Festival Fruits De Mhere 2001

 Photo Gallery 1  Photo Gallery 2   Photo Gallery 3  

RA Home   Japan 2000    Girls with Big Shoes   

The Festival Fruits De Mhere takes place in the French countryside about a four hour drive west from Paris. PAK was invited to attend the four day event that takes place every August and which is organized by Isabelle Duthoit and Jacques Di Donato.  I also did a performance with Terrie Ex and Jean Sebatien Mariage. Note that the photos below are all thumbnails (click for full size). 

Mhere is a very small village tuck in-between small farms and rolling wooded mountains that remind me of the State of Vermont here in the USA.  Photo taken by Will Redmond.

This Frederic Le Junter of Silent Block one of my favorite bands of the Festival. I have seen Frederic perform a few times now and always enjoy his musical adventures. Frederic and Silent Block build their own instruments, play them with skill, fun, and some madness. They performed twice at the festival, one set being textured sound experiments, the other a late night set called the Silent Block disco which was better than the best of the old German band Faust, dance my ass off!

There where many stages spread out  in different locations thru out  the Village of Mhere. Most of the performances where outdoors, many took place under tents, in the church, even a barn was used where you had to walk by livestock to get to hear the music. Photo is of an improvised power trio of Jacques Di Donato on Drums, Frederick Galiay on bass, Jean Sebastien Mariage on guitar. 

Here is a shot of the Guitar Trio of Terrie Ex, Jean Sebatien Mariage and myself. This was one of three stages set up in the main square of the village, where we played a half-hour of  high energy improvisation, which was follow by a Group of Gerry Hemingway, Barre Phillips, Martine Altenburger and Frederick Gallay.  

We invited Jacques Di Donato to play in part of the PAK set. Jacques is a great force to be around, he does everything with great energy and enthusiasm. Here he goes during sound check.  

Here we are "backstage" just moments before the PAK set. Photo by Will Redmond.

  Will took this of Audience photo just as he walk on to the stage.  

  Isabelle Duthoit here singing in the the closing performance which featured accordion player Denis Tuveri and many of the Musicians of  the festival. It was meeting of Rock, improvised and French folk music. 

View of another one of the many stages at Mhere

Here is the famous blue umbrella of Mhere.

I had a great time at Fruits De Mhere not only performing, but also enjoying the music of so many great musicains. Some of the other performances that I saw:  duo of Andera Neumann and Igaz Schick, the group Kampec Dolores from Hungary, duo of Fine Kwiatikowski and David Chiesa, not to mention a improvisation that I did with a bunch mad people in a very small car in a field where they had set up camp above the village. 

Photo Gallery 1  Photo Gallery 2   Photo Gallery 3  

RA Home   Japan 2000    Girls with Big Shoes