Nouvelle Vague C'est Rad

It is often said that I am a rough soldier, but I have words and ideas, and appreciate the delicate arts of the Continent. To that end, I often travel to Paris and stroll along the Seine, browsing the bouquinistes and tipping my dolman as the girls wave their handkerchiefs. It was on such a trip that I discovered Nouvelle Vague and their self-titled debut album of singular new wave covers sung by an assortment of chanteuses. Since that moment of first discovery in the fleeting days of fall, I have dreamed of what it might be like to hear those blessed songs played live. Tonight those dreams came true over a bed of baby field greens and a bottle of Pellegrino at Joe's Pub.

With their bald heads and clean-shaven faces, the two men who make up Nouvelle Vague look more like professors at the Sorbonne than the finest soldiers in France. Every one to his taste, but it seems to me that if I could clap a pair of fine light cavalry whiskers, like my own, on each of them, it would do them no harm. They are able musicians, however, and their arrangements are remarkable, as are the voices of Camille and Melanie Pain, who accompanied them. Together they played every song -- save Psyche -- from what is possibly the best album of last year, along with two other oft-covered classics, New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle and the Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen In Love, both of which I hope are slated for a follow-up long-player soon to be recorded.

Given its important historical nature, I feel it is important to document the event with a representative photo and a copy of the set list, both of which may be found below. For those who missed the show, the band has announced that it will return for a full U.S. tour in September.