translate. :-) Okay Bye- au revoir ! 

Peace and Blessings

Now enjoy the music!!!!

MIks

Oooh I almost forgot. Stromae is a syllabic inversion of "Maestro”- like a slang word in Belgium.

  

Photo1 from: stromae.tumblr.com

Photo from: www.french-music.org

"... Tell us who gave responsibility without caring

Ah tell us who it is
Everyone knows how to make a child
But no one knows how to be a father.

...Tell me, where are you papa?

 Without even talking to him he knows what he did is wrong
It’s holy papa, tell me where are you broken, you must It’s been at least one thousand times, I counted my fingers

Where are you? Papa, where are you?" -

Stromae, Papaoutai

                                                                     
                     Press the CC( Closed Caption) button  on the Youtube Video to get English lyrics.

                                                      
                                             Check out translated over by CUT-Papaoutai