Yelle, in the Club (Tonight at Boot & Saddle)

If we’re voting on favorite pop cultural entities of the past week, mine is going to have to go to French electropop duo Yelle’s latest single, and accompanying video,...

If we’re voting on favorite pop cultural entities of the past week, mine is going to have to go to French electropop duo Yelle’s latest single, and accompanying video, “Romeo,” which premiered last Thursday via V Magazine.  “Romeo” is the third single the band has released since their third and last full-length, 2014’s Complètement fou, serving as a segue between that and their follow-up LP, due out next year.  The music video is an homage to Western cinema and youth culture.  And while most of the clips included are from fluffy, hetero teen movies (Fast Times, Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueller, etc.), there are also a few legit classics included: Wild at Heart, Blow-Up, Punch-Drunk Love.  However, the reason that it wins my vote (in addition to just being sonically awesome) is the inclusion of a brief clip of Gregg Araki’s beyond brilliant Totally Fucked Up, an homage to Godard’s Masculin feminin, set in Apocalyptic ‘90s LA, examining suicide among LGBT teens.  The song itself would seem to blend classic French pop with ‘90s electronica to an ineffably anthemic degree.  “Romeo” precedes Yelle’s intentionally and exceptionally intimate Club Party Tour, which kicks off tonight with a super sold out show at our very own, and exceptionally sweaty, Boot & Saddle.  We have had the fortune of having Yelle perform in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection before, but their last two appearances (in ’11 and ’14, respectively) took place from the stage of the 1,000+ capacity Union Transfer, so experiencing them in the 150-capacity former-honky-tonk should be quite the cause for celebration (It may be the smallest venue on the tour.)

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During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple University. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for Philthy Mag. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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