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Concert Thu Sep 28 2006
No Longer Without Culottes
Last night at the Double Door, Nous Non Plus performed one of the stranger medleys of covers I've heard: "99 Luftballons" crossed with Tom Petty's "American Girl." Odd, yes, but also energetically charming. While the Nena song was sung in its original German, the rest of the set was delivered in French accents of varying credibility. A band featuring members performing under names like Celíne Dijon and François Hardonne is obviously not asking to be taken seriously, but somehow the gimmick works: the performance maintained good-natured sexiness and silliness in equal measure. Dijon introduced an anti-war song by saying, "We can't fight if we're dancing, so let's dance." True to form, this New York by way of the Left Bank sextet had toes tapping and hips shaking -- no fighting in sight.