Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

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Dan
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Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Dan »

Moonbeam will be… well… beaming himself over from Australia to Montpellier in France during October, so naturally a few forumers have arranged to meet up during that time because, you know, life is short, and we are a friendly community on this forum, and if you love music and lists you might as well spend some time with nice people who love those things as much as you do.

So far, Moonbeam, Henrik, Honorio and I have confirmed that we will be meeting up in Montpellier during the weekend of 11-13 October. Nicolas hasn’t confirmed yet, but might also be attending.








We would very much like to extend the invitation to everyone else. I suppose it might be easier for our French friends on the forum to join than it might be for others, but you are all welcome to beam yourselves over from wherever you are. (If only beaming didn’t cost any money.)

Let us know if you can make it too. I’m obviously excited.

Last edited by Dan on Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Marseille, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Not Marseille, but Montpellier!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Marseille, France

Post by Moonbeam »

And yeeeeeeeeeeeessssss! It is going to be an amazing weekend!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Dan »

Moonbeam wrote:Not Marseille, but Montpellier!
Lol, OMG (or should it be OMG, lol)? I totally knew it was Montpellier, not Marseille. I've even been doing research about what to do in Montpellier (not Marseille). I've corrected the title of the thread.

So, yeah, we hope to see some of you in Montpellier, if anyone can make it. :greetings-waveyellow:

At least I didn't get the year wrong. It's definitely 2019.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Dan wrote:
Moonbeam wrote:Not Marseille, but Montpellier!
Lol, OMG (or should it be OMG, lol)? I totally knew it was Montpellier, not Marseille. I've even been doing research about what to do in Montpellier (not Marseille). I've corrected the title of the thread.

So, yeah, we hope to see some of you in Montpellier, if anyone can make it. :greetings-waveyellow:

At least I didn't get the year wrong. It's definitely 2019.
Marseille isn't too far away - just a 2 hour train ride. A closer option could be Sète, the home of Georges Brassens! It's a cool little town by the water and it's only a 30-minute train ride. There is a Brassens museum I haven't visited before: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espace_Georges-Brassens
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

And of course, there is karaoke on Saturdays at the Jungle Pub... :mrgreen:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Dan »

Moonbeam wrote:Marseille isn't too far away - just a 2 hour train ride. A closer option could be Sète, the home of Georges Brassens! It's a cool little town by the water and it's only a 30-minute train ride.
George Brassens. Now you're talking. I'd be happy to experience anything related to this compassionate yet subversive songwriter. Because I don't speak French, I can't appreciate the subtlety of his poetry as much as I'd like to. But I can certainly appreciate the subtle elegance of his music. In fact, I'll just post my favourite song of his right now...
Moonbeam wrote:And of course, there is karaoke on Saturdays at the Jungle Pub... :mrgreen:
Fab! But I'm not sure the French are ready for my terrible pronunciation (and hopefully less terrible dance moves) of Les Rita Mitsouko's wonderful "Marcia Baila"...
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Dan wrote: Fab! But I'm not sure the French are ready for my terrible pronunciation (and hopefully less terrible dance moves) of Les Rita Mitsouko's wonderful "Marcia Baila"...
They will appreciate it! After I did "Sans contrefaçon" by Mylène Farmer, the people I was with said "now you are French!" Might have a video of it somewhere.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Nick »

Dan wrote:
So far, Moonbeam, Henrik, Honorio and I have confirmed that we will be meeting up in Montpellier during the weekend of 11-13 October. Nicolas hasn’t confirmed yet, but might also be attending.
Will this be the largest AM meet up yet? Someone who's an expert on AM meet ups will have to fill me in here.
Dan wrote:We would very much like to extend the invitation to everyone else. I suppose it might be easier for our French friends on the forum to join than it might be for others, but you are all welcome to beam yourselves over from wherever you are. (If only beaming didn’t cost any money.)

Let us know if you can make it too. I’m obviously excited.
I'd like to go, but, you know, money and such. Someday I'll leave North America, I swear. If there's ever an AM meet up in the US (particularly the east coast), count me in.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Dan »

Nick wrote:If there's ever an AM meet up in the US (particularly the east coast), count me in.
I'm a little surprised you guys have never attempted to organise something similar on the American side of the Atlantic.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Nick »

Dan wrote:
Nick wrote:If there's ever an AM meet up in the US (particularly the east coast), count me in.
I'm a little surprised you guys have never attempted to organise something similar on the American side of the Atlantic.
Perhaps it's our brusque American nature that has prevented such a meet up from ever taking place?

I kid, I kid. It is quite strange though.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by bootsy »

I can't even get to Florida, how am I going to make it to France. :mrgreen:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by acroamor »

Does anyone live in Georgia (the stateside one) or the surrounding area? I do remember seeing that another former member does, but I forget who and it was quite some time ago.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Romain »

Guys, I'm far too shy and homey to meet you there (do you think, I've never been to Paris when it's 1h30 by TGV) but I'll think of you. You are a bunch of very pleasan guy.

For the music, at karaoke, choose a little Brassens (going to Sète is a good idear too) and don't forget Boby Lapointe especially, who comes from Pézenas, a village not very far from Montpellier. Considering the near impossibility for French people to sing these texts correctly, it can be very funny for a non-French-speaking person of origin : -)

I invite you to drink a glass of Pic-St-loup, a very good red wine from the region.

I hope you will have a wonderful time, I have no doubt about that.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Nassim »

Count me in guys !
Maybe not on Friday night because I live on the furthest side of the country and it's a bit early to confirm I can take the day off, but I'll for sure join for the rest of the weekend !
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Henrik »

Nassim wrote:Count me in guys !
Maybe not on Friday night because I live on the furthest side of the country and it's a bit early to confirm I can take the day off, but I'll for sure join for the rest of the weekend !
Fantastic! It will be a pleasure to meet you and anyone who joins in!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Rob »

Although France is manageable for me, the date is not, so I have to skip this one. Hopefully sometime in the future I can join!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Honorio »

Hey, my friends! It will be my pleasure to join you in Montpellier! And welcome to the band, Nassim!
We're five right now, we can reproduce a Stones cover...

But everyone's invited to the party! It would be great if we get to ten!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by StevieFan13 »

I'm gonna be in London around that time, so we shall see if that weekend is free-ish. I'd love to meet you guys!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Honorio »

Oh, yeah! Good news, StevieFan13!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Henrik »

That's great, Stevie Fan! Let's aim for this cover.

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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Jackson »

acroamor wrote:Does anyone live in Georgia (the stateside one) or the surrounding area? I do remember seeing that another former member does, but I forget who and it was quite some time ago.
You may be remembering that I used to live in Athens, GA during college, but I'm in LA now. It's funny, I have no idea where the American AMers live.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by acroamor »

Jackson wrote:
acroamor wrote:Does anyone live in Georgia (the stateside one) or the surrounding area? I do remember seeing that another former member does, but I forget who and it was quite some time ago.
You may be remembering that I used to live in Athens, GA during college, but I'm in LA now. It's funny, I have no idea where the American AMers live.
That is funny, I was in LA for college but now I'm in Atlanta.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by StevieFan13 »

I’m based in New York (City for home, upstate for school)
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by spiritualized »

Hello :) well that is just peachy.

I live 25 mins from Montpellier, having moved about a month ago there. So you can count me in to meet you somewhere around Montpellier and I hope to be able to share the beauties of the area.
I can't commit fully though as I have a job which can take me away at the last minute - but I will do my damnedest :)
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Nick »

I live just outside scenic Albany, NY.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Dan »

Wonderful that Nassim, spiritualized, and StevieFan could all potentially join us! :happy-partydance:
Romain wrote:Guys, I'm far too shy and homey to meet you there (do you think, I've never been to Paris when it's 1h30 by TGV) but I'll think of you. You are a bunch of very pleasan guy.

For the music, at karaoke, choose a little Brassens (going to Sète is a good idear too) and don't forget Boby Lapointe especially, who comes from Pézenas, a village not very far from Montpellier. Considering the near impossibility for French people to sing these texts correctly, it can be very funny for a non-French-speaking person of origin : -)

I invite you to drink a glass of Pic-St-loup, a very good red wine from the region.

I hope you will have a wonderful time, I have no doubt about that.
I can totally understand the shyness. We'll think of you while drinking a glass of Pic-St-loup. And if a karaoke will happen, I'm sure at least one of us will make a fool of ourselves by attempting a difficult Brassens or Lapointe song. (I'll record a video if it's not me singing.) :mrgreen:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Setherex »

acroamor wrote:
Jackson wrote:
acroamor wrote:Does anyone live in Georgia (the stateside one) or the surrounding area? I do remember seeing that another former member does, but I forget who and it was quite some time ago.
You may be remembering that I used to live in Athens, GA during college, but I'm in LA now. It's funny, I have no idea where the American AMers live.
That is funny, I was in LA for college but now I'm in Atlanta.
Well we should have done something about that back then! :o

I'll never make it to a European meeting. But I'm sure some day I'll be tempted to colonize a stateside one...
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by jamieW »

Would love to meet all of you someday but (similar to Romain) I'm a terminal introvert and (now that I work from home) rarely leave the house. I do pretty well getting to know people one-on-one; but, in a group, I shrink to the back, never to be heard from, so it's really difficult to get to know me. (I watched the videos of Henrik & Moonbeam performing karaoke, and in my wildest dreams I could never do that.) Still, I'm really excited for all the attendees of this upcoming meeting and am looking forward to seeing videos, photos, album cover recreations, etc. It's one of the highlights of this friendly forum! :romance-grouphug:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Romain »

Dan wrote: And if a karaoke will happen, I'm sure at least one of us will make a fool of ourselves by attempting a difficult Brassens or Lapointe song. (I'll record a video if it's not me singing.) :mrgreen:
I WANT to see that. (and another Moonbeam dance too, but it's another history.) :mrgreen:
Have a good trip all of you.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Found my attempt at Mylène from 2 years ago:
This place had a guitarist who joined in.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Romain »

Excuse me Moonbeam but I laughed to tears on my couch :mrgreen: :happy-partydance:
Thank you again.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

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Romain wrote:Excuse me Moonbeam but I laughed to tears on my couch :mrgreen: :happy-partydance:
Thank you again.
Happy to be of service! :mrgreen:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by nicolas »

I'll be there of course!
We should organize the meeting and especially the accomodation. What about a Whatsapp group?
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

nicolas wrote:I'll be there of course!
We should organize the meeting and especially the accomodation. What about a Whatsapp group?
Yes, I agree we should get going with this! I'd be happy to start a Whatsapp group. Those who are coming, send me a PM with your phone number and I'll create a group.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Henrik »

Moonbeam wrote:
nicolas wrote:I'll be there of course!
We should organize the meeting and especially the accomodation. What about a Whatsapp group?
Yes, I agree we should get going with this! I'd be happy to start a Whatsapp group. Those who are coming, send me a PM with your phone number and I'll create a group.
:obscene-drinkingcheers: :romance-grouphug: :auto-camptrailer:

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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Romain »

Guys, if I can't join you alas, I'll say hello later on TV, around 3pm (French Hour), if you watch the Tour de France, when the peloton passes through Courzieu! :greetings-waveyellow:

I'll be at my in-laws' house! :cry:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by StevieFan13 »

I gotta get a WhatsApp, and even then I’m not sure if I can make it, but I’ll try!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

StevieFan13 wrote:I gotta get a WhatsApp, and even then I’m not sure if I can make it, but I’ll try!
Would be great if you could come! No pressure though.
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Romain wrote:Guys, if I can't join you alas, I'll say hello later on TV, around 3pm (French Hour), if you watch the Tour de France, when the peloton passes through Courzieu! :greetings-waveyellow:

I'll be at my in-laws' house! :cry:
We should keep a look out! If not, I'm sure we could arrange a group Facetime or something!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Henrik »

Two weeks have passed since the planned Montpellier meetup. Did it actually happen? Yes it did!

After the meetup, the seven(!) of us (Dan, Honorio, Moonbeam, Nassim, Nicolas, Spiritualized and myself) have spent some time to sum up the weekend, and we’re just about to give you a swell presentation of our activities together, including karaoke videos and a countdown of the best French songs of all time. Look out for more information to come...!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Romain »

Oh yeah baby!
Was there a shoe throw this year?
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Romain wrote: Mon Oct 28, 2019 8:05 am Oh yeah baby!
Was there a shoe throw this year?
Well, I twice knocked over speakers during karaoke a week before this meeting, but that’s as close as you’ll get to a shoe throw!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Henrik »

Montpellier meeting - Introduction

When I released this website in 2001, it had a forum that hardly anyone visited, or knew about. I could never have guessed that it would eventually become this amazing community of people. And not only in this friendly online space, but in real life. I am sure that this weekend together with Dan, Honorio, Moonbeam, Nassim, Nicolas and Spiritualized - the biggest AM meeting so far - will remain one of the happiest memories of my life.

What a weekend it was. We sang karaoke, strolled around the lovely Montpellier and Sète, visited a Georges Brassens museum, played an AM guessing game, as well as nominated and voted on the best French songs of all time. Stay tuned...
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by StevieFan13 »

Sorry I couldn't make it! School has been crazy. Sounds like it was amazing!
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Romain »

Henrik wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:44 pm Montpellier meeting - Introduction

When I released this website in 2001, it had a forum that hardly anyone visited, or knew about. I could never have guessed that it would eventually become this amazing community of people. And not only in this friendly online space, but in real life. I am sure that this weekend together with Dan, Honorio, Moonbeam, Nassim, Nicolas and Spiritualized - the biggest AM meeting so far - will remain one of the happiest memories of my life.

What a weekend it was. We sang karaoke, strolled around the lovely Montpellier and Sète, visited a Georges Brassens museum, played an AM guessing game, as well as nominated and voted on the best French songs of all time. Stay tuned...
I'm sure Nicolas sang La Marine on the Karaoké :-)

And since Brassens is in the spotlight, your little band immediately reminds me of one of his fabulous songs, which has become a timeless classic in France: Les Copains d'abord (Friends first): :mrgreen:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Henrik wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 8:44 pm Montpellier meeting - Introduction

When I released this website in 2001, it had a forum that hardly anyone visited, or knew about. I could never have guessed that it would eventually become this amazing community of people. And not only in this friendly online space, but in real life. I am sure that this weekend together with Dan, Honorio, Moonbeam, Nassim, Nicolas and Spiritualized - the biggest AM meeting so far - will remain one of the happiest memories of my life.

What a weekend it was. We sang karaoke, strolled around the lovely Montpellier and Sète, visited a Georges Brassens museum, played an AM guessing game, as well as nominated and voted on the best French songs of all time. Stay tuned...
You have a lot to be proud of, creating such an amazing forum that has led to so many real-life friendships! :happy-partydance:
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Moonbeam »

Montpellier meeting - Karaoke!

After everyone arrived in Montpellier and had dinner, we set out for Le Restophone, a bar in the south of Montpellier. Karaoke is not so popular in Montpellier that there are reliably good places to go - in my previous trips, places which have had it before have stopped their karaoke nights, and consequently, I felt compelled to do some "karaoke research". I headed to Le Restophone the Friday prior and the atmosphere was good - people from other tables were cheering on strangers as they sang, so it seemed to be an appropriate venue for "the most fun karaoke place in France", the claim Le Restophone proudly announces on their website.

And fun was had indeed! The seven of us were joined by Spiritualized's wife and two daughters, who joined in the fun and seem destined to give First Aid Kit a run for their money with their great harmonies! Music brought all of us together through AM, and we would pay back the favour by singing to our hearts' content!

The first performance by an AMer blew the roof of the place, as Nassim launched into a spirited version of "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. We were all amazed by Nassim's gusto, so much that we felt the performance could only be done justice with a triple camera angle video capture assembled by Honorio's daughter from the three AM cameramen.

Marvel at the glory here:
Inspired by the energy of Nassim's performance, I decided to have a go at promoting my favorite genre, synth funk, with a performance of "Early in the Morning" by The Gap Band. My dancing threatened to split the stage consisting of two small tables in half, but I managed to not fall into the void.

Enjoy the nasty synth bass here:
Next up was Nicolas, whose voice we have enjoyed before with his collaborations with Honorio as the vocalist of Nic & Hon, so we knew we were in for a treat. And what a treat it was, as Nic's voice soared through a version of "Quand on arrive en ville" by Daniel Balavoine, a song you will hear more about soon!

Lose yourself in awe at Nic's voice here:
The peak of the night occurred when the seven of us decided to form a supergroup for a performance. A number of songs were considered, but we eventually settled on a souped-up version of a previous AM karaoke collaboration. And so, we combined forces to become the one and only AM League, performing "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League. I've always loved karaoke, but performing together with 6 friends I have met through AM made this particularly special moment, one I will never forget. Let no one ever malign 1981 as a weak year for music again!

Witness this moment in AM history here:
Finally, I couldn't let the night finish without paying tribute to my favorite French artist in Mylène Farmer, performing my favorite song of hers in "Sans logique". I was unexpectedly joined on stage by a (drunk?) girl in the crowd who wanted to sing with me after my performance of "Early in the Morning". I don't think she knew the song, and she may have felt that she got more than she bargained for when I started with the repeated, threatening utterances of "this is a blank formatted diskette", but we soon kicked into a fun, amateur groove.

See where this falls on the scale of awkward to fun here:
I can't sufficiently emphasise how grateful I am that this night happened. The entire weekend was a dream come true for me, and to celebrate in this way was amazing.
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Henrik
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Henrik »

Believe it or not, but Moonbeam had tonsillitis during the weekend. He could hardly speak when we met him and would probably have stayed in bed if it wasn’t for our company. But at the karaoke place he miraculously found the strength to go on stage no less than three times!
Everyone you meet fights a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
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Rocky Raccoon
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Re: Acclaimed Music Meetup – 11 to 13 October in Montpellier, France

Post by Rocky Raccoon »

That much fun is illegal in a lot of countries.
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