French singer Yelle's Gallic girl power party comes to town
You can accuse French pop tart Yelle of sounding derivative, but your insult would only be half right. During Yelle's 50-minute show at the Roxy, I hastily scribbled notes such as "Debbie Gibson spends a semester in France and is hired as the new lead singer of the Human League" and "Synthesizer line from Corey Hart, background vocals cribbed from Rob Base, production from the school of Jellybean Benitez."
Yelle's skill, however, is not in aping Reagan-era bubble-gum synthpop - although she certainly has a knack for it. What she demonstrated on Wednesday night was a talent for recycling the sounds of the 1980s and stringing them together into her own unique Gallic girl-power party.
Yelle (nee Julie Budet), backed by a drummer and a keyboardist/laptop wizard, made her smart pop sound entirely effortless as she led the adoring crowd through a series of disco calisthenics and synchronized finger snaps. It's been done before by everyone from Olivia Newton-John to FannyPack, but Yelle's danse musique is a closer cousin to fellow European Robyn, who has also rediscovered 1980s dance music and smartly used the genre to promote her vision of a world where sassy put-downs and breakups occur over an electronic drum beat.
The fact that Yelle, who sings entirely in French and therefore has a cult following in this country, could fill half the Roxy on the same night that Madonna was in town, speaks to the buoyancy of her songs. There was an epidemic of pogo-ing as she burst into "Mal Poli," and a virtual youthquake erupted when she started the sing-speak of her very racy MySpace hit, "Je Veux Te Voir." Those lyrics, sadly, can't be quoted here. Not even in French.
There is a limited audience for this music, which appears to be mostly kids who shop at American Apparel and French expatriates. There was also some discussion in the crowd about how much of Yelle's appeal is based solely on the fact that she is French.
But her music, much like Madonna's of 25 years ago, has sex appeal and energy that are infectious, regardless of language. Her remake of the 1987 French hit "A Cause des Garcons," which lists the insane things that women do "because of boys," was a danceable declaration of independence from men, a neo-Helen Reddy anthem for girls who prefer skinny jeans to peasant dresses. When keyboardist/producer Tepr asked, "Ca va, Boston?," the response was a resounding, "Ca va."
Yelle's incredible show was a relief after a dreadful opening set from California-based electro-mope rockers Funeral Party. Listening to lead singer Chad Elliot screech for a half hour was the sonic equivalent of dental surgery.
Christopher Muther can be reached at muther@globe.com. 