La Cigale

As a Midwesterner who splits time between Chicago, Madison and Minneapolis, learning and anticipating spending a good chunk of the next year in Europe, like many others, instantly calls forth premature nostalgia for all things 3:30 AM diner trips, craft brews (recently Cave à Bulles solved that), free wifi everywhere, and Mexican food (Chipotle’s coming to Paris in the next couple weeks). Other things? The Twin Cities’ annual Soundset hip-hop extravaganza in May will be sorely missed, but last night I got a little reconciliation for having to miss the week-long Blowout last December when Doomtree made it happen and continental criss-crossed to Paris’ La Cigale. La Cigale is a highly regarded venue around here with a capacity that tops 1,000 with a balcony, shimmering gold ceiling, and a floor that was actually bumping to so, so much good rap last night.