François Virot 2

If I remember correctly, earlier in the day I was talking to Vincent Moon about the adventures in doing a Take Away Show and how this energy must spread throughout the rest of the world. One conversation led to another and we started talking about this little band from France. They were going to play at a entrance of the BART (underground station) station in San Francisco that afternoon. Though, I didn’t know when or where they were playing and was already exhausted from the weekend activities, i didn’t want to go, but Vincent insisted that I must go, no way around it.

I mustered enough energy grabbed my stuff and off I went, aimlessly I searched the station they were supposedly playing at, nothing, but fortunately I read on their myspace that they did have a show at a local bar later in the night. Perhaps I’ll finally be able to catch them there. Apparently, this little high energy French trio is called Clara Clara which Francois Virot (Take Away Show #37) plays drums for.

Francois holds one of my favorite Take Away Shows and he possesses such a unique voice, so I was quite surprise to hear that he’d be opening up the concert with his solo stuff, though he wasn’t on the bill for the tour (an impromptu guest, I suppose). After the show, I asked Francois if he would like to extend his take away here in San Francisco, he was excited about the idea and off we went. But the night was cursed! For some apparent reason my camera ran out of batteries within minutes during his first song, I guess the adult video stores and bright lights will have to wait for another show. We decided to meet in Oakland the next morning, though we only had a half hour to do so.

It was Perfect! This is where a take away show thrives: no time to think, no time to set up shots, no time to eat, but just enough energy to exist with the music, the musician and the surroundings. It was Beautiful! There was no way you could script a better show in any way, it came through like a flash; like a lightning bolt, a jolt of energy then dissipates into the ground. Francois was a treat, he gave us a glimpse in Paris and now the San Francisco Bay Area.

Nate Chan