Live Review: So Frenchy So Chic @ Werribee Park Mansion

Perhaps the most civilised festival on the calendar, So Frenchy So Chic or SFSC, delivered plenty of Gallic charm at Melbourne’s Werribee Park Mansion over the weekend.

The festival created a safe space for expats and Francophiles in which to frolic – most came prepared with a ton of stuff to have themselves a comfortable and indulgent picnic. Those who didn’t self-cater were presented with a range of tasty treats from food stalls that served everything from crepes and raclette to cheese-tasting platters. At some point, it seemed almost everyone was sipping champagne and wine. Copious amounts of the stuff were consumed, and many were prone to supine on their picnic blanket by mid-afternoon.

While everything was undeniably Frenchy, the chic component of the afternoon saw some trying very hard to impress with flamboyant fashion. Clouds of women in billowing summer florals and men in loafers and tailored shorts with polos seemed to be the go for most. A noticeable contingent of indie rockers who were there mainly for La Femme were easy to spot in and amongst this crowd.

Thankfully, the weather gods prevailed, giving us a delightful summer day with a gentle southerly breeze to keep things cool.

Free admission for children under twelve made this a truly all-ages event. The kids seemed to enjoy prancing about in front of the stage while the DJ played French music in between band slots on the main stage. Their parents, perhaps too old for a more straight-up music festival, enjoyed the occasion on their own terms, catching up with friends, talking to compatriots in French and encouraging their children to explore the park and the activities on offer to them.

In this context, most of the music on offer felt more like a soundtrack to the event than being a critical point of focus. Laure Briard’s dreamy, soft pop flecked with flourishes of psyche dealt a vibe that almost perfectly reflected the mood of the afternoon. Briard and her band connect the dots between the retro influence of Francoise Hardy and contemporary practitioners like Laetitia Sadier. Her set featured tunes from her recent album Ne pas trop rester bleue, as well as older material. Briard’s seemingly effortless delivery of these dreamy songs is an early highlight of the festival.

It’s a moment that passes all too quickly, and before we know it, we are lying on the grass, soaking up cellist Cécile Lacharme’s ambient/neoclassical sounds. Lacharme plays solo and achieves a richly textured sound by looping and layering melodies. She only plays two long pieces that ache with a subtle wistful beauty. Lacharme knows she deals in lullabies and told us that they highest compliment we can pay her is to fall asleep while she played! Unfortunately, no one fell asleep as the crowd was just enchanted by her work. Lacharme played on the smaller ‘What The France’ stage, which, taking into account environmental concerns, was entirely solar-powered. Honoured by the crowd’s reaction, Lacharme claimed she gets a better response from Australian audiences than the ones back home.

Meanwhile, back at the main stage, Kill The Pain are an instant hit with the under twelves who bounce to their funky electro-pop tunes. Phoebe Killdeer and Melanie Pain seem well-schooled in retro electroclash, and much of their music reflects the influence of acts like Chicks On Speed and Peaches without the xxx shenanigans, of course. Despite a kitsch cover of Sonny & Cher’s The Beat Goes On, they shone on material from their debut album last year and got everyone doing the robot.

Alex Colours treated Colours In The Street fans to a short solo set of songs on an electric piano on the ‘What The France’ stage. He comes to us with a low-key stage presence and an amazing falsetto. Although Colours seems to mainly write intimate love songs, he also enjoys working in call-and-response segments with the audience. While he's able to hit ridiculously high notes, it's surprising that many in the crowd could also hit those same notes.

Back on the main stage, French-Australian singer-songwriter Malo’ and his band generated enough interest to get the crowd on their feet and up close to the stage. They play a long set of straight-up pop with slightly dance-inflected beats - it’s feel-good stuff that occasionally allows Malo’ to showcase his powerful falsetto.

Just one raclette later, and we are more than ready for La Femme. It's been a long day for those with children, and they are now slowly packing up and leaving the park. The indie kids who have been lurking around the park all day now coalesce in front of the stage, eager for La Femme. 

They get the party started with Nouvelle‐Orléans and follow this up with Packshot. While the recorded versions of these songs are good, La Femme sound bigger, brasher, louder, faster and much stronger live.

It really doesn’t matter that you don’t know what they are singing about; the experience is all about losing yourself in the chaos of the moment. Their music is kaleidoscopic in its reach. La Femme effortlessly blends psych rock, kosmische, ye-ye, surf rock, electro-pop, punk, new wave, spaghetti western soundtrack, atmospheric ambiences and just about anything you can imagine into a gleefully frenetic sound that is deeply rooted in a French pop aesthetic.

The noirish femme fatale moves of Me Suive drops before the irresistible bounce of Sacatela. Presenting as a seven-piece, it’s Marlon Magnée who is the ringleader of this circus. Guitarist Sacha Got demonstrates an obvious penchant for surf rock on the irrepressible Antitaxi. Occasionally, he indulges in a theremin solo that has the crowd spellbound. The hyperactive beats of Foutre Le Bordel recall Plastic Bertrand, but who really cares? At this point, everyone has bounced into a pogoing good time.

The high-octane energy didn’t waver for even a moment during the set. Sharing vocal duties almost equally, Ysé Grospiron and Sam Quealy add a sassy feminine perspective and attitude to the proceedings. Interestingly, Quealy is an Australian living in Paris who has her own burgeoning career as a solo artist. Hopefully, this connection to Australia will see La Femme touring here more often.

Seven brilliant albums into their career, La Femme could have played for much longer, but festival sets always feel too short. The bouncy Sur La Planche 2013 and Tatiana set to motoric beats concluded the show in fine style. La Femme’s unique vision of contemporary French pop is practically every superlative you can imagine inserted here. As we start to leave, we notice that the band is selling their albums for just ten dollars, and Quealy is giving hers away for free! Needless to say, we had plenty to listen to for the long trip home on the other side of town.