Chinatown Belleville
Your taste of life in Paris and France
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Monday, April 4, 2011 • Paris, France
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Once, when someone asked me what there was to do in Paris in two days, I said, “Stay home. You need a lifetime to discover Paris.”
It's true. It's one of the amazing things about living in Paris -- that there is always something new to discover, even when you thought you had 'seen it all.'
Friday night, two friends hosted a joint birthday party at a restaurant in Belleville – an area of the city considered to be the second largest China Town (the 13th arrondissement being the largest area for the Chinese community). I didn't think much of it, but knowing these two guys, who have extraordinary senses of humor and quick to party in a big way, one would have to guess that this was no ordinary Chinese restaurant.
In honor of the gaiety of the evening, I dressed in red from head to toe and donned my ears and neck with glass chili pepper beads (an original creation by Mary Louise Sillman). Accompanied by Lynda Sydney, staff Marketing Director, we headed up to Belleville with gifts in tow to “Chinatown Belleville” on rue du Buisson Saint Louis (number 27) in the 10th arrondissement.
No, this was no ordinary Chinese restaurant. The lighting is like a Las Vegas casino. There is seating for hundreds of people. Monitors are everywhere with a view on a small stage up front and the tables are almost all round to seat 8 to 10. This was one of the many karaoke restaurants in Paris.
Perhaps I am particularly inexperienced with karaoke, seeing as I'd never wish to impose my singing on even my worst enemy, but this was certainly a new consideration for as something one might set out to do in the City of Light...sing for one's Chinese supper!
For those of you as uninformed about karaoke as I am, there are interesting things to learn about the fad. The Japanese word means “empty orchestra” referring to the absence of the voice track in the music. "The concept of creating studio recordings that lack the lead vocal has been around for nearly as long as recording itself. Many artists, amateur and professional, perform in situations where a full band/orchestra is either logistically or financially impractical, so they use a 'karaoke' recording; they are, however, the original artists. (This is not to be confused with 'lip synching,' in which a performer mimes to a previously produced studio recording with the lead vocal intact.)" Wikipedia. org
Karaoke singers are seriously into their hobby. A book listing hundreds of songs was placed on each table and as the invitees arrived, we began to consider not only who would be willing to get up on stage and sing, but also what songs might be chosen. Clearly there were several diners who were regulars, quickly and easily taking stage to belt their hearts out. Party animals among the diners were having the time of their lives up on stage while we listeners were suffering from their less than professional voices! It was tough to know how to react – to laugh, sing along or get up and there and do it myself. But, no doubt, I have never done karaoke before and (hopefully) never will. (Be happy you will never have the pleasure of my singing!)
Strangely, Finland holds the record for the largest number of people singing karaoke at one time, with over 80,000 people singing "Hard Rock Hallelujah" on 26 May 2006 in Helsinki after Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. And the U.K. holds the record for the longest karaoke marathon with multiple participants for an event organized at The Castle Hotel Tamworth by Tim Wedgwood. It lasted for 781 hours, 31 minutes, between December 30, 2009, and February 1, 2010. Each song was over three minutes long and the gap between songs was no longer than 30 seconds. No song was repeated in any two-hour period.
There are lots of karaoke venues from which to choose in Paris. The New York Café at 68 rue Mouffetard in the 5th gets a five-star rating from www.Eat-Out.net.Www.infobarrel.com says "One of the most popular places for karaoke in Paris is the La Belle Epoque Karaoke (68, rue Mouffetard) and lists a few more of their favorites:
*Helem Club/6 Passage Lathuile
*Karaoke Paris Musique/116 Rue de Charenton
*Fréquence Café/56 Rue N-D de Lorette
*A La Casa del Fox/41 Rue Colisée
*Generation Karaoke or au coin des artistes/19 Boulevard Bourdon
*Au Bon Aloi/5 Rue Sauval
*L'Annexe/57 Rue Quincampoix
*L'Atelier La Bonne Gamelle/56 bis Rue Clichy
*Polykim/17 Halles
So, if you are a closet singer and wish to get out of shower and on to the stage, you can do it in Paris..."mais oui!"
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
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P.S. Don't forget, we have a new and exciting format at Parler Paris Après Midi! Join us this coming Tuesday, April 12th for a fun session with PSI Communications, then mark your calendar for our upcoming afternoons with Judith Merians, David Downie and Jeffrey Greene -- between now and the Summer. Visit parlerparis/apresmidi.html for more information.
