We said goodbye on the "Bridge"

In the current metropolitan fashion for easy listening, which is expressed primarily in amazing tours - everyone has already arrived, and those who have not arrived will arrive as soon as possible - there is only one, but very unpleasant detail: for some reason, lounge music stars perform in those only places where real and authorized lovers of this lightweight culture are not allowed by definition. The lion's share of such concerts took place, as you know, in the expensive Japanese club-restaurant "Justo", closed and impregnable - getting there is no easier than a weary traveler finding a path to Shambhala: the guards let in only those whom they know by sight. This strict face control leaves on the street those who read about the upcoming holiday in the Afisha magazine and decided to take a chance and break through; stocky peasants and their companions, actors and TV presenters, sukachevs and dykhoviches, and those who are familiar with the owner of the club, Andrei Kobzon, pass into the abode of sushi and sashimi.

As a result of the delightful music of some Italian playboys or French revelers, a dozen understanding fashionistas who have leaked into a closed place in unknown ways are listening. The rest eat rice balls, order more sake and look a little surprised at the incomprehensible fuss that happens on the way from the table to the bar: a company of dressed-up youth stands and enthusiastically watches how some eccentric changes the records. What's the fun?

About the same reception, alas, was expected by the lovely French singer Leila France. This girl, half Thai actually, earns a living in the fashion business, but somehow started an affair with the famous French avant-bard Momus and sang as a result - he wrote all the music and lyrics to her. The debut album "Orgonon", released in 1997, received a rather enthusiastic reception, even here - Playboy magazine mentioned it among the albums of the year. And rightly so - these utterly erotic songs, sung in a touching whisper, are worthy of all praise: a petite girl sings about the fact that she does not want to give a blowjob today, and about the fact that sexual energy rules the world: the album is also saturated with the ideas of the founder of the body oriented psychotherapy by Wilhelm Reich, because orgone is a machine invented by him to restore vital, "orgone" energy. Momus, as you can see, is not at all simple.

Leila France, who now lives in Hong Kong and rarely gives concerts at all, since she is up to her neck in her modeling agency, was brought to Moscow for a single concert at the recently opened Most club. Alas, the tradition of parties at the Giusto continued here: after all, the Bridge was opened, it seems, in order to get out of the way of other expensive places and proudly bear the title of "the most pretentious club in the capital." In addition to the usual face control in such cases, a dress code was also introduced here: Leila was allowed to perform only in evening dresses. Under this pretext, impregnable guards rounded up even those who had invitations (according to rumors, the editor-in-chief of Kommersant and other official, but improperly dressed persons were among the refuseniks). The organizers insisted that they were holding a cocktail party, so there was nothing to do without a costume. What? Leila France was forced to perform in the unsuitable basement of the "Most", with monstrous acoustics, in which her fragile songs were completely lost - the presence of people around in tuxedos, tailcoats and trouser suits did not save the performance at all (it's amazing, by the way, how funny they look on some of our burners life, these same costumes; next to some handsome men in tailcoat pairs, who looked like best men on a spree at a provincial wedding, even the overweight editor of Ptyuch, Igor Shulinsky, who put on a tuxedo for the occasion, looked like a king). The presence of the European star Maxwell Implosion, with whom Leila has been collaborating lately, did not help either. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how she pampered the audience with cover versions of the Pixies or Madonna, nothing came of it - the concert was definitely a failure; and most of the invitees quietly drank in the restaurant on the floor above, not even knowing that a sort of party was going on downstairs. "Trendy DJ? Leila France?", They were sincerely surprised afterwards. "But somehow we didn't understand, we thought so - they were invited to the evening ...".