There is a “dance floor” constructed around the rather smallish stage, just big enough to accommodate the Senor Coconut ensemble. Some of the Coconut entourage look a robust crew, some look like they are professional bouncers, who you would not care to argue with over door policy. Some of the even harder looking members have the look of being on day release from a prison. They are dressed in formal black suits and wear colourful ties. Some have shaven heads, most have reached middle age and beyond. What of their cheeky repertoire? Well “Around the world” was a big electro hit for the French band “Daft Punk” Senor Coconut give it that Latin treatment. Appropriately they do a version of “tour de France” a track originally covered by a group that has had a massive influence on electronic music, indeed who are iconic in their field, their co-patriots Kraftwerk. I don’t know if the joke is lost on some of the audience. Some of their cover versions, I am sure the audience are familiar with, for example “beat it” by Michael Jackson. You need a certain audacity to pull off some cover versions. Sometimes I could scream, when I hear a group slaughtering a much-loved song, but these boys are strictly tongue in cheek and it works.

This is not new fad, orchestras taking on pop cover versions or techno classics or pop/rock hits, in deed in the past people like Mike Flowers Pops has been down a similar path. Of course you can’t win too many prizes for originality, in doing cover versions, but I am sure their schedules must be booked up, fairly solidly with appearances around the world, as this well trusted formula, can’t fail to get people in a flippant party mood, and ready to dance. My favourite was their version of “Smoke on the water” by Deep Purple, a song that any aspiring heavy metal guitarist, will have played at one time or other in their formative years. The heavy guitar riff was played by the brass section, with a rasping baritone sax, putting the meat behind the riff. There is a vocal leader to this group, who sings and who shouts out in Spanish, to build up the atmosphere, maybe there are international components to this group, but the brain child of the group is Uwe Schmidt (aka Señor Coconut; born in Frankfurt, Germany) is a German DJ and producer of electronic music.

It takes a lot to warm up a French audience, who are more talkers than spontaneous dancers. The boys were getting into it, I could tell, by the time they blasted out this song synonymous, with rock, rather than a Latino vibe. “Riders on the storm” by the Doors also worked well as a Latino transformed cover version and then they were off, back to their bus, their instruments packed away. They could have played some more quirky cover versions.

What followed was for me excruciating. A mass salsa workshop, conducted by this woman, with the air of an aerobics instructor, or some such. Ok the public responded, but it killed the feeling the Senor Coconut orchestra had created. I was hoping the DJ “Dimitri From Paris” might spice things up, but no, I guess this event was a type of bal a pre July the 14th event, where French culture was to be celebrated and there was no room for anything that might put anybody’s nose out of joint, it was decidedly middle ground.

I trudged away and saw the Eiffel Tower sparkling, with that new tinge of blue, my abiding memory that wacky German orchestra.

Francis H. Powell is originally from England and moved to Paris in 1999. In addition to being a writer (articles, songs and poems), he is a painter, DJ and English trainer. For more information, please click here to read his complete bio.

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