Lush, A far from home movie, Cinéma Saint-André des Arts, 10/07/2024
I wasn’t necessarily going to review that one, but then it touched me, and also I thought it offered kind of a parallel with the first half of the year, when my first write-up wasn’t just the usual gig evening.
I was made aware of this event via the SOV website, and when I mentioned it to Nick, he said yeah I’m up for that. Not sure I’d have booked on my own. At the time, neither of us had any idea of the European Championships schedule, let alone who would be in the match played that night. It wouldn’t have made any difference to me, but as England somehow rather miraculously qualified for the semi-final, Nick pulled out of this at the last minute. I didn’t find a taker for my spare, so proceeded to the cinéma on my own. Got there a touch early (7.40pm for a scheduled 8pm start), when not even a handful of punters were waiting outside. Door were clearly not opened. Crowds slowly gathered, lots of people seemed to know each other. No youngsters at all tonight, spotted only one Lush T-shirt though there were a few other bands T-shirts. I thought a couple of faces were vaguely familiars, maybe from gigs, but in fact, one of the guy I thought I recognised was, I believe, from TV rather than a known-to-me gig goer. Nobody to chat to, really. Doors eventually opened and we proceeded inside and downstairs to Salle 1. I was in early enough to pick what I thought would be a decent spot, pretty central and just maybe 5 rows back. The room slowly filled (well it was very far from full in the end), I spotted Emma Anderson taking her place in the first row on the last seat to the right, and I worked out Phil King was the guy next to her though I wouldn’t have recognised/known him. I probably would now, though when I first saw him outside, he reminded me of Pete Best. No, not the original Beatle, just a teacher of mine from Aston University (who would be a lot older now, mind you!).
Anyway, all settled, the guy next to me was a little noisy pre-projection, there was a guy on my right wearing headphones and browsing his mobile (shockingly, I spotted him watching his mobile later with the screen staying on during the film!), but eventually it was time for a quick introduction by the organiser, who also mentioned that it was the day Persona (a French magazine) number 26 would be released and there would be some sort of ‘after’ event he would tell us about after the projection. He introduced Phil and Emma briefly, a little context (this was the fourth projection, and the first one on a proper wide cinema screen) and that he thought the film was not only beautiful but quite emotional too (due to Chris Acland’s suicide in 1996).
I’ll be honest, I had not at all researched, I had absolutely no idea what the film would be like or what it would be about (thought it might just have been a kind of documentary, but I was very wrong, and that became obvious very quickly), was just open-minded about it, just knew I loved the band and their music (and a fair amount of both Emma and Miki’s post-Lush work in fact), and I was feeling well, positive and even thinking this might kick me a little bit more in trying to make music.
Lights out, it all starts with some grainy 8mm footage of the band playing about in a Split-themed promo black cab in London before taking off for the US, all this soundtracked by Lovelife (from Split). I wondered if it were just an intro, but when the footage carried on in the same vein, now accompanied by that long Undertow remix (it’s a B-side from Hypocrite), I quickly figured out it would be what the whole film would be like: a proper art film(someone later in the Q&A mentioned it was like a silent movie despite the sounds, and it is exactly what I had felt early on, in the same terms, so I was glad to hear that wasn’t just me), all black&white footage of Lush on tour, and the different aspects of it, gigs, boredom, goofiness (mostly from Chris), and long-distance travelling by plane or bus.
A few tracks in, as every single song seemed to be from Split (including another Hypocrite B-side, the magnificent cover of Love At First Sight, I was glad that was played then, just as Miki had played it last year at Hasard Ludique); I was really enjoying this, it was like listening to one of my favourite albums ever, in a different order, with just pictures to illustrate each track. And while it obviously meant the picture didn’t relate to lyrics, it seemed to all perfectly fit in. I wondered if there would be music from other albums or EPs, but was quite happy for it to stay the way it was, and I was thinking I may ask Phil later if that was a deliberate choice from the outset, or if it was just because it was actually the only music that would fit the film’s pace/shooting style. I mean, the faster tracks even from Split were not played, so atmosphere/pace definitely would be the main driver. Time? Well, I did wonder, as, during the intro it was mentioned that most of the footage was from the 1994 tour, but there was also a small sequence with a signing of the Single Girl single, so that bit at least was filmed later. But yeah, so much fantastic music, and we stayed with Split after all. I had no idea about the time it was or the duration of the film, but when the first notes of When I Die (the closing track from the album) sounded, I thought it could herald the end, both due to the title, and also what the first few seconds of footage accompanying this hinted at, that was confirmed after every note: the whole sequence was only shots of Chris, finishing with him falling asleep in bed as the last notes were being played. It felt very emotional, and apt to close the film there. But then, it wasn’t quite finished: tagged at the end was a small sequence of a gig, no music to go with it, just an Elvis impersonator greeting Chris on his birthday. Poor Chris seemed completely lost there, but it finished the film on what I wouldn’t necessarily call a more upbeat note, but maybe a little more of a lighter shade and less pathos. Perhaps more tragic than comedic, but I enjoyed that little surprise, to make it less predictable, and also interrogate in a different way.
Applause and then it’s time for Q&A. The organiser asked a few questions, including wondering why, as the footage was nearly 30 years old, this was only released now. Phil mentioned that it had actually been released on YouTube (I think) before, but that there was initially no Lush music to soundtrack it, something completely different and someone wondered why the hell not and suggested he should put Lush music to it.
Questions eventually went to the audience. I wasn’t sure whether to speak, but pretty much the first person who asked questions went with the same-ish lines I was thinking along to, though in a different way from how I would have. He asked if the footage was all from a single tour (and so the answer from Phil was that no, it was mostly and essentially 1994 but there were some bits here and there from earlier and later tours, to which Emma mentioned the Single Girl signing I’ve talked about already), and then what drove the choice of this or that particular tune (though the questioner didn’t mention the fact it all came from Split, which I would have done just to figure if it were a deliberate choice from the onset). So I decided that perhaps it wasn’t worth me asking my only slightly different question. Obviously being naturally fairly shy and introverted (it showed later in a different and slightly unsatisfactory way I thought), it takes me more of an effort to put myself forward so, yeah, I just didn’t. Even though later, another question kind of repeated some of what that first questioner asked, with the added complete surprise to me that the new questioner mentioned he didn’t know any of that music as it was not ‘the singles’. Obviously the audience were not ALL Lush fans, there were some film fans, but the guy seemed to know them, but maybe he’d stopped at the first album? I felt that was incongruous (especially as Desire Lines had actually been released as a single, though it’s obviously not your usual single). Anyway, various questions, about shoegaze revival, Britpop, etc. and both Phil (an easier more extraverted speaker I think) and Emma were engaging and interesting with their anwers. The ending was mentioned by Phil, maybe not as a direct answer but when Chris was mentioned in the question and he did indeed state that originally the end of the film didn’t have the extra footage, and that he was still completely unsure about it, because in a way, it made the ending sadder actually. I do get it (Emma also mentioned that you could seen in that bit that Chris was already unravelling, that he wasn’t well at all), but, as I told him personally after the show, I felt it worked, that it gave a little light, in fact (and I was kind of pleased with that spontaneous line, when the rest of my speak was more thoughts I wanted to tell him but had kind of repeated in my mind before, that introverted drawback I mentioned earlier), ‘a Light from a Dead Star’ (as per the title of the opening track from Split), but yeah, that was just a turn of phrase, it’s clear the add-on still makes him uncomfortable and it would also work in a perfect if predictable way if it wasn’t there, just a wonderful homage, but hey, that’s art, and that twist did appeal to me. Bittersweet doesn’t cover it. Anyway, I’m starting to rant on, at the end the organiser said the ‘after’ party with the release of the new magazine would be in the café Le Clou on the square next door, and I was thinking it was early enough (just getting to 10pm as the event ended) for me to get a drink before leaving. I waited for a bit with the crowds outside as nobody was moving already before the organisers would lead the way, and as Phil King was near-ish me, people started to get their records out to get signed, and I felt maybe if I just wait a bit I can just have a word to thank him and ask him a little more about the Split-only choice. I finally mustered the ‘courage’ when the people with things to sign seem to have finished (another actually came for a second signing while I was talking to him) to just speak to him, thank him for the film and mentioned that as Split was my favourite Lush album and one of my favourite albums full stop, I was very happy with the soundtrack. I felt too awkward asking my precise question so kind of muttered about it, but without being more specific he just said the same as earlier, that he just picked the pieces that fitted the film. Anyway, yeah I got talking for a couple of minutes, felt a bit awkward and not spontaneous enough, except when we talked about the ending (see above). He mentioned the drinks after, I said I might come for one, he said he would have many, that made me smile. I thanked him again and let him go on with the signing. Just as I (and everyone else) was about to move, Emma was just walking past, so I thanked her too and repeated how much I loved Split, forgot to tell her her new album was pretty good too (and I liked a fair amount of her Sing-Sing stuff, especially the first two fantastic singles), but never mind, this was just a short thank you, I didn’t want to take too much of her time anyway. I reached the designated bar before most, but it felt a little awkward, some of the new Persona magazines were on a table or two, people were sitting down (I let the main people and organisers through, not knowing how the whole thing was supposed to work), but there wasn’t much standing room, and I wouldn’t have had a clue where to sit, as most people seemed to know each other, and maybe those there were not part of the Persona/Art crew but more Lush fans, were at least among friends, not on their own. That’s where being with Nick or anyone would have helped. Eventually, I decided that it would be hard for me to fit in both physically and even more, socially, so I decide I would wisely go home. A drink and socialising, meeting new people would have been nice, but it was kind of an old-ish crowd, and I would have just felt too awkward or out of place (sure maybe after a drink or two, I’d have been fine), I would have loved to chat on in English with Phil or Emma, but hey-ho, sometimes I’ve got to be reasonable and adapt to circumstances. England vs Netherlands was 1-1 at half-time, and still that a few minutes in the second half when I walked past a screen in a nearby pub. I figured I’d be home even before the final whistle, though wasn’t sure I’d bother watching. Got home without trouble, shortly before full time with the score still 1-1. Finished my book and checked and oh, a goal had been scored in added time, so not even extra time, all over well before I got to sleep, happy to have spent a good, calm and happy enough if emotionally alone evening. The day had started with me miraculously managing to get a ticket to see Hope Of The States in a small-ish venue in London in December, a band responsible for one of my favourite albums (The Lost Riots), but a band that I had always put on top of the list of ‘bands I was gutted I never saw live’ – RIP Jimmi Lawrence, and finished with an evening listening to a big chunk of another of my favourite albums (Split) backed with footage of the band, and even speaking to two of that band’s members. I’ll still never see Lush live, having missed the brief reunion in 2016, but you can’t have everything. RIP Chris Acland.
Avalanche Party, Supersonic 15/8/2024
I was not sure the setlist would be available, so I took a picture, but guess what? It is there. What I certainly didn’t necessarily expect was a review, and definitely not the next day already, but out friends at Benzinemag were quick to do the honours, suitably impressed too.
So it’s not just me. I was not deceived by the performance of this band when they opened before Trail of Dead nearly two years ago (see corresponding review): they ARE the real deal, definitely live anyway.
I was thrilled when I heard of this gig, it was a bank holiday, it was free, and I decided I should take the next day off as we didn’t have ‘le pont’. As soon as I heard of this, I told Walter and Alessandro. Alessandro is still in Italy for a bit, and when I reminded Walter a couple of days before the gig, he said he would land at 6pm at CDG so was not sure timing would be OK. Thankfully, this being Supersonic and AP headlining, the schedule said they wouldn’t start before 10pm. In the end Walter landed on time and as early as 6.30pm said he would make it. It was definitely a gig I would have gone to on my own, but I was pleased to have company.
So I said I’d be there for about 9pm (skipping the first band, as usual with these gigs there were three), and as my RER and connection timings were lucky, I was a little early so texted Walter and decided to delay a bit by not taking the exit closest to the venue. As it is, Walter appeared just behind me on entering rue Biscornet, so perfect timing, not for the first time, but another good omen. I wasn’t sure there’d be many people, what with this being probably the emptiest week of the year in Paris, and maybe not student time. As the first two bands were French though, I thought they might have their mates around as usual. No idea about the first band anyway, called The Paulines, only I saw two very young girls with ‘The Paulines’ T-shirt in the venue, with their parents or minder, were they fans or were they actually the band? Now that I have seen the photo on the Benzinemag review, definitely the former! We ordered beers as the second band was getting ready and one of their lot went ot the bar to ask for a mop as they had spilt something. The schedule as often there is a bit loose, so they didn’t start before 9.20pm or something, probably later actually. Which gave us time to catch up. The place was not too busy, so we went pretty near the stage, great view, good sound. Porcelaine were the ‘support’ band (there is no such thing at Supersonic really), amusingly as Avalanche Party have a song called Porcelain, but that’s just another weird coincidence. A standard trio combo, all clad in black, one guy on chant/guitar, one on bass, and one on drums. Pretty good, they started with one of their better song, sang mostly in French, did not speak that much (you feel the bass player was the one who wanted most to speak, but he didn’t have a microphone), but the music was efficient. Not sure how to describe it. Maybe just your very standard French rock’n’roll. The bassist was in the ‘crowd’ (it still wasn’t a dense crowd) as soon as the second song but did not repeat the feat too often. Didn’t catch the name of most songs, apart from one called ‘Seul’, when they asked people who are ‘alone’ (single, I guess) in the crowd to raise their hands. The rather nice girl next to me (sporting the best Red&White van shoes) raised hers, I timidly did mine too, but not that’s not leading anywhere, heh, just an observation. But yeah, after a while, you realise there is maybe not THAT much variation to their music. The last but one song was pretty good though, while the final one was a little more underwhelming. It was past 10pm, they thanked the crowd, bass player finally getting to the microphone to say Macron Démission but mostly to thank the crowd and mentioned that just a year ago they played for the first time in the same place, so it was a bit emotional. Walter, a little tired from all the travelling, suggested we checked for chairs upstairs so he went up there while I fetched the next round (Mojito for me this time), but as I finished ordering, the band actually came back (unheard of at Supersonic), as they were allowed one more song, and they launched into a cover of…. Lio’s Banana Split. I still went upstairs rather than stay down there as I was carrying the drinks, but it was good fun, and amusingly for some reason I’d seen the song mentioned just a few days earlier. Not sure why, just in some news item. Anyway, that ended their set in a much more satisfying way, but as there were actually no free place to sit at upstairs, I suggested we’d just go back downstairs. AP started setting up their gear, obviously they would not start straight away (I wasn’t much keeping the time, maybe they started shortly after 10.20pm). My first surprise crowd-wise was that contrary to a few other Supersonic evenings, the crowds while still relatively sparse were a little denser and we couldn’t quite get straight to the front as I was hoping we could/would. Oh we were probably only less than two metres further than from where we were earlier, but still. But the band started, and straight away I found back the energy and intensity from that gig two years ago. Is there something about bands from Middlesbrough being particularly intense (benefits, in a very different way, being the other example?). Most of the focus was on the frontman, sporting a nice black shirt with red hems, but the drummer (basically there just in his pants) was also impressive and the old favourite guitarist with a nice 12-string and sometimes the saxophone (I think it was less used than last time though) was again very good. Bass player and the other Michael Hutchence-lookalike guitarist (yes, five people on the stage) looked the part too, but commanded less focus perhaps.
Again, don’t ask me to identify songs, etc, I mean I have a few favourites, so recognised a bit of Rebel Forever that seemed to be play on speed, and wasn’t completely identifiable, something I understood better on seeing the setlist that said ‘Medley (Wet/Rebel/Surf)’ so it wasn’t just the regular song. No sign of Million Dollar Man this time, unfortunately (no Howl either) but it did not matter one jot: the performance was just extraordinary. They didn’t play their new single, but either I’ve missed too many releases or, judging by the setlist, they might have played quite a few new songs, which bodes well for the album. No getting rid of the shirt this time though the singer was drenched in sweat in the heat of the room (he did a few forays in the crowd too, during the songs he didn’t play the guitar on), but just a stunning performance, particularly from the main man. The energy, the focus, the variety in sounds and atmospheres, all mostly played at breakneck speed, changing guitars regularly even mid-song at times it seemed. The slightly weird thing? It didn’t feel like time flew, but it was not a bad thing. At one time when I decided to try to briefly film, I accidentally caught the time on my phone and it was not even 11pm. And yet, it’s not like it felt like the gig had been long, it’s just that the intensity crammed into every song was so high you felt like you’d been caught in it for a long time. Time basically didn’t exist anymore. Oh yes, I didn’t mention, but at some point, a couple of guys came in went slightly to the side, and there was some level of moshing so I decided I should jut move forward a bit. Walter stayed back, but I found myself then close enough to the edge. There wasn’t any real moshing in the end, but you could still move healthily and shake your limbs. It was just great. The gig had to end at some point, but it was ‘wow’. Walter had been pushed back a little as he went to the loo and the crowds were just a little too dense for him to regain the exact same spot, but he was also very impressed when we chatted at the end. As it wasn’t that late (not even 11.30pm), we ordered another round (back to beer for me) while the place slowly emptied. As the 12-string/saxophonist was around, I went to thank and congratulate him, and when the lead singer came back on stage to pack the gear etc., I went to him to express my enchantment too. I asked him when the new album would be out, he said it would be in November and so they might even come back before the end of the year. I will definitely go, even if it means sacrificing another gig or a match. I suspect Walter will easily convince Alessandro if he’s around too. Anyway, we chew the fat, sipped our beer, saxophone man went past again and fist-bumped me (nice!) and by the time we exited, the band were loading their van and so caught the singer again as he was going back in, enough for a last wave and ‘see you when you’re next back!’.
After nearly two months without a gig, that was a fantastic way to get back into the live scene I have to say. Great evening, and made all the better for Walter being able to make it too.
Rock en Seine, Domaine de Saint Cloud, 24/8/2024 (featuring Sleater-Kinney, The Kills, Blonde Redhead, CVC, Inhaler and Massive Attack).
Given a read and choice of the usual websites, you’ll have the direct link to the Benzine Mag review, which is the closest to my experience of these gigs.
The photos from Laëtitia at SOV, covering all the bands, not just the Brits, are great.
As for setlists, Sleater-Kinney is a partial, here are The Kills, CVC, Inhaler and Massive Attack. Unfortunately, the Blonde Redhead setlist did not materialise (even if it was the only one I actually saw handed out, albeit for a security guy to pass on to an unspecified person, as there was no direct access…). Edit 8/9 : setlist from BR is now available, with only one uncertainty! (also I have seen the SK video so could reconstitute the setlist there too, might register and update on that site if I can be bothered sometime).
And so I returned to Rock en Seine for the first time since 2005. With company, as Patrice and Estelle and Benoît and Nadine were in too (and the next day which I wasn’t). Missing an Arsenal match (away to Villa, late kick-off on TV), but that meant less stress.
My plan was very much established, but allowing for occasional improvisation to adapt to the others. Apart from Blonde Redhead. Because I got my ticket for them, having missed out on the gig at La Cigale late last year. So this was pretty much a non-negotiable. In fact, I was just pleased that there were enough other bands to make me feel it would be worth more than just them, and also lucky that Arsenal were playing away. Mind you, the way it looks, home tickets will be even harder to get this season. Anyway, I digress. A look at the forecast suggested probably rain in the early evening, so I decided to take a light hooded layer, which proved to be a lifesaver, more for the layer than for the hood in fact! No shades or cap, although they might have been welcome at a point or another, but again, this proved to be a most inspired practical choice.
I aimed to be there just before 4pm for the start of Sleater-Kinney, while the rest of the crew were just going to arrive for The Kills. Going there proved fairly easy, sure I’d not completely taken into account the walk at the end, or the light-ish/half-marathon-style wave-queuing, but as it is I entered the site shortly before 4pm, and as I made my way to La Grande Scène, I heard the first few notes of Hell, the opening track from Little Rope, as S-K are starting, and this makes me happy, putting me in a good mood already. Not missing much then, I made my way near still very sparse front of the stage. Well not the very front though, doesn’t feel like I have to. Their set ends up being mostly based on that latest album I think, which suits me fine as I liked it a lot. The weather is still fairly nice then, and Carrie Brownstein is wearing shades to start with, though she sheds them after a few tracks (but they reappear later). From the close distance, the stage looks rather too huge, even though the band is constituted of three other people on top of the remaining core duo of Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker. They have enough fairly easily identifiable tunes on this new album like Hunt You Down, Say It Like You Mean It or Don’t Feel Right to make the show rather enjoyable. Carrie is permanent movement, happy to speak to the crowds (I saw reports saying the crowd was quite apathetic, but I’m not sure, I felt that for such an early time in a festival like that, the people who wanted to be there enjoyed the band very much), while Corin is maybe a little more static, though she ends up being the one singing right in front of the fence separating the bottom of the stage to the audience for the final song ( the superb Untidy Creatures, again from the most recent album), while one of their roadies fills on guitar duties. Throughout the whole day, timings are pretty much strictly adhered too, which makes organising fairly easy. Anyway, I very much enjoyed the gig, good start to the day really. Sure they may work better in a room and would probably have benefitted from a smaller stage, but I don’t get some of the gripes I’ve read about band/performance or audience. It was the early slot on the big stage, it worked, a great way to kick off (and hopefully they could enjoy themselves after that).
I thought a beer might be in order, and just as I was considering whether checking Astral Bakers on the stage closest to the entrance (Bosquet), not strictly part of my ‘must’ schedule, but a band that features Theodora on bass (who I’d seen as support for ASG in February) and which I’d read good things about), I got a message from Patrice who’d just got in, and from Benoît who was at the site entrance. So I decide to just sit down and share my position, and Patrice and Estelle shortly turned up at the bar, and we made our way back to the Grande Scène with plenty of time to spare before The Kills’ start. Benoît and Nadine joined us before the band got on the stage. VV and Hôtel (well does anybody call them that these days? Not sure, so let’s just say Alison and Jamie) arrived straight on time, both on guitar launching into the classic Kissy Kissy from their debut album. In perfect synchronisation, the first drops of rain appeared at the same time as the first notes rang. If the stage looked big for Sleater-Kinney, you can imagine it looked even bigger for The Kills, as they have no extra musician on stage. But in reality, as the focus is firmly on two people and that they are mostly staying in very close proximity, it actually feels less incongruous. I pretty much only stopped at their second album though I got a few more belatedly, and while I got their latest, I was less than enthused by it, meaning I decided to forego their recent gigs in Paris. This was a good occasion to catch up then in easier and pressure-less circumstances. The mood was good on stage despite the weather, Alison clearly happy to be there and smiling a lot, with a few occasional words to the crowds. I saw some reviews saying they were both always smiling during the gig, but really, Jamie hardly ever smiles, he reminded me a bit of my late Oncle Louis, a rather dour man. But that’s just the pose, he looked sharp and probably enjoying himself, but smiling? Hardly. There were a few technical problems eventually sorted, the sound was good, but, and that’s a big but, it was hard for them to keep my attention really as a lot of the sounds sounded pretty similar. Perhaps there’s only so much you can do with this set-up in these circumstances. Or it was the choice of songs mostly based on the new album. So there was unlikely to be too many regrets as we knew we had to depart some time before the end of the set to be sure to have a decent spot for Blonde Redhead. Well, that was my plan anyway, I had booked this day primarily for seeing Blonde Redhead, so if I was going to see only one band’s full set, that was the one. Estelle and Patrice were happy to go along with that plan so, after I agreed to extend five more minutes as I didn’t think there was much problem with the margin, just the three of us went along while the raining poured a little more heavily and Nadine and Benoît stayed before eventually going to Nation of Language instead (they’d seen Blonde Redhead at La Route du Rock just a week before, to be fair, while I’d seen Nation of Language a couple of years before and was unconvinced). Just a few more words on The Kills though, there were a few recognisable tracks, but nothing else from the first album, nothing from the second, we left just after Last Day of Magic, while they started a song I felt completely unmoved by. I knew and mentioned their might be scope for regret if they finished superbly, but a look at the setlist shows that while they finished by a rather good song from 2011’s Blood Pressures, still no other tune was played from the first, no Cat Claw, Pull a U, Fried My Little Brains, Fuck The People or my favourite, Hitched. So retrospective regrets were also totally absent in my case.
Anyway, on to Scène de La Cascade for Blonde Redhead. A few minutes to spare, a decent spot. A more reasonably sized stage, and, this time, a rather lovely decoration with some sort of lanes of drapes at the back featuring colourful motifs. The band got on stage right on time, the twin Italian brothers, Amedeo on chant and guitar and Simone on drums (with his very characteristic way of handling the drumstick on his left hand, no idea if it’s due to a physical issue or just his own way of playing), and singer/bass/guitarist/sometimes just dancer Japanese-born Kazu. I don’t have any setlist reference and only had two albums then (just got the third the next day based on suspected setlist approximation), so I can’t even remember what they started with though I suspect it was from the latest album, last year’s superb Sit Down For Dinner (edit: after seeing the setlist, I see I got that wrong). As I have read elsewhere, the set started relatively slowly and improved got into its groove just as the weather improved really. But so anyway, if I say Elephant Man was the first highlight, don’t quote me on that, but it might just be wrong. Maybe it was Melody Experiment(edit: the setlist suggests I was right first time). Either way, the first awaited big moment for me appeared from the first note of Snowman. Quite magical too, as gusts of wind (on the big screens before The Kills, we had warnings from Thunderstorms, this time, just High Winds, but in the end nothing as drastic happened, just a little rain and some very mild winds) made the drapes at the back fly around a little for added effect. This was the moment when I felt really good being here, hopeful that life still had good things, and that maybe I wanted to get back to trying to make music again (I’m not really good or able, but it was just inspiration). After that, everything felt a lot easier, two songs later there was a number I didn’t know and truly enjoyed, then as Kazu first got rid of her scarf (the jacket would go later as the atmosphere was heating up), after Sit Down for Dinner Pt.1 and 2 (another great moment), they played another song I didn’t know that was even better. The last few songs went in a kind of otherwordly magic, Kazu losing herself in some frenzied dancing at times, and she went back to keyboards as the set concluded with one of the other highlights from last year’s album, the beautiful Kiss Her Kiss Her. Thank yous and waves concluded this magical set. There had not been a word or a thank you at any point before that, but weirdly, whether it was because I was not aware that it was their way this time, or because it all felt a little less contrived and more natural, I barely noticed it unlike with Bar Italia at La Cigale a couple of months earlier.
And so, at the end of this, basically, Rock en Seine was a success for me, and any sort of pressure was off. A quick check of the Arsenal score suggested the score was still 0-0. Benoît said he was at a signing session with The Kills (who, incidentally, appeared back stage during the Blonde Redhead said, something the cameraman didn’t miss) before going to Offspring. Patrice and Estelle were going to Offspring too (and considering food at some stage), I thought it was time for a beer for me. So while I was open to varying from my intended programme, I decided to actually stick with it, go for a beer then CVC at the Firestone stage. Offspring was going to finish after the end of CVC’s set so I could still catch that. I also actually thought to myself that I probably only knew one song from The Offspring, and I couldn’t presently even remember what it was.
Not that I knew any CVC song, but again, I’d heard good things, and it had been recommended on the SOV forums as a fun festival band by Laëtitia. So I reached that smallest stage, lots of room, easy beer without queue next door, barely missed the start of their set I think, and the fun started. Well worth it, so instantly happy with my choice. They were less of a band for a big rock festival, sounded more like a great band for your local jolly. Perhaps in Wales were they hail from. Either way, a rather big band for such a small stage, a little hippy vibe, guitarists each with a flower on the neck of their guitar, a weird old bass player hiding under a hat, and a singer with curly hair and a half-open shirt, very talkative and dynamic. The music was pretty good too, some funny poses and guitar solos, a song that’s about ‘when you’re angry with your boss’ or something and even a great, dynamic cover of Modjo’s Lady. Good fun all around, even while it was briefly raining hard again. As I was starting my way back towards the Grande Scène, I just saw the notifications on my phone, two goals for the Arsenal, and so I felt even more joyous and ordered another beer. As I was nearing the stage, I caught a tune I recognised: ‘ah yes, ‘Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)’, that’s the hit! So I’d pretty much not missed anything I’d have fancied from The Offspring. Patrice and Estelle had already decamped from their initial position to get some food, so I eventually managed to join them (but not eat) sitting on the slope behind the food stands. My left foot didn’t thank me for the small climb as I nearly stumbled into someone despite being sober. The weird thing is, Patrice was often easily locatable with his bucket hat, but as I had spotted him thanks to this while I was getting his food, I actually lost him while checking the messages on our messaging group, reading one that said ‘I’m still wearing THAT bucket hat’. Anyway, news from Benoît was that him and Nadine had gone to check Inhaler (that was also the next band on my list, but wasn’t on Patrice’s), on Scène de La Cascade (same as BR earlier) so we managed to catch them, third tree from the stage, on the right, easy way to find. If you are not aware, Inhaler are Bono’s son’s band. Paul Hewson is his name. I liked quite a few songs from the first album, but had skipped the second as a cursory listen made me think ‘meh’. The sound was bigger than any other band so far, big crowds, mostly fangirls at the front by the look of it, a little bit of hysteria. Solid rock’n’roll I have to say, we missed the start for sure (and the end), but essentially, I heard my favourite (‘Who’s Your Money On?’, thankfully here in isolation, not coupled with the weird long coda that doesn’t feel part of it on teh record), it sounded very good, and I think we left during It Won’t Always Be Like This, another very good one, to go back towards the Grande Scène for Massive Attack. There was no way we were going to go/bear near the stage for that, so overall, the biggish side screens and the projections at the back of the stage were the main visuals for us for most of the gig, rather than directly the actual performers on the stage. Now I had seen Massive Attack only once, in 2003, incidentally also at Rock-en-Seine in fact. I had no specific memory of it (it’s weird how these days seemed very hazy, sometimes I feel I was living a life without being able to fully remember it for most parts), but no saturation of experience. Massive Attack had played quite a few times at Rock en Seine since, actually.
All in the dark now, no more rain for a while but quite cold by then (I was glad I had that layer, even if it felt it was not even enough, it had started to feel rather cold as soon as the sun went down sometimes during Inhaler I think if not before), after a little introductory music and video, the tone was set when Risingson from Mezzanine started. When Liz Fraser first appeared (for Black Milk), I suddenly remembered I’d seen someone wearing a Cocteau Twin T-shirt much earlier in front of the Stage (as early as S-K? Possibly, that person would have stayed stuck right to the front all along) and so why he was wearing it. I don’t have the whole discography from Massive Attack, so, aside from a few covers there are a few songs I wouldn’t have recognised. Still, Horace Andy popped up on our big screens and it was a great moment. Yeah, every projection of the artists on the side was in Black&White, Robert Del Naja (oh yes, reminds me, I was wearing an ‘I am Banksy’ T-shirt, that someone spotted as early as when I left the area after S-K, telling to their mate ‘We’ve found him!’ and mentioning (because of the old rumours) ‘oh yes he is in Massive Attack see you on the stage later’, so we all laughed) was wearing black (and a ‘Palestine’ armband, more on that later), looking rather sinister, Grant Marshall (‘Daddy G’ to you and I) was also wearing dark clothes, the sounds and visuals were quite powerful and the singing was absolutely superb. Young Fathers guested for all of three songs, including some excellent dynamic number, before Liz Fraser came back for a Tim Buckley song. All throughout or nearly, there were quite a few projections, mostly mentioning the situation in Gaza, and sometimes in Ukraine, pictures of Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, etc. One visual with live captures of individuals in the audience, one film with lots of words about control and conspiracy theories (which could appear ambiguous to some, but was actually quite clever in the confusion it provided). Back to Mezzanine for the next highlight (for me) with Inertia Creeps. Sometimes it felt like everything was political and musical bits before the darkest and most intense parts of Mezzanine. And I thought that worked. A rather incongruous but again message-heavy cover of Ultravox’s Rockwrok made an appearance midset before we got back to the really serious business with the opening track from Mezzanine, Angel. Dark and Intense again. But probably the biggest moment was to follow, with two seminal classics from Blue Lines. First, a monumental Safe From Harm (Deborah Miller on vocals), dedicated to the people of Gaza and an invitation to ‘Stop the Genocide’. Long, majestuous, and accompanied by factoids about the Israeli occupation in the background. Statements or items in white, figures in red (that we couldn’t really see from our vantage point as the speakers were in the way), including a forever increasing number accompanied with tense music that had a big crash/release when the actual number was reached (an amount of money or something).
There’s a lot of people who left during the set, perhaps tired, perhaps out of disagreement, I’m not sure. I’ve seen lots of different reactions. For sure it was the most politicised concert I’d ever been to, but it’s not exactly a surprise with Massive Attack. As Patrice later said, whether you agreed or not, it was certainly a brave move here. Another thing of note was that practically everything was either written in French or translated in French in the background (and yes, sometimes the translation was poor, you could tell it was not made by a native…), which was good and showed the intention to truly pass the message. Anyway, back to the music, and still with Deborah Miller, Unfinished Sympathy felt like a particularly beautiful and more peaceful release after that. Unfortunately no Tricky for Karmacoma from Protection next, but that’s another classic. Then came the moment everyone seemingly anticipated the most and that got the biggest cheer of the night, with Liz Fraser coming back to sing on Teardrop, as she did on the original. It’s good and beautiful, but it doesn’t quite have the somber menace of the other tracks from Mezzanine played tonight. Whichever way, this was the final highlight really, before another much lighter cover unknown to me (Avicii’s Levels) and one of the long but easily forgettable tracks from Mezzanine (Group Four), with Liz Fraser on vocals for one last time. We (well just Estelle, Patrice and I, as Nadine and Benoît had left a while ago, exhausted and not impressed by the political side of the gig, despite not having seen them before) made our way just as the closing music (mirroring the opening one, with a similar video sequence too) rang. To go home? Nope, not yet. The possibility of late metros and one more interesting act on show meant we were going back to the Scène de La Cascade to see 2manydjs. Commenting on the set just gone, I heard from Estelle and a bit from Patrice that while it wasn’t bad as such, the problem with the Massive Attack show was that it was still and always a bit too much the same. I guess that’s the problem with them having seen them and in the same context at least twice before in recent years, while I hadn’t seen them in 21.
Anyway, so one last ‘gig’. Well not a gig as such, just the brothers Dewaele (from Soulwax, who played as such in the festival just the night before) closing the evening. So yes, just two DJs on stage, visuals at the back and party music. A heavily reworked/remixed version of The Stooges ‘I wanna be your dog’ greeted us on arrival, cool! It was just party music all along really, a very welcome light moment of fun after Massive Attacks’s heavy and intense set, just what the doctor ordered. I did not recognise many of the songs (interestingly there was a brief sample from Caroline Polachek’s latest album, which I was mostly aware of because the projections in the background had her from the sleeve of her latest album, not sure I’d have twigged it otherwise), though old classic ‘Pump Up The Jam’ from Technotronic made an appearance. Well, all very Belgian, innit? We didn’t stay until the end (best avoid the crowds, or most of them anyway), but yeah it was a great way to finish the day. Patrice and Estelle had to make their way to their car a mile away, while I walked back to the métro (the normal entrance was shut, it wasn’t well signposted but just following most of the people gets you where you want in these cases generally), eventually got one (the wait seemed a little too long), and via Line 10, Line 4, and a half hour brisk walk, I finally made it home at about 2am, exhausted but having spent a great day with great music and in wonderful company. I might do it again after all, but I was definitely glad I did it. The timings of the acts was pretty much perfect for me, no gap, but also no big conflicts in artists I wanted to see, I came from Blonde Redhead and I saw Blonde Redhead and they were wonderful (other comments I have read suggests I wasn’t the only one who thought they were one if not the best on the day), but also saw loads of bands I’d not necessarily had gone to see, new ones, some I nearly went to see recently and others I hadn’t seen in a long while (ok maybe just one in each category), so a very very very enjoyable day as far as I was concerned!
The Mission, Petit Bain, 23/9/2024
There is a review from Benzine Mag. The setlist is here. RG has the photos.
And so, having missed my rendez-vous with The Mission in the postponed concert last year due to work, I jumped on the opportunity to see them at the wonderful Petit Bain, though unfortunately on my own this time.
It was a miserable mostly rainy day in Paris, with an annoying Man City vs Arsenal match the previous day, and so a few beers in the pub that evening (not many, but enough for me not to feel perfectly rested the next day), I was not feeling in an ideal mood for a gig. Having had a quick listen to the support, I thought they sounded very similar in mood but not special so I thought I wouldn’t bother, aimed to arrive at about 8.30pm and if they were still playing or starting, fine. Small miscalculation though: as they’d played last year and I didn’t think they were so popular in France (and last time I checked it wasn’t sold out, but maybe that was a while ago), I thought there wouldn’t be too many people. As it is, when I arrived, the place was already pretty much full. Full of old Goths? Not quite, it didn’t feel as old or dark as that Sisters of Mercy gig last year for instance. There were definitely a fair amount of foreign fans probably doing the whole tour, wearing Mission T-shirts, and mostly baggy/cargo shorts, which is a bizarre look. Plenty of 40-50yo couples too. There was no way to get to that little ramp on the left, and I wasn’t sure about the pit today anyway. So I settled behind the mixing desk, though already behind a few people there. Also, it wasn’t the usual mixing desk. There was a tall bloke with a camera on a high tripod on the right, and after a few minutes, an even taller guy appeared to man that mixing desk. An observation later in the gig made me realise that this wasn’t just the normal console. That was just in front, before the stairs to the pit, and with someone else (from the venue presumably) on duty. The one here was delimited by a fence (those usual road barriers), and so while there is usually no problem and you are in fact a couple of metres ahead, there was actually no room and no way the guy would sit down. A few people took photos of the setlist, I managed to not sneak a peek, as it’s the last thing I want to see. I’ve said it many times before, but I simply don’t get looking at the setlist BEFORE a concert. I want to be suprised, sometimes it’s NOT a good suprise, but I don’t want to know in advance what will be played or in what order. So I don’t study setlists from the other gigs. Afterwards yeah, but before? Especially, having NOW looked at the setlists from the previous few gigs, I see they are very varied, sure opening/closers or last song of each encore stay consistent, but beyond that, credit to the band for using their whole back-catalogue, and having songs that feature indifferently in main set or encores.
Anyway, in that respect, when the gig started, the shuffling of people meant I actually mostly had a decent view, if not too comfortable in latitude. Various music was played before the start (not necessarily chosen by the band, from previous Petit Bain experiance), some PJ Harvey, some Radiohead, a little aggro between a woman and a man went on on the left in my vicinity (it seemed to stay verbal thankfully) and in fact, when 9pm chimed, and the gig was (I suspected) expected to start (oh yes the support had already finished when I arrived, not entirely surprised as I didn’t expect The Mission to play a particularly short show), the only thing that started was Radiohead’s The Tourist (not the first RH of the evening). But fear not, because only three minutes later, the light dimmed, some intro sounds were played (kind of like the background noise intro to Beyond the Pale -without the guitar bits – on Children), before Wasteland actually started. Great opening (even getting a laugh as Wayne delayed singing the first words after the musical intro had played), with someone throwing confetti in the air. The next couple of songs were slightly underwhelming after that, but I must admit I don’t have ALL their albums. In fact, I swerved the first, considering the old Sum and Substance compilation had enough of the good tunes from that, and anything after they reformed was pretty much alien to me, apart from their latest 2016 album, which I’d acquired ahead of the gig I couldn’t go to). Also rarities/B-sides and covers I was not au fait of. Turns out that second song was a Beatles cover though (but I’m not a Beatles expert either), while the third was from the Grain of Sands compilation. Anyway, a lovely Swoon from Neverland got me interested again, while early single Garden of Delight (included on the first album) was next. So I didn’t know it, but could tell by the reaction it was a popular classic. Also, it sounded a little more like early Sisters of Mercy, so you could recognise the lineage there from First&Last&Always. Wayne asked what we wanted played next. Someone shouted ‘Hurricane!’ (I’ll speak about it later, was vaguely aware of the song, but not heard it before). To which one guy behind me said ‘…is a wanker!’. Not hard to guess ‘Harry Kane’ was the cause of that reaction, so obviously I laughed heartily. Wayne just said ‘do you want to hear a new song?’, someone in front said ‘No’. So Wayne (not irritated but amused, you can tell it would be a lot more fun to have a drink with him than with Andrew Eldritch…I can understand why he got on with Robert Smith) replied ‘What do you mean, ‘Noooo!’? It’s OUR show, not yours’ :-D. And so he announced a brand new song called ‘Kindness (Is a Weapon)’. It started with a sort of Irish-sounding repeated motif on the guitar and evolved into pretty much a classic Mission song, not bad at all. Having surveyed the positive response from the crowd (whether it mattered or not), he proudly announced : ‘Ok, so this can go on the new album’. Back to the music and another classic with Severina, before a song I thankfully recognised from that 2016 album ‘Met-Amor-Phosis’. Helpfully it is one of the good ones from that, so it went down well (note that there is no keyboard on stage today, so it was a bit more rocking that I might have thought). Another early song I didn’t know hinted once more at original Sisters sound rather than atmospheric layers.
Follows what I felt was a very powerful version of Afterglow, quite intense in fact though perhaps not completely dramatic. One of those moments I feel I’d have enjoyed better if with people, less tired or in a more comfortable spot. But you can’t have it all, I could still sense its greatness. An older classic follows with Kingdom Come, before we land on the probably traditional set closer. There was a lot of singalong to the big songs, many times, Wayne shutting up to just let the crowd sing, and that went obviously bigger with Deliverance. It just works, it was prolonged, and you could feel it could only be the end of the main set. And so it proved. After just over an hour, you feel there would be a substantial (edit: on re-reading, well, Sum and Substance, innit? ) encore. But people know this too much, so not very many were actually constantly clapping after the band left the stage. Sure, it’s part of the habitual ritual, but you wonder if sometimes a band could say ‘nah, sod it, they don’t want it enough, they just take an encore for granted’ and not come back. But anyway, come back they did, said they would start with a ballad. After a couple of false starts (but just long enough for the song to be easily identified) with the rhythm machine (that came on top of the excellent drummer) already working while Craig was still sorting out his bass, the beautiful Butterfly On a Wheel got played. Unfortunately, while I was not paying attention to it, serious aggro started again on my left (no idea if the same people, and I could not truly hear it, but saw the people near me turn their head in that direction, while I could feel something wasn’t right) and disrupted my appreciation at the start of the song. Not helped by my fatigue. So it wasn’t quite the wonderful emotional moment it should have been, but perhaps that just makes it an incentive for me to go again if they come back. They did mention that the last time they played ‘here’ (as in ‘this venue’ so not mentioning Le Trabendo last year) was just before COVID, and at the end we got a ‘see you again soon’, which I suppose makes sense if they have another album in the works. But I digress, as another monument was played next, the fantastic Beyond The Pale. Cause for another digression from me with a little anecdote. I think it was the answer to a quiz question in the Auld Alliance once. The phrase itself. And I found it with the clues (or was it a crossword Neil was doing in the pub?) and that particularly impressed Neil S that day who thought I shouldn’t know this as I am French. But the funny thing is I only learnt the meaning of that phrase that day, as for me, while it fitted in terms of clues/letters, it was until then just the title of a Mission song, so nothing to do with any mastery of the English language! Anyway, great song, and I wondered if they would now end with Tower of Strength to finish us. But as the next song started, nope, something I didn’t recognise and that felt a bit meh. It did have a bit of a singalong chorus to it again, which Wayne expected the crowd to sing back at him again, and some did, but it definitely didn’t appear like a classic (and to be honest is there any true Mission classic outside of Sum and Substance?). Now in possession of the details, I see it was a song on one of those post-reformation albums I don’t have, so only hardcore fans who were there for the whole ride would truly know and appreciate. Still, the extended guitar play etc heralded that this would be the last song of that batch. End of the gig? Would sound underwhelming. Also Wayne Hussey only said ‘I’m going for a cup of tea or something’, and lights didn’t turn on, so there would be a second encore. Just ToS? Nope. Another relatively calm song from an early release (might need to get that First Chapter compilation then). What followed was more surprising, to me anyway, with a cover of Depeche Mode’s Never Let Me Down Again. Which they made sound very much like a Mission song, on the rocking side in fact, maybe surprisingly. Interesting. And then yes, finally, at last, Tower Of Strength. Their classic anthem you could call that. Couple of girls went, not so much sitting on the shoulder of people but actually STANDING there, pretty much blocking my view of the centre of the stage for the whole song, but quite frankly it didn’t matter at all, part of the show. So another long version, more singing/chanting back, Wayne’s voice still in fine fettle, and it eventually came to an end, because these things have to.
On the way out, I heard some guy telling his girlfriend/partner/wife ‘they didn’t even play their most famous song’. She went ‘are you sure?’. I was wondering too, what he could mean. And he said ‘yes, that’s called ‘Like a Hurricane’ ‘. So oh, that was the one that guy (probably a different guy or two) asked earlier. But I looked when I got home. So I could see that one being for the elitists who were there from the start, whatever. It was indeed released as part of the Garden of Delight (their second single) double A-side. But while they play it live sometimes, it’s also, er, not a Mission song since it’s a Neil Young cover. So yeah, it may be a fan-favourite from hardcore Mission purists (I’m not even sure though, it’ not even a popular choice if you research a bit even beyond the obvious, er, facts.), but their biggest song? Only a fool would think so. Or someone trying to impress someone else. Although at the sort of age the bloke presumably was (I didn’t turn back so no idea what these people looked) and if he was with a long term partner, it’s absolute wankery or pretending to know. But hey, apparently people or men in particular are like that. But she was right.
Anyway, rant over. I might not have enjoyed this gig as much as I should have for various minor reasons, so it might not make my ‘best gigs of the year’ list, but after all this time, it was still great, an excellent setlist, and about 1h45min of concert. Can’t remember it being that expensive either so definite value for money.
Standard journey home, no problem, and now I can carry on with my holidays, happy to have been at that gig.
Camera Obscura, La Maroquinerie, 30/9/2024
Photos from SOV (also review now), and setlist available.
Kind of a strange one for me. Also probably this time, really a shorter review. I liked the new album, and on listening back to the excellent Let’s Get Out of This Country, as tickets were still available, I decided I would go. Not sure I would have had if not in the right mood at the right moment, but….no regret as you will see.
On my own going to the lovely Maroquinerie venue (still takes too long to get to/from), I was very tired that day for various reasons, mentally and physically, so I was not sure I was so much looking forward to it, though I thought it might do me good to be somewhere else. La Frange was supporting. I’d seen her support Francis of Delirium earlier this year, and while I thought she was good, I didn’t think she was quite good enough for me to head in early. So I just aimed for a standard ignore-support-and-no-desire-to-be-at-the-front 8.30pm. I made it for just after 8.20pm, the room was rather busy but not fully packed and I got a pretty good spot second row from the railing right in the middle, perfect view, and caught one and a half song from her. That included a fairly lengthy chat before the final song. She looked a little more confident and assured that at Le Pop-Up, I thought, though I think it was probably just the relief of reaching the end of the show (I heard some people talk about the support later, saying she was very shy), so she thanked everyone and said how amazing it was to be playing in this venue (it’s small but still bigger than le pop-up or other places she’ll have played in, I guess), and to do it before she was 30. The last song reminded me how amazing her voice is, it was all played in a quasi religious silence, and she finished a capella. Her guitar playing, without a pick, wasn’t very noisy anyway, even in the folk/acoustic stakes she navigates around. But yeah, she’s certainly got some good ingredients there.
Half an hour standard between acts, though there was not much to set-up as it was all done (La Frange was only there with her acoustic guitar, not much to clear up), just checking sound and instruments and at 9pm sharp, the lights went out and the band came onstage after some brief intro music (not even sure), and started with, you guessed it, the first song from the new album. Tracyanne Campbell thanked the crowds at the end and asked ‘Ca va?’ before admitting that was as far as her French went, and, true to her word, there was not another word of French all evening. I have three (out of five and some EPs?) albums of theirs, but as it is, most of the set was from these, with only three songs I had not heard before. Can’t say I recognised every song, mind, but pleasantly the most represented album was Let’s get out of this Country, by far my favourite of the three. And they played most of the best songs from it (more on that later), so I was chuffed when the first notes of the title track of that album resonated for the second song of the night. Swans from My Maudlin Career followed, quite nice and upbeat, though not particularly engaging, and for a sizeable part of the main set, while everything stayed lovely, it felt a bit like sub-Belle and Sebastian (complete with trompetist/percussionist), with a few songs (including The Night Lights from the new album), that just sounded a little too much like country numbers, and I’m not that big on pure country music. But despite the tiredness, I was kept interested. Chris The Tour Manager came on stage to hit on the cymbals for a song, to raucous applause and cheers. The chat was pleasant, Tracyanne mentioning they hadn’t been here for ten years, before thinking sideways, explaing she obviously meant as a band, not individuals, as she relayed the information from the bass player that he’d come to Paris for the Olympics (cue more cheers), and somewhere mid set we also got treated to a little anecdote of her being extremely drunk one evening in Paris and forgetting her lyrics notebook in a bar, only realising after many bottles of wine, but managing to fetch it back when contacting a friend who’d moved to Paris, having retraced her steps mentally to remember which bar she’d had probably left it in. Introducing the next song saying maybe the lyrics were on there (it was a long time ago). I do like that all this chat was endearing, engaging and honest, as she clearly had no idea, rather than stating the lyrics for the next song were in there, which other artists may have done, whether it was the truth or not. There was a song that was loudly cheered, which I assumed was from an older album, a few songs from the new album (I quite like We’re Going to Make it in a Man’s World), a couple more of the inferior though very nice songs from My Maudlin Career, which were pleasant enough if nothing else (including an amusing false start to French Navy), there was still a pleasant vibe to the evening, without an emotional component, at least as far as I was concerned, before a wonderful finish to the main set. Lloyd, I’m Really to be Heartbroken, the superb opener to ‘…country’ (that sounds like a closer in fact) first, that, I felt, brought the first proper communal singalong, seguing without transition into another superb song from the same album ‘If Looks Could Kill’. I thought, without knowing, that it would be a great way to close the main set, complete with hand-clapping at some point, and so it proved. Quick wave of the hand and beer raising from the band, after a little over an hour, and they came back, happy.
At this stage, I thought yeah, maybe they won’t play Country Mile, probably my favourite of theirs, because it’s a little too slow/melancholic for tonight’s atmosphere. The tour manager handled Tracyanne an acoustic guitar (he’d gone to pick it during the last song, so you assumed when he came back with it, that it would be part of the encore), but in the end she declined and opted for an electric. In fact, it wasn’t used at all during the encore, but the setlist (see link above) would explain it, as the first song played from the encore was not the one initially intended. And I won’t complain, because instead of something from MMC, we got another cut from LGOOTC, another very pleasant number, with some hand clapping again (maybe the selection was because it was a little chipper, and the mood was quite light and happy in the room and onstage). Next was one of their first songs, fine though not as exciting for me. I forgot to mention, but worth doing it at this stage before I forget, that the keyboardist (Donna) was doing a fair amoung of backing vocals, and that that worked beautifully. The superb closer from ‘…country’, Razzle Dazzle Rose was next as a lovely conclusion. Lights on, and given tiredness and the distance to go (RER could only be taken at Châtelet not Gare du Nord due to more work again, but I’m not sure it’s actually worse, there is no easy/quick journey to this place, so no loss of time), I didn’t hang on to survey the room, but I assumed that everyone (mixed crowd again, not all old) walked out of the venue with a smile. So yes, they didn’t play Country Mile in the end, but actually, I think it was for the best, maybe it wouldn’t have fitted in the set, and in any case, I wasn’t feeling well enough emotionally to appreciate it, so it would have been a waste as far as I was concerned. So weirdly happy with it. I was too tired/drained earlier, but I got home (swift transport, took me ‘only’ 50 minutes, lucky connections) feeling appeased and calm, somewhat once more by the magic of music. Gigs often have been a lifesaver in the last couple of years.
Nerves, Supersonic, 10/10/2024
I’m going to do something unusual, write a short (really!) review, but not index this gig. It was very impromptu, decided two days prior at the invitation of Alessandro. In fact, I barely listened to the music beforehand, and as Walter was also joining on a short break from his temporary Aberdeen exile, it really was an opportunity to catch up with friends. I didn’t come for the music, I didn’t even have a beer, and I was fairly tired nervously again (maybe the enforced sports break to rest those tendons is starting to really badly get at me). But the music was worth mentioning and so I am doing so here. We got in just at about 8.30pm (Walter arriving shortly after), as the first band was playing, headed straight upstairs to sit down not even in view of the stage. First band was called Anitya, French, and mostly (or exclusively? I don’t remember any singing) instrumental. Not bad really, enjoyable background music in the circumstances, reminded me of a band or another (but I didn’t make conscious notes so don’t quite remember now) that I like. Maybe a hint of 65dos somewhere. TV Cult next were very good. From Germany. Whereas a few bands (Crows? IST IST?) have a singer that maybe tries to sound like Ian Curtis, but the music is not quite Joy Division (though in the case of IST IST there are hints in the bass sound, and the influence is clear). We have here a band that at times sounds very much like Joy Division (at least early Joy Division, not Closer-era) but with a singer that sounds nothing like IC. In fact at one point I was wondering if they were playing a cover of ‘Warsaw’. So it gives that interesting proper late mid 70s punk sound (amusingly I was also briefly reminded of The Cure’s Heroin Face – which led me to a further reflection on how there is no band like The Cure (thanks to Robert Smith, really) and that a lot of bands don’t really evolve), many songs crammed into a 40 min show, a few glimpses of the stage from the balcony suggested a good stage presence too. And then, again starting spot on time (10.30pm), Nerves. From Dublin. Walter mentioned Fontaines DC (maybe as a nod to the wave of Irish bands rather than sonically), well they don’t quite sound like that, but the singer certainly has a similar accent to Grian Chatten. The number of effect pedals (especially the bassist who is our side – still mostly glimpsing from the balcony than having a constant full view of the band) is quite impressive, and the sound is fairly intense. Walter said it reminded him of trance (techno) music, and yes I can hear it to some extent. The Supersonic mentioned Sprints, Talk Show or Gurriers(to be fair, just as bands they supported, I think), but I’m not sure I’m hearing much of that, maybe again a hint of Sprints here and there, that thriving Irish scene. But there’s probably a bit more depth to the sound. DIIV? I’m hearing some of it there, through the synthetic voiced elements between songs perhaps, something a little less organic than the other bands mentioned. We reach the last two songs, the first goes quickly, but then the finale is quite impressive. At some point it seems to end, but then not, and a second time, with bells chiming, surely it is the end but no. Yeah, it’s very long, totally hypnotic when the guitar restarts each time. A truly entrancing number. I’m still not sure I’d go see them again, doubt I’ll buy the record, but it was interesting, they may become bigger, and they can certainly pull out a great and intense show, so fair play. Nearing 11.30pm on a weekday means we’re all heading home shortly after the end of the concert, despite the impending Vaccines afterparty in the club. Still, a good evening to catch up with friends not seen in many weeks, and some decent music to go with. Hence my deciding to write about it, whether it counts as an actual gig or not.
Deadletter, La Maroquinerie, 12/10/2024
Benzinemag review (suspect there will be a SOV at some point), photos from RG and SOV. And the setlist.
Possibly another short or short-ish review as I don’t feel the need to go into the minutiae of everything, I really managed to just enjoy this one without feeling I wanted to put my critique cloak on.
Anyway, I’d heard good things about DEADLETTER (they are an ALL CAPS band after all), the LP review felt interesting, and when I listened to the album (I waited rather than just book the gig, yet thankfully managed to get a ticket before it was sold out), I thought ‘yeah, I think it’s one of those bands who will be great live, bit akin to Talkshow and the likes’. When I re-listened to the album a few days before the gig, I was slightly less certain, it wasn’t ALL that exciting apart from a couple of songs maybe. Turned out that this time the first impression certainly was the correct one.
Despite yet another couple of not very good nights, the fact that this was a Saturday night and that I was motivated to have a good time really helped. Also catching up with Jed was another good incentive. I first got to the Black Sheep to catch up with Shep and Tony as well as Ale and eventually Walter as we’d discussed on the Thursday, so had a couple of enjoyable pints of Guinness there to get me in the mood for a good evening. I headed for La Maroquinerie, Jed and his mate were only a few minutes behind so I decided to go for a pint upstairs. Franck arrived shortly after so I had a short chat with him before Jed and his mate joined us (I was already too ‘gone’ to remember his name in a loud environment, I think fatigue meant I struggled to focus on anything out of the ordinary). The support band, Genn, sounded possibly interesting, but while Franck went, we decided to have another pint upstairs and just go down for the main act at a presumed usual 9pm. So that’s the time we got down for, and, probably thankfully, the band only turned up a trifle late at about 9.10pm. We actually had a decent spot, surprisingly, despite entering an already packed room. Not behind the railing but a little in front of it, on the left, probably still on a stairs-y bit and with no proper tall fucker obscuring the view. Also, though we were relatively at the back, I was quite surprised to see a fair amount of old-ish people around. Guess all the youngsters were in the moshpit though, but still.
First track to play was….the opener of the album. Note that there is only one album and an EP and a few singles, and in this context, it’s actually quite impressive that they played the whole of the album (not in order, obviously) plus a few extra tracks, without any lull in the set. So yeah, that opener is a good track, a decent if not too violent introduction. All six members in the band, two guitarists, one bass player, drummer, singer, and a full-time saxophonist, filled the stage without problem. There was already a level of intensity in the proceedings from the start, and it didn’t take more than two tracks I think for the singer to get rid of his T-shirt. And then already venture into the moshpit for a song. Obviously, given that the whole album was played, there was no disappointment in the song selections and so all my favourites were played. The singer reminded me of Iggy Pop in a way (my image of Iggy Pop at least, as I have never seen him live), just the way he was set and the way he was holding his microphone. Not much inter-song banter, though there were a few thanks, etc., but a lot of energy all throughout, on stage and from the crowd. There was a definite ‘highlight’ moment for me when the anthemic ‘More Heat!’ was followed by the superb title track ‘Hysterical Strength’ and its excellent groove. Just a perfect combination. Also, I have to say that the constant presence of the saxophone fitted in very well: thankfully it didn’t feel at any moment in danger of turning into jazz! Another favourite was Mere Mortal, another one you can bellow the refrain out to while punching the air, fantastic! Time flows, they played well over an hour, concluding with Binge (a track I didn’t know from the Heat! EP, but definitely one to get) and finally another of the album highlights ‘It Flies’. Quite a frantic version, with the singer launching himself into the moshpit for a little crowdsurfing at some point. A fairly mental finish in fact. Would there be an encore? After that finale, it would have seemed superfluous, and indeed there was none, sometimes, that makes everything perfect. There was more beer during the gig and another one after, as we repaired upstairs for more enjoyable chat, I ended up pretty drunk on maybe not that many beers, home not that late (just after midnight perhaps?) but very happy with the evening and the gig. This year, possibly even more than last is a year where I feel I have enjoyed some incredible gigs even with bands I might not be that keen on on record. But sometimes you can just feel it and I’m glad it more often that not translates on stage. So yeah, while great albums have been few and far between (but The Cure are going to sort it all out in a few weeks at last), bands like Talkshow, Test Plan, Avalanche Party, DEADLETTER (surprisingly I was less taken by the probably much-more-hyped SPRINTS, but we’ll see, maybe I’ll appreciate them more in December though it’s at Le Trabendo), and perhaps Gurriers at the end of the month, have made this year contain a few energetic highlights.
English Teacher, Hasard Ludique 23/10/2024
I have very little doubt that there will be a SOV review at some point (maybe by Franck, well a week later, here it is!), photos are there already. The review will likely include the setlist, that is strangely not available on setlist.fm but I have a photo, as Benoît asked to take a photo of it off someone (and there’s an amusing detail on that printed setlist, that is totally like the band).
English Teacher+SPRINTS was the line-up in February, and now we have English Teacher headlining, while SPRINTS will play again in December. It’s been a big journey for English Teacher in the meantime. Not least because they released their debut album in the meantime, but also won the prestigious Mercury Prize with it later in the year. The gig was sold out, although I am not sure how many had seen them in February, or how many people booked it because of that win. It’s quite possible that many SPRINTS fans hadn’t been won over (they’re quite different in style, though I haven’t re-read my review of February yet, perhaps I will for later edits/comparisons rather than just impressions), as when at some point in the gig Lily asked ‘how many of you have already seen us live?’, there were far fewer cheers than I expected.
Anyway, logistics first: Nick and Benoît were my gigmates today, and we arranged to meet at about 8.15pm inside the venue. No support band was announced either by English Teacher or by Le Hasard Ludique which was unusual so we weren’t sure what to expect. Nick was first to arrive and mentioned a queue to get in, but by the time I arrived a little after 8.20pm, there was no queue at all, so straight to the bar as Nick was ordering the beers (not that there was much of a queue at the bar either), Benoît had been told by the bouncer that the band were starting at 8.30pm so we didn’t lose time, straight into a busy but not packed yet room. And the band got on stage at 8.30pm sharp. That’s The Bernadette Maries, not English Teacher though. A singer/guitarist who looked like a cross between Shaun Ryder/Liam Gallagher (especially the way he at times sings with hands linked behind his back)/Jason Williamson perhaps, another youthful guitarist, a discreet brunette on the bass, and a drummer who started wearing a hoodie but shed it after a song or two to reveal a fine mane. They introduced themselves after one song (‘nous sommes les Maries Bernadettes’, so not the? I’m actually wondering if an English-speaking band introducing themselves would use ‘les’ or ‘the’, we assumed they were French naturally as most unannounced supports are, but it turns out they are actually Belgians, from Brussels) and several times after. The music? Not bad at all really. Can’t quite pin it down, a bit generic indie, but a particularly impressive rhythm section. I mean the guitars were good, the singing perhaps not so much (there was one song at the end which started very instrumental and got a little less good when the singer started singing, before being good again….), but I was very impressed with the bass player and the drummer. Really tight timing, the bass sounded fantastic (in fact, the bass sounded a lot more precise than later for English Teacher), and I think it drove most of the songs very well, aided and abetted by the very efficient and sometimes inventive drummer.
So yeah, I’ve seen better support, but I have seen a lot worse. I wasn’t sure I would have a drink initially, but let myself tempted into buying a second round after all: despite feeling shit all day, it was just good to be at a gig with mates, and I was feeling in better and devil-may-care spirits. We were still in a good position as English Teacher set up their gear, not too far from the front and on the left-hand side when looking at the stage. We joked about not going to mosh, thinking anyway it’s not likely that there will be moshing at this gig, perhaps on R’n’B, and in fact, that was the first song played when the band took to the stage (I wasn’t keeping track on time, but it must have been 9.30pm or just after). With Lily on guitar for that one, it was actually quite rocking and moshing would have been a very distinct possibility! The rest of the band were as in February, the relatively unassuming bass player (who manned the merch stand before the gig, and after) on the left, Lily centre stage, and the drummer and guitarists same as last time. But there was an extra girl, on some sort of cello and occasionally keyboard (Lily played the keys too at times), and on one of the early songs even the tech/roadie joined on acoustig guitar (left-handed), while still being behind the curtain on the right looking at the stage. We could see him well from our position, but it may be the first time I recall an active musician on stage playing while hidden from a part of the audience! Anyway, not a lot to comment on the setlist really, as they pretty much played the whole of the album (except Sideboob, but that’s dispensable really, and we got Yorkshire Tapas from an EP instead), and also played a new song (Billboards) that was quite good. It all went sort of in a flash, I think the beer got to me in a strange way due to my initial state as I found myself very much in the moment but without a lot of awareness. So it’s easier to comment on the evolution rather than the order of the songs (but the music was nice, and the ever excellent Nearly Daffodils played near the end still a highlight). This was the first night of their European tour, so maybe not all was routine yet as Broken Biscuits attested (‘the next song is called Mastermind Specialism….actually it’s not, it’s the first night of the tour so bear with me!’), but there is no doubt that the band feel and look a lot more assured than about nine months ago. The guitarist is still playing like in a trance sometimes, the drummer switches to keyboards in the same way as then, but it looks a lot more natural and nice. And Lily, Lily’s in charge. She tries to speak a bit of French (says she wishes she could speak more, but it’s quite nice already), and her voice is just incredibly rich and powerful at times, and managed to cover a variety of ranges/styles. For some reason, I was reminded of Shingai from Noisettes. I think Shingai’s may have been a little more amazing, but in a way, I felt this was one of the most impressive vocal performances in ages. At least hints of it rather than a constant amazement. On the (slightly) down side, I felt Lily wasn’t engaging in as much dreamy talk as at Point Ephémère. Probably a sign of more intent/focus, to be honest. It’s quite strange, because if I hadn’t seen them ‘opening’ (officially a co-headline) for SPRINTS, I might not be there today. The album was fine, but I still feel it’s music that’s a little too ‘clever’ for me. But it’s the personality that drove me here, I was very taken with Lily’s way with words and her between songs chats. And yet, tonight, it was maybe a little more about the music, while Lily was still a very engaging frontwoman. This finished not too late (no encore, but that was expected –as Benoît put it ‘well they’ve played pretty much everything already’), and in a good mood still, and bumping into Franck post-gig, we had more chat and so time for one last beer. Benoît left and so me and Nick just went to get fresh air outside and ended up chatting to a few people there, the drummer and the guitarist in particular, so we congratulated them, and in my drunken (how?) slightly extroverted state, I asked the drummer if he preferred drums or keyboard, and without a single moment of hesitation he answered ‘keyboards’, which I found interesting. But essentially we chatted a lot of shit I don’t quite remember to be honest. The guitarist was very nice and we also chatted a little with a guy from another band from Leeds (Pop Vulture) who were playing in the Supersonic the next night (but I did say I couldn’t go as too tired and old and needed to work…when I was going home I thought yeah, I’d really like to go, but the next evening I thought, yes I do, but it wouldn’t make sense in my state), so it was all very nice. Lily came up just to round up the boys and get them to move (in the end they were going to have a beer by the tracks, an area not accessible to the public by then, so we couldn’t join), and we chatted on a bit with our new Leeds mate before deciding to go, so bit of a late one (home by 12.30am perhaps? not sure) but it was very enjoyable. It was good to talk to the guitarist and drummer/keyboardist, who really felt like normal English young guys, no big heads, you wouldn’t know they just won the Mercury Prize, but there’s no doubt who’s in charge. Whichever way their career goes as a band, you can be pretty certain that Lily Fontaine is going to go places, with or without the rest of her talented band. So yeah, great gig, great evening in one of my favourite venues (if only it were closer), but for some reason just three beers (IPA) got me very drunk and I still felt it when I woke up though a productive day at work helped not to dwell on any *boilk* feeling.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to say: that amusing thing on the setlist? ‘You Blister My Paint’ (wich Lily said was written in Paris, I don’t remember her saying that last time, just the long explanation about Clockwork Orange and how a song that was just imaginary became real – see the kind of chat that was missing tonight) was labelled ‘You Blister My Shite’. HEH
Gurriers, Point Ephémère, 30/10/2024
SOV review is there earlier this time.. Photos from Robert Gil (who gave three hearts meaning he really really enjoyed it too!). The setlist is wrong, because it is in fact missing Prayers which was not only played but announced by its title. Makes me realise more of the setlists I link to may be wrong than I initially thought, as it’s not the first time. BUT it seems like I can edit on setlist.fm now so it’s now there and the setlist is no longer wrong :-).
Very anticipated live action this time. It’s one Nick, Alessandro and Walter would definitely have been up for, but for various reasons they were all abroad so I found myself on my own there. Jed would have been in too, I guess. Having trouble with sleep and work again on and off, this was one of the ‘bad’ days, so probably easier to be on my own to be fair. Setting up the plan, the idea was no beer. I was also tired enough to remove my contact lenses when I got home from work earlier, so it was going to be one wearing glasses. Add to it the still painful feet, and I was determined not to mosh. It proved slightly hard to resist at times, but the absence of drink thankfully contributed (it’s not a unique reason though, as last year’s sober November/December gigs showed it wouldn’t stop me even if it could definitely switch me on more easily!). Anyway, I digress but that’s a little more context.
Gogojuice was the support, I wasn’t sure whether it was the band I quickly previewed on iTunes just before though I didn’t see any other obvious one, but a quick listen convinced me I didn’t particularly want to be there early. As it is, I arrived shortly after 8.35pm so just about missed their first song perhaps if that. Turns out they were French, from Rouen. Just a normal rock’n’roll band, having fun on stage, but utterly dispensable as far as I’m concerned. Fine as support, fine in a pub, fine for free, but given the decades of music that preceded them, nothing new or exciting or out of the ordinary for us lot. Standard 9pm finish, so we were all set for a classic 9.30pm start for the main act. I wasn’t initially sure where to post myself (when I got into the room, the usual ‘up’ place by the merch felt a bit inaccessible, and I thought that on my o wnI might fancy the perspective from the other side, probably not too far from the stage but with a fuller view (no pillar in the way) and the one good thing at Point Ephémère is that the stage is high enough for everyone to see, more or less. So I went to the left side, not too close, and crucially not too centrally. There was enough room to move between bands so I thought I had a decent spot (for the support I was slightly behind a pillar but I was able to move forward a good five metres at least in the interval). Fairly busy, one tall-ish person to my left, fine and then Alessandro’s mate from the Supersonic, a giant towering somewhere over 2m turned up and was more to the right. To the annoyance of a few people (who probably couldn’t anticipate what was coming). Decent music was played, most I didn’t recognise though there was, perhaps unsurprisingly, a SPRINTS song in the middle somewhere. A bit to my right, as some people went moving across to get a better spot, some aggro suddenly erupted, beer was flying, pushing and shoving….but it was over in a flash, people got in, the involved parties moved on or were moved on swiftly, so it didn’t turn into a punch-up, on the spot at least. Slightly bizarre.[Edit: I see Franck had the same anecdotical impression in his review]
9.30pm, lights dimmed, and the music that starts playing is…Can’t Take My Eyes Off You(it will always be the Freddie song for me, so I chanted lyrics different to the rest of the room for the chorus :-)) as the band took to the stage one by one. The singer (who looked like the least stylish frontman you’ve ever seen, not that it matters once all gets going) was haranguing the crowds straight away(not verbally but with lifting hands gesture), and you could already tell he would feed off the energy from the crowd and vice-versa all night. The audience? Oh yes, very mixed in age and genres to be honest. And when the first notes/beats of the opener Nausea hit (opening track of the one and only album so far)….well something definitely happened. The tall-ish guy who was slightly in front to my left (and knew the giant, like many people seemed to) suddenly and violently threw himself towards the centre and a massive massive pogo immediately started. At the centre of it (and during most of the ensuing mélées) was the giant, so no worry about his size or positioning, eh? I wisely stepped a further foot to the left as this all started, to avoid getting sucked in voluntarily or involuntarily in fact. Wise move, see above, because I don’t think I’ve ever been at the edge of a pogo at a gig for so long without getting involved at all. Still, great fun all around was the story of the gig. I said ‘violently’ above, but that really is about intensity and range of movement, proper pogo-ing rather than moshing this time, but there was absolutely no aggression or mean-ness through it all. Yet, to my eyes, it was possibly the most ‘violent’ gig I have ever been to. All the moshing/pogos I’ve been involved in during the last couple of years, or the other ones I have surveyed from close or far didn’t seem to have quite the same level of intensity/rage/repetition as tonight. Anyway, back to the action on stage, I think it was already the second tune (upping the ante with the excellent ‘Des Goblin’) when one of the guitarists (looking like a character from Asterix perhaps? mullet and moustache) didn’t quite get in the crowd, but just to the edge of the stage and dangling his guitar over for some of the audience to actually scratch the strings on it. Favourite and ultra-energetic song Close Call was next (the first tune I heard from them and made me instantly think ‘wow this is going to be fantastic live’), ferocious and perfect, shirts went off from the other guitarist quickly (though he was probably the most focussed and less exuberant member of the band, save for the drummer at the back who kept his shades on all gig while hitting the skins very hard), and the bass player made his first foray into the moshpit while still playing, before also removing his T-shirt (he was wearing a kilt). As per the last few gigs I’ve been to (DEADLETTER, English Teacher), there is not much point in commenting on the setlist (although….see later) as they played pretty much everything from the album. The order of the songs though is another matter(turns out it stayed closer to the album than I thought though). And I have to say that while the best songs sounded even better live, the least favourites of mine didn’t themselves get much of a lift off from the live playing and sounded a tad boring, relatively-speaking. But I am getting slightly ahead of myself. After another heavy pogo, the singer announced that the next song was a bit more quiet so we could all breathe, though you can still dance to it (a lot of the talk tonight was about making us dance and how are we feeling?). Followed Prayers which is actually a superb song in several parts, going very quiet before it picks up in its final sequence, though never to the point of the frantic pace of the songs that preceded it. Surprisingly, the next song was also on the slow-ish side, Top Of The Bill, which, despite its instantly recognisable guitar motif, is a little under par as far as I am concerned. I was nearly getting bored, seriously, but maybe it was a welcome pause if not enjoyable, and my mind didn’t have too much time to drift away. It’s all relative, although the following Sign Of The Times, picked up the tempo and brough back more moshing (although at this stage and for such a song it felt more forced than genuinely enthusiastic after the previous two more downtempo numbers). It’s got an easy chorus/title to shoutabout to, however, it still doesn’t quite do it for me. A bit like dipping out played much earlier in the set, all truth told. And then, similarly to what happened with English Teacher, after conferring with every single other band member, the singer (I should probably use his name by now, but I haven’t yet looked for it) announced that somehow they had managed to find the time to write a new song during the tour (‘Dissolved’ was the name), and you know what? I thought it was rather good, much better than the two previous songs, and so while earlier I was wondering where they could go next, I’d say there is still life and hope for new material that will not all sound the same. So fair play, and thumbs up from me, I loved that one. ‘The next song is…’ …called Approachable’ shouted back someone who might have checked previous setlists or knew the timings. And so it was confirmed, but with a little more backstory about it being their first single. Now THAT truly is one of the best one or two songs on the album, has got an incredible energy and we got first the singer then the bassist in the crowd, or rather in the case of the latter, surfing on the crowd this time while still playing his instrument and exhibiting true glee. Fantastic song, fantastic atmosphere, what a way to finish. 10.23pm game over, well played. Game over? Not quite. I wasn’t sure if timing would allow (and was surprised they hadn’t played the last song from the album), but the lights didn’t turn fully on so as this went on, you knew they would come back, the crowd willing them to, although not everyone felt so sure, some left the place only to come back in a rush shortly after. So after more thank yous, the album finale (and title track), Come and See, was indeed played. It IS a superb song, one of my favourites too, but certainly more on the melodic, contained rhythm side. Which didn’t stop the pogos in the more agitated bits, obviously. And yes that was it. So same last two songs as on the album, but with a break in the middle. And if my perfectionist side has a little objection there, it’s because my feeling is that what worked perfectly well on the album (fantastic energetic single followed by a melodic mid-tempo song bringing a feeling of closure) was less ideal live in my opinion. I’d have thought Come and See as a main set closer (although I will temper that by saying it might have made too many mid-tempo songs (I say mid but they are mid with a little faster bit rather than uniformly calmer) in the last part of the main set, with Approachable as a fan-friendly frenetic encore would have made more sense as the essence of their live experience tonight. But hey, when my only grief is that, it’s a good sign, and perhaps they’ll be able to do something closer to that when they will have more songs. Yeah. Let’s not be fussy, it was a fantastic gig, amazing energy, one of the best of the years to file along Talkshow and Test Plan (Test Plan context/venue made it a lot different though, maybe the most ‘violent’ gig sonically but zero moshing that evening there). Midweek, tired and on my own, I didn’t hang around to talk to the band at the merch stand, in fact, part of my reason to be on the left side was to be able to exit swiftly. I didn’t rush, as I couldn’t and I knew that anyway the journey home would be long: more engineering works meant no RER North of Denfert from 10.45pm so I had to take the long route. In the end, while the displays in Denfert made me think my next train would require a 13 minutes wait, there was one still on the platform when I eventually reached it, and after a couple more minutes delay it went and I was home at 11.40pm. A couple of steps brought a very sharp pain in the foot, not sure how much or if I am healing, but definitely certain that not moshing was the right choice tonight. Hopefully they and I will be back for more fun action soon! It was pretty much yet another shit day saved by music! Now, incredibly and for various reasons, I have no gig for over two weeks. In November. Which is unusual but kind of perfect as it will allow me to spend a lot of time with the fantastic new Cure album released today.
5/11/2024 New Model Army, Vauréal – POSTPONED
8/11/2024 The Mysterines, La Boule Noire – CANCELLED
13/11/2024 Mercury Rev, La Maroquinerie – NOT GOING, work got in the way.
Blimey, I realise that’s three off in a row for various reasons. I would have quite liked to go to this one, but it wasn’t a MUST NOT MISS one, so on a rare work trip despite being rather unhappy with the way work is being handled at the moment, I think I’d go away and miss another concert. A different november this time!
Been Stellar, Point Ephémère, 17/11/2024
This being an American band, and on the same evening Nick Cave was playing in Paris, I’m not sure I’ll find a review, or photos. The setlist doesn’t even yet appear on the usual site. However, a glance at previous setlists of the same tour indicates they are all exactly identical, and this matches my recollection so here it is.
In fact, this is the setlist from the previous evening at Witloof Bar, which I was briefly tempted to do instead, after my marvellous experience for the Cherry Glazerr gig. At some point I was hesitating between Bright Eyes in Berlin or doing a double night in Brussels with these guys and Library Card the previous evening in a mini-festival. In the end, delaying the decision until Bright Eyes cancelled (and thankfully having first waited for that album, which turned out not that great anyway), and various other factors made me choose to wisely save a little money and just go tonight in Paris.
So. Just over a year ago, these guys were the first band on that Pitchfork Festival night, playing in front of an extremely small audience of probably less than twenty at Le Trabendo. Still have to re-read that, but my impressions, I think were, not bad at all, but despite a good EP and some very good songs, not an extraordinary live band, and in 2024 do we need them? When this date was announced, I thought I’d first wait for the album, but that came not long after the announcement, and turned out to be a truly excellent album. In fact, while I still have to do a recap, this may be my number two this year, definitely one of maybe not even a handful that I truly enjoyed, pretty much from start to finish. Of course, this year, The Cure reset everything and put everyone so far behind, but that’s still a pretty remarkable feat in this odd 2024. So I didn’t hesitate to book this straight after. Also, it being a different context, I thought it might yield a better gig. The night before, the gig still wasn’t sold out, but I was reminded on the day, that it was not necessarily just down to them not being ‘big’ here, but also the rather unfair competition of a Nick Cave concert the same evening. As it is, my conclusions on the gig are not THAT far from what they were a year ago, but with some caveats and on the back of a gig that in itself was a fair bit better, songs and performance-wise.
A very quick (maybe twice twenty seconds if that) listen at support band ‘basht.’ led me to think I could quite enjoy them, so I decided that being there on time for their slot would be a good idea. I made it to the venue at about 8.20pm, straight into the room and decided that I was feeling well enough to order a beer, even on my own, but maybe not two. The in-room bar only serves blonde, but that’s fine, and my order went through just as the support started. I decided to settle in the same corner of the room as for Gurriers, decent view and not too far. The music? I did indeed enjoy it. Not anything transcendental or fundamentally new, not a lot of in-band dynamics, but good songs, I liked their sound, mostly mid-paced but with a few energetic rock’n’roll numbers (one in particular from their first EP (that is, advertised as such, I didn’t catch the name), and as the singer said it was their first time here (I have strictly no idea where they are from[after checking, Ireland apparently, one more Irish band but no strong accent this time], just seen somewhere that support for Been Stellar is not the same every night, though they are on for a few of them) and that they would be back in May at Supersonic, might be one to keep an eye on if I’m not away on holidays (and for all I know, it could be the usual free gig, but it could also be as part of the Block Party)[first names for that festival were only announced a week later, and yes that is not a free gig then)].
Anyway, usual timings (8.30pm support, 9.30pm), everything clockwork tonight, enough time and space between bands to get much nearer the front (maybe two metres from the stage). Mixed crowds, although when I say ‘crowds’, it never got THAT busy. It definitely was sold out. It doesn’t mean the room wasn’t full for their performance (though I didn’t really see what was at the back), but the crowds were not dense. In fact during the support, I found that slightly annoying, as there was obviously a lot of ‘room’, but no space to move forward without bothering people, at that point.
But back to 9.30pm and light out. Seems like a theme these last few gigs of one-band album that the setlist cannot bring any surprise (in their case the previous EP does provide three tracks out of its five though!), although there is one song from the album that they didn’t play. Not one of the indispensable ones, so no big loss. And the first track played is not the opener. Mind you, it’s the title track of the album ‘Scream from New York, NY’ and a superb introduction. The set-up is similar to last year, though the singer does not have a bandage on his hand this time, and also keeps his tambourine around his arm rather than throw it with neglect onto the stage (although I’m actually not sure the second guitarist, on the left, is the same as last year. Maybe the least ‘remarkable’ member of the band both times. Edit: definitely a different guitarist now that I have checked my old photos; interestingly I saw a video of a recent session when it was yet another one, so maybe it’s not a settled thing?). But yeah, same demeanours etc. Are they better and more confident? I can’t really say, context is very different, the main guitarist still gives his all (and this time has a microphone for backing vocals, don’t remember if he did last time), the singer is all cool NY, though maybe not as much as the bass player, but his voice is great and strong and he hangs onto his mike like his life depended on it. For the first part of the set, his words are mostly ‘merci’, making the effort to speak in French. Passing Judgment, one of the highlights on the album in second place on the tracklist and the setlist injects even more energy, before the opening track on the album concludes a trilogy of truly excellent songs. There’s a lot of smoke on stage, rendering pictures a little vague, good, meaning I won’t bother with trying too hard to take photos or videos. The next song is maybe on the slightly less captivating side of the album, although it still maintains the focus, before a classic from the previous EP, Manhattan Youth, brings a different energy and rhythm and huge cheers. They’re all in full flow. Perhaps the drummer is the one who looks the most like she has got more confident than last time tonight? She is very efficient either way, perfect rhythm though not exuberant behind her kit. The singer reminds us (in English this time) that they’ve been here ‘a couple of times’ before (so I think they would have played before that Trabendo gig), and so greets newcomers as well as welcoming back those who have seen them before. A slower song from the EP (Ohm) follows, before we get treated to another amazing album highlight ‘Sweet’ (that was also played last year, but unreleased at the time). One of the best non-Cure songs released this year. The following Pumpkin feels a little flat after that (sure their album is a 7.5/10 maybe, not a 10!) and then the guitarist takes to the mike, does it all in French (and pretty well, another excellent effort), to introduce the next song ‘Takedown’ as one from the new album. For the first and only time, the lead singer abandons his tambourine to get hold of an acoustic guitar (well, electro-acoustic, obviously) that he strums along nicely to this more quiet ballad. A very nice song all things told, perhaps even more appreciable live than on record. The end of the gig is slowly nearing with another of the ‘less interesting’ tracks of the new album (and back to tambourine), before we get back to the EP for an excellent Kids 1995 (reminding me why that EP caught me first time, it is a stunning tune!). And then ‘this is the last song, thank you’, which is, predictably, the album closer I Have The Answer which feels like a perfect conclusion (and I am reminded that the ideal conclusion to a Been Stellar gig is quite different from the one of a Gurriers one, I really think I was right in my little critique last time). The intro is considerably lengthened, building into a little tension before the drumming starts, and really, it ends just as it should. The lights don’t come up immediately, in fact they briefly brighten before darkening again while everyone is asking for an encore, but despite them having played pretty much everything, we feel a little teased by this light show, until the band appear on stage…..only to head straight to the merch stand, one step down to the other side, while the lights do not come fully on. So no encore, but no disappointment about it really, given nothing was missing (OK Arthur or My Honesty from the EP would have been nice, but not necessary). So time to go home, good connection and back there at 11.15pm, a very satisfying evening.
And so to (sort of) conclusions: was that one of the best gigs of the year? No. Well, not in the top 5 anyway. It WAS a great gig, I enjoyed it very much, they are excellent live, and the songs are a little enhanced by the live action. But, the thing is, they are really excellent on record already, and the live experience didn’t make a huge difference a huge leap forward. There are bands I don’t care about on record who I find fantastic live. There are bands who I love on record but feel meh about live. They are neither. Because they are excellent in both cases. Their album will definitely be that ‘top non-Cure’ contender, I am still very very enthused by it. Their gig was brilliant. But, maybe that’s the problem with them being so good on record, the margin to enjoy something special ‘live’ is not huge. It was kind of ‘as expected’, as in ‘they are so fucking good anyway’. You can tell they are all good and competent, but for instance, on top of not much interaction/energy with the public (basht. maybe even had more), there is not too much apparent band alchemy on stage, no smiles, jokes, pretty much the only interaction I noticed was the singer handing a bottle of water to the drummer at some stage. And yet, they are so good, I had the distinct feeling that, while I’m not sure how far they can go now, they would have been absolutely huge twenty years ago. Again, I haven’t re-read my review yet, but I remember making a Strokes comparison. I’m probably not feeling the same way about this now, and I’d say I prefer their album to anything by the stroke. There’s a lot more depth and intensity for my ears and soul. So yeah, I know, I’ve been writing so many words there for not a lot. The thing is, I’m not doing album reviews now, but go get their album. If you get a chance to see them live, go too, and you won’t regret it! There just has been a huge difference between my favourite albums and my favourite gigs this year, it really has been a strangely chaotic year, but there has been much good music, live mostly, but on record too, and they have both.
Royel Otis, Le Trianon, 20/11/2024
Not sure I will find reviews or photos, but there definitely is a setlist, which I assume is correct. Well, I belatedly found a review.
On a cold evening, Nick, Patrick and I were the gig goers. Jed didn’t make it as he’d been on the waiting list and by the time he got the offer of a ticket, he had made other plans. This was definitely one I would not have gone to on my own. The album was quite good (yes another one-album-so-far band), but maybe not quite good enough or up my street to make me fancy them live. Still, I expected something rather sun-kissed and pleasant. I arranged to meet someone to give them some bubble wrap just before (don’t ask, but that was helpful to someone, so perfect and good timing), so was on location before the others, and on checking the initially arranged meet-up bar, I found it a little too busy and with grumpy personel so decided to have a look at the classic ‘Chinese’ bar between Le Trianon and La Cigale. There were tables available, so I settled there with a lager, and the other two joined me shortly after. We quickly decided that we wouldn’t bother with the support (never heard of them, it seemed to have been changed at late notice, still no idea to this day, but expected them to be not a big miss. We’ll never know, call it intuition). Anyway, so a couple of beers and a nice chat to get us going before we headed into the venue. A quick check at the bar, but only Carlsberg so not to Nick’s taste so no more beer. Which was perfectly fine with me, as I had in mind a two or three pints max evening, two pre-gig was just perfect. The room was busy but not yet completely packed as we entered at about 8.35pm or something. No band was playing, so the logical assumption was that support had been and gone (doors were 7pm after all) and that the main act may start at 9pm rather than 9.30. We managed to take a spot pretty close to the front but a fair bit to the side, good view really! First thing that struck us was how young the audience was. There are gigs with a fair mix, but this wasn’t one, we were clearly a few of the rare oldies this time.
Light went off straight at 9pm, and the red curtain opened (yes, all the set-up was made behind the curtain, one thing you can do in that place). The drummer (to the left side at the back rather than central) and keyboardist came onto the stage first and started their bit, before the main two (who gave the band their name) got in, one of them arriving with a perfect jump from the side, fair play!
The setlist may not be as obvious as prior ‘similar’ gigs, but that could be partly because there are two or three versions of the album. Having been an early acquirer, I have the 13 tracks version, but there’s a 16 and a 17 track versions that got released a little later, even with some slightly different track order not just at the end. Anyway, just to say the opener was not the opener (not the opener on any of the versions in fact). It sounded very good straight away though, plenty of happy energy. The album’s first track (adored) came then in second, and it’s one of the best there, followed by another pretty good one (Daisy Chain), so that was a rather good start to the gig. A few words here and there but not too many over the first third of the show maybe, not to disrupt the rhythm that was fairly relentless. The crowds were very enthusiastic, me maybe not so much. I quickly went to the stage of, even with Nick Cave in town the other day, wondering how Been Stellar couldn’t sell out Le Point Ephémère while these guys could sell out Le Trianon easily (in fact, the gig had been moved from Trabendo to there, I think, which is how i got a ticket as it was initially sold out even quicker). Actually, I CAN get it, but it’s just not for me. Sure, they are young and enthusiastic (the frizzled-floppy haired guitarist mostly hiding his face behind said hair at some point went ‘holy shit! this is such a beautiful venue!’ (he’s not wrong, by the way, it’s one the best ones in terms of the way it looks), but quickly I realised what this was about: this was mostly music for middle-class students to dance to. And I mean middle-class white students in fact. Not necessarily anything wrong with it, and I fit the first two demographics easily, but yeah, I’m not a student anymore and nowhere near. I think it’s a gig I might have enjoyed twenty or thirty years ago (but remember, I only got to very few gigs when I was a student anyway), but this didn’t do it for me. So yes, I get it, it’s definitely great to just lightly dance to, but it’s all a bit bland, innit? The voice is very generic even if faultless, not a trace of emotion in the music or the singing, the lyrics I have no idea, to be honest, very few slow-ish numbers. For a party? Fantastic. For emotional depth? Very close to zero, and I’m afraid that’s an important factor for me these days. I feel more emotion and connection in the raw energy of bands like Talk Show, Test Plan or Gurriers, say, even if they are not often melodic, than in this, which IS fairly melodic at times. The ‘white’ factor is not anything, just an observation because it struck me, looking at the front, looking at the back, looking at the first and second balconies, that I didn’t spot a single black person tonight, which is extremely rare, even in ‘music mostly for white people’ gigs. Anyway, yes, after the first three rather punchy tracks, it felt like things got a little more sedate, and I lost the brief connection I had, for a while. Sure the crowds and the band were enjoying themselves a lot (another ‘dream come true’ pronouncement, another ‘holy shit, this is amazing!’, them telling us they played once before, at Supersonic (I think?), so a few lesser songs from the album, some I didn’t know from one EP I don’t seem to have and from the ‘extended’ album version, turned me into an observer rather than an enjoyer, despite the never relenting pace of the gig. I have to say though, that these ‘shitty’ songs from the album, were probably a bit better live as they had energy. Oh yes, one thing I didn’t mention, very Australian (two out of four on stage looked very bleached-blonde surfer Australians) was the background: a picture of a…..giant shrimp! (made me thing of ‘shrimp in the barbies’ which my mate Lee often uses when referring to Aussies). Finally they announced ‘we wanna dance with you’ before they played a tune from the Sofa Kings EP: I Wanna Dance With You. Very cute, some kind of balearic guitar motif, and that was very popular. While it still felt like an alien world to me, it’s definitely one of their good tunes, which hadn’t happened in at least four or five songs if not more before that.
We got a ‘new song’ at some point, which wasn’t particularly remarkable before at last another of their better songs from the album (Fried Rice), and I mean the ‘short version’ of the album as there were a couple more songs from the extended version in that sequence. At last they played what I think was their first hit (well the song that got them known to me), Sofa King, that was both the title of that EP but also the only one that made it to the album from there. It’s not particularly one of my favourites though, but it certainly led to a big communal singalong (‘You’re so fucking gorgeous’), that was followed by another (better in my opinion, and certainly more dynamic) classic from the same EP, ‘Going Kokomo’ was probably the high point in terms of popularity. Nick had mentioned they were doing covers of Murder On The Dancefloor, the Sophie Ellis-Bextor classic, and that’s what we got next. Apparently. Nick had been to the loo so missed it, and I wouldn’t recognise that song if it hit me in the face, even if I’m sure I’ve heard it before. I only have her latest album which I quite liked, and the other old classic SEB for me was ‘Groovejet’ (but that was ‘Spiller feat. SEB’ rather than SEB). Anyway, all this means is it just sounded like yet another Royel Otis song. Because apart from the couple of songs I could truly recognise, I’d felt I’d heard the same song about 15 times at that stage. And yet, I absolutely had the clear feeling that come the next album or two, they’ll easily fill Le Zénith next. Something that, after the gig, Patrick said he exactly had thought too. But that will be without me. So yeah, time for the last song of the set, the second one played tonight from their first EP that I haven’t got (Bar N Grill, from 2022). It’s got a decent sound, bit of a New Orderish driving bass sound, not bad at all, to be honest, now listening to it, possibly one of their best songs in fact? Just 10.05pm, surely there is an encore, and indeed, they don’t even make us wait long, it feels like they are back having barely left the stage. For the next one, the singer (OK there are two singers/guitarists all along, but because on the first song that one was only singing, I have him as ‘the singer’ while the other is ‘the guitarist’) asks us to sing along, and it is their cover of The Cranberries’ Linger. It’s OK, but while it’s a popular and classic Cranberries song, it’s not my favourite and of course, the Royel Otis makeover means it sounds a little flat. Yeah, I think one of my main gripes remain the voice. It’s not shit, but it feels like it could just as well come from a computer. At least it’s not irritating and doesn’t sound like a copy of something else, the way a lot of singers (and especially female, weirdly, there are some that sound like they are just copying others) sound alike. And it’s back to the Sofa King EP to conclude the evening with Kool Aid, a not particularly remarkable and good song. They all gather to bow on stage, and it’s all over at 10.15 (not on a Saturday Night). Sure everyone in the room is probably happy smiling and beaming, but I’m fairly happy…that this one is over. Given the early time, Nick proposes to go for a post-gig beer, and I feel well enough, not stressed or rushed to go along with that plan. We walk past the initial planned bar again (Les Oiseaux), this time VERY NOT busy, almost looking like it is closing, and decide that it’s not a great atmosphere, another bar is discarded before we find one only a few metres further down the street that looks pleasant enough. Pint of IPA for each of us, more nice chat and time to go home. 11.40pm or so, no particular issue going home (I had music in my head on the way back, but in fact, it was still Been Stellar’s Sweet…) to conclude a fairly pleasant evening if not a brilliant gig. So yeah, Royel Otis, very hyped up, possibly great, definitely enjoyable if you’re the right person in the right mood, but I’m afraid that’s one that is not for me. Perhaps it’s too ‘insouciant’ and naive in a way only that audience could be. I may be too old for that, although I think I may never have been the right type for that music anyway.
Bob Vylan, Petit Bain, 25/11/2024
Right, review, photos and even setlist may be unavailable. Closest is maybe the setlist from Prague, which is available. Not sure if every evening has had the same setlist, but it seems close enough either way, in the big moments. Well, some photos did turn up on the web, eventually!
So, this was one I had decided on after seeing Dream Wife earlier this year, when chatting with Jed. One of those gigs that had the potential to be a riot. My mate Ed only a couple of weeks earlier had just been to see them in England and said they were amazing. No pressure then.
The line-up suggested a first band at 8pm, a second at 8.45 and the main act at 9.30pm. Three bands! We decided to skip the first band anyway, and time our arrivals for whenabout the second would start. I’d not listened to them, but that was late enough already. I arrived shortly after 8.30, the weather was relatively fine then (dry anyway) so I just waited outside for Jed to arrive shortly after. We’d both decided to have a reasonable one, which was another factor in not arriving early. Downstairs, as we ordered a round, the support, Hyphen, was just starting. Jed said he’d listened a bit and they were in a similar spirit to Bob Vylan, and straight away they sounded pretty good. One hairy Indian singer, an Indian guitar player and a Black drummer, made for an energetic combo. Couldn’t really see but the singer, as appeared later at the merch stand, was wearing just an old-style pair of shorts. He was certainly very chatty during songs, really excited to be there. And the call and response to some of the songs just worked so well, even though we were not at the front. They have some punchy tunes, and great lyrics/mantras. Take, for instance ‘Hate Yachts, not Dinghies’, introduced longly (some ‘fuck Nigel Farage!’ included as the name came from the crowds after ‘we all know the type’ was mentioned about rich people having all the money). Like some Bob Vylan songs, there was a heavy theme of ‘don’t blame the immigrants’. Oh yes, good to be back with a very mixed crowd today after last week! So yeah, that, another one when we were enjoined to sing back ‘Suck dick and get paid!’ after the ‘Deskjob or sex tape’ line or something like that. And then there was a final song about ‘what does Dave in the pub have in common with politicians in power?’ But the line to sing back there was a lot more difficult and convoluted (something about Colombian marching powder), leading to the girl next to Jed coming back with ‘La coke’ every time, once she’d sussed the gist of it. That was funny. Anyway, yeah good warm-up, excellent live band, and I will investigate their recorded output, if only because I didn’t buy a T-shirt. Speaking of which, while Jed was heading to the loo, we bumped into Duncan (from the Black Sheep) who was queuing at the merch stall there. I just shouted ‘great gig’ at the singer when we were walking up the stairs afterwards to finish our first pints in the fresh air just outside the doors.
Fifteen minutes seemed like a bit of a short interval, and indeed, while a selection of decent music was played (including the energetic Nausea from Gurriers, which I mistakenly took from test plan on the spot), the lights didn’t go out before 9.45pm instead. We’d had time to get a second pint, and made our way down the few steps and into the pit at that stage, still on the left, and not that close to the stage but primed for action, finishing the drinks just before the start. The walking/standing/bouncing around the Arsenal match on Saturday had my achilles slightly more painful again, so I was a little wary of moshing, but I knew it was kind of inevitable, and after the progress of the previous few weeks, I felt I could handle it, unlike at Gurriers. And so Bobby and Bobbie (as they are known, respectively the singer and the drummer) arrived on stage to loud cheers, wearing fetching Fred Perry polos (the words ‘we are the Fred Perry mafia’ were uttered a couple of times, along with ‘Fuck Metallica!’). Not your run-of-the-mill ones though, so absolutely stunning dark orange and black, kind of tiger-type of patterns. Bobby started talking a fair bit already to incredible cheers, yet, as he said : ‘we haven’t even started yet’!, already being kind of heckled by a girl on the left near the stage, which he took the piss off a few times, and pretty much mercilessly near the end of the show when she seemed to want to draw attention to her ‘who cares that you came as far as the South of France? We’ve travelled a lot, etc…’. and he announces that as usual ‘We’re going to start with a bit of stretching and meditation’, while some instrumental track and drums started playing. Well, I’m not sure about meditation, but definitely some stretching moves, neck legs, arms, imitated by the crowd. And then it started, proper, with the excellent Reign from the new album. Progressive, relatively gentle moshing start, the ante being progressively upped through GYAG, Dream Big and He’s a Man, all with easy slogans to shout too. By that time we were well into it. Duncan and the girl he was with (from Yorkshire as she proudly told us after the gig) made their way to the front (and he never left that position), while I ended up just behind on occasions, and drifted mostly to the right of the stage after all. I was forward/backward, losing Jed at some point (who’d stayed a little behind, despite wisely having removed his glasses), and certainly taking a few kicks and not saving my foot and achilles. Didn’t feel so painful but I suspected I’d regret it later. Oh yeah, of course in the heat and energy, Bobby had removed his shirt early on. You have to say he really has a great stage presence and easy to focus on, certainly charismatic. A fair amount of talk between songs, mentioning other bands (Amyl and the Sniffers? You know them? Wow – later there was a song he said was a collaboration with one of the guys from Soft Play ‘you know them too? You’re amazing!’), places they’ve been to. But first, time for ‘an apology and introduction’. They were meant to play about a year ago (something Jed already had a ticket for but I didn’t), so Bobby apologised for the delay, but saying it was probably for the best, as the new album had happened in the meantime so they had all these new songs to share! The introduction was for Bobbie, being well bigged up and encouraged to also remove his shirt, which he did a song later. That song, with him starting only with the drums, was a cover : ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’ (famous Roy Ayers original), and with the title of their albums and Bobbie actually sporting a massive sunshiny smile, it felt perfect. Also a relatively calm moment for everybody to gather their energy again before the next wave hit. ‘Where are we? ‘Right Here’. That is, the next song thus titled from the new album (including sample from Fat Boy Slim), getting back into faster tunes, but the next one is where mad intensity reached a new peak. ‘Nothern Line’ (from We Live Here, with introduction about having been written when Bobby was commuting to work when he still had to work a shitty job), exploding into life and leading to the first crowdsurfing from both the singer and other folks. (The latter carried on while Bobby only did it again on the last song). It got a bit mad afer that, climaxing perhaps in a little medley of songs (introduced as such, near the end), including classics like I Heard You Want Your Country Back. We Live Here (‘We live here, you cunts!’, another obvious commentary on racist England) get more madness, before it is time for the last song. I thought the final track from Humble As The Sun (‘I’m Still Here’) would have made for a perfect final song, but it’s not what we get. Hunger Games (still for that latest album) isn’t as good or remarkable in my book, but who am I to argue? It’s still good fun there, even if the only reason I could argue about the setlist. Bobby and Bobbie get together to the centre of the stage after that, bowing and beaming, Bobby saying he hopes we take something, anything good from tonight to make it a good one. But what? Bobbie gets back to the drums and something with more of a dancey/nearly New Order-ish vibe takes shape. But it’s not another song, just one minute or two maximum of a little jam, still very nice to finish. Yeah 10.45pm means it’s nearly curfew o’clock, as Bobby explains they still have to allow time to be at the merch stand for selling CDs/T-shirts, taking photos or just chatting. It’s been a good one, I don’t feel too much pressure at work this week, happy enough, so agree to a last pint before leaving. We bump into Duncan back at the bar….and he offers us a round of tequila shots. Oh, ok fine. We still have that beer, that we finish upstairs in a little rain outside. A little shout of ‘That was great!’ while going up was not noticed by both bands now at the merch stall, but never mind. A soaked T-shirt means I feel slightly better once I put my hoodie and jacket back on, and we drink and chat happily before parting ways. A relatively easy journey home got me back shortly after midnight, but it was all really worth it. A slight worry about the wet t-shirt under the other layers making me catch a cold seems unfounded now two days later.
As feared though, the next day my achilles (both in fact) are in a fair bit of agony and I am struggling just to walk. A further day on however, it is improving again, so I guess rather than being totally damaging, this showed me I still have a long way before I can attempt to properly run again. Perhaps that was another good lesson from that gig, and so I won’t bother moshing at Sprints in December (while the intervening Porridge Radio and Hope Of The States gigs are not a risk). Yep, great gig, would have been better in the summer without having to carry other layers in the moshpit (padded gilet on while the hoodie was tied around the waist!) so hopefully even better next time they’re back!
Porridge Radio, Trabendo, 5/12/2024
No doubt photos (Robert Gil was there) and SOV review will appear. The setlist is here. Although it doesn’t detail what songs were played solo, as a three-piece or as a full band. The photos have now been published. No trace of a review. Yet? Well, they took their bloody time but the SOV review is here at last.
Where do I start? I have found Porridge Radio’s releases decreasing in quality. Or, more accurately, in interest for me. They do have quality. I’d relistened to the last album a couple of days earlier, and at the beginning thought ‘actually, it’s not that bad’, before finding myself utterly bored for the whole of the second half. I thought I’d have company, at least Benoît who enjoyed their performance at Beaubourg earlier this year, but turned out I was going there on my own. I had a colleague’s leaving do to attend late afternoon, so I was starting to regret having bought this. Oh, of course I had bought this before the record’s release, thinking I’d give them another chance anyway (on top of being convinced I wouldn’t go alone) after taking a break from their last few performances in Paris, following two gigs in 2022.
Nobody could tell me what the support would be. So I went to that leaving do (in Massy) thinking I may pop back home on the way depending on timings. I had a few nibbles and light drinks there, a very enjoyable occasion. I only made the decision to go direct while on the platform: timingswise, it was kind of touch and go, but my legs were killing me a bit, so avoiding a little extra walk would be fine, and what definitely sold the ‘go direct’ option for me was : ‘traffic perturbé sur l’ensemble de la ligne’. In the end, the disruption looked fairly minimal and I only opted for a slight variation in route by changing twice, first at Châtelet, then Gare de l’Est rather than just at Gare du Nord. Anyway, so under light rain I arrived at Le Trabendo shortly before 8pm, decided to order a pint (there seemed to be a queue but the staff were actually very efficient and organised) before settling not far from the stage, on the left hand side. It wasn’t yet crowded, despite this being sold out (a straggler turned up at the door hoping for a ticket, the bouncer said they had just sold the last one or something), lights off at 8pm for the support: Ebbb. I only found the name on the display outside the venue, and had absolutely no idea what to expect. So just a front man in an Umbro sweatshirt (and trousers that I don’t think were tracksuit bottoms, he wasn’t wearing trainers either, just ‘normal’ shoes), with another guy on drums and one on synths. From the first notes, it was all very electronic, the drums being overdubbed or at least electronically enhanced. So what did we get? After a first, light-ish warm-up track, a little more techno music. Pretty much club-ready, sometimes leaning into house sounds maybe, sometimes more into hardcore techno? I don’t know the subtle classifications. The singer himself, not very chatty, was just roaming the stage with affected moves, sometimes he got to the top of the speaker on the right of the stage (so my left), but it wasn’t particularly compelling. There was a tune mid-set that I really actually enjoyed. The rest was…ok. It’s just that I could hear that in a club (OK I haven’t been in a club in years), or at a festival, very good to lose yourself to, but as a live act, and in support of a band like Porridge Radio, I don’t quite get the appeal. But then, I suppose you have to make yourself known, and supporting others is the best way for that, if you don’t get online hype. We had ‘one more song’ even after it seemed like it was the end, but all just held within the allocated 30 min. I thought it felt a lot longer. So yeah, not bad in itself, I might even try to check it on iTunes, but not quite a live ticket for me.
Early at the start of the interval, as I thought I’d spotted someone I knew, I decided to clumsily move across to the other side of the stage (to the right). The crowds hadn’t cleared in that part after Ebbb finished, so it wasn’t as easy as I’d have hoped. Anyway, close by, it looked like that person might have been a dead ringer, but not quite the one I thought. There was no way I could move back to my great view spot, but feeling a little sheepish, I took a step back so more third row than second. Problem is, the people that side looked all a lot taller than on the other side, so I feared I had made a very bad move. One thing intrigued me though, the old indiegilles was that side, as well as a few old-ish regular blokes. And then, when the band started installing and checking their instruments, I saw that what I recognised as one of Dana’s guitar was there, looked up, and oh, but this IS Dana Margolin on that side. Odd. Was she not going to be in the middle? But then a further look revealed that there was really only one microphone and it was there, not centre stage. So maybe that move across would prove extremely fortunate after all. I thought there was a good reason why the oldies were there : these guys are kind of ‘professional’ gig-goers, they know!
Amusingly, it made me think that some people who saw me move earlier would have thought in hindsight that I knew too, but it was a genuine stroke of luck informed by an identification mistake. Sometimes I feel charmed. Back to the reality of the interval, I got the whole of the conversation of the people behind me : basically some random 31 yo from Dover intruding on a French couple (the guy being 42 apparently, but not looking it), a journalist and his partner (working in insurance), not married but with two kids, a boy and a girl (ages 6 and 4). See: I’ve learnt all their life and I had absolutely no fucking interest in it, so this irritated me a bit. Think the French guys were being very polite, but mostly unamused and slightly bothered. I think the English guy got joined by another possibly drunken English guy, and during the gig, I’m not sure which or if both were shouting, bellowing, but you’ll hear about that later. Dana heard them a lot too and didn’t mask her irritation, as you will see. For now, pre-gig, I got another bit that mentioned a car accident (‘to a band member’), speculation that it was the bass player (‘there is no bass on stage, oh hang on yes there is!’) and chanting of Sick Of The Blues by the two, shall we call them, yobs?
Anyway, 8.55pm, lights dim a bit, until they go out at 9pm and the band walk on-stage to The Stones ‘satisfaction’ (not a good omen in my book, and people chanting it). Dana with her hair still tied in a bun (that would go after a song or two when she let loose) stepped to the mike looking happy when she said ‘Bonjour Paris’, and I don’t even know for sure if I recognised any of the other band members. The drummer perhaps, possibly the bass player, he looks vaguely familiar. The keyboardist definitely wasn’t the same, there looking like a female Alan Rickman (dead ringer really). The first song was, in fact, the last song from the new album, so that is….Sick of The Blues! Bores mes on record, but OK there. Also I was actually glad it was out of the way early because of the two bellowing ones… Dana then explained that it had been a tough week as their keyboardist Georgie’s partner had been involved in a car accident and was seriously injured so she had to leave the tour a few days earlier. So that’s what it was. She introduced the keyboardist, explaining that they only had one rehearsal so tonight would be a little different as they wouldn’t play all the songs together. After A Hole In The Ground (one of a couple of songs I marked as fine on the new album, so a good start), she said they would try to play the next song as a three-piece as the keyboardist left the stage for a while. Followed another largely forgettable number from the new album. The centre of the stage was mostly occupied by the bass player (with his Paul McCartney type of bass, amusingly on an evening Macca himself was playing in Paris) moving back and forth, but on a few occasions when she didn’t have to sing, Dana joined him in the middle for some electric strings interaction. And then surprises continued as bass player and drummer themselves left the stage and Dana (at this stage mentioning to the same twat who had been attempting to shout her name a few times already between songs: ‘by the way, my name is ‘Dana’, not ‘Daina’ – that shut him up for a bit, though not long enough, later on he still got it wrong, though it would have been better if he’d shut up altogether – oh yes, I forgot to mention he also shouted ‘En-ger-land’ after the first song, much to Dana’s consternation (not expressed this time but visible, I certainly thought ‘what a fucking twat!’) said she’d play a few songs on her own. And that was kind of magic, worked very well, and that’s when I truly realised that I was in a perfect spot. The tall guys were staying sufficiently to my left to not obstruct my view, and I was right in front of the singer rather than just in front of nothing as I’d have been if I’d stayed in my initial spot. Result! And what did we get: two of the only three songs I’d earmarked as good in the previous album. So yeah, Jealousy and Trying. Superb. Another one from the new album (Sleeptalker) was performed solo, before she announced a new song (cue more shouting from ‘the lads’ who had been to a previous gig and checked the setlists – I see she’d played that before), which she had to restart after thirty seconds of a first attempt (possibly bothered by the same old twat? At some point in that solo part she asked us all ‘can you tell that guy to shut the fuck up?’…so I just said ‘SHUT UP!’). It was OK, I don’t remember the song, maybe it will grow on me once released. I was just starting to wonder if the future was a solo career for her and the end of the band. But I don’t know, after all, you could say The Cure never split, but they are kind of a Robert Smith only creation at times.
Bass player and drummer returned for one of their best songs, Born Confused, the opener from their best album (for me…) Every Bad. A high point of the gig there, with Dana singing herself to madness basically. Another song from the new album followed, still as a threepiece, some folks (maybe not even just the two though maybe they started it) started to clap in rhythm, but no, this was still not that type of gig and Dana basically shook her head and mimed a ‘Nooo!’ during the intro, and they eventually stopped.
The keyboardist returned at last for the opener of the new album, but that had to be restarted after nearly a minute, with a longer interruption to reset, looks like the keyboard girl wasn’t quite ready. But fair enough for stepping up at short notice, whatever her relation to the band is, it can’t have been easy. Lavender, Raspberries, still from the new album followed, I have to say I was less bored than when listening to it on the actual album. The other ‘good’ song from the new album (God of Everything Else) followed, still as a full band, before Back to The Radio (from Waterslide…) concluded the set in just under an hour.
After a fairly short delay, Dana came back to the stage, on her own, and launched into a calm and quiet ‘Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To the Sky’, to a religious silence in the room. Really? No, the two guys started bellowing the lyrics, she shot them another pissed off look, and I think they understood as they quietened down, though you could still hear them chanting the lyrics, albeit more quietly. After that, Dana asked for requests, I heard a lot of people asking for ‘Popsong’, I was tempted to ask for ‘7 seconds’, but figured it could only work as a band (more on that at the end), and in the end she settled for Birthday Party, introducing it by saying she doesn’t like playing it because it feels like a curse but ‘fuck it, as it’s a request, we’re all cursed!’). The whole band came back after that, Dana once more asked what we wanted to hear (though setlist proved this was not quite going to be a request), I should have shouted ‘7 seconds’ then, but felt too tired, one person at least said ‘Sweet’, Dana eventually said ‘someone’s in luck!’ before they started Sweet indeed, another classic from Every Bad, sung and played with vim. Much earlier when someone had shouted for ‘Sick of the Blues’ again, she had asked ‘do you want to hear Sick of The Blues again?’ I said ‘no’, but she’d said they would sing it again at the end(joke). But as during the encore before the request she’d said they’d just come back for one final song with the band after her solo bit, we knew it was the end. And so it was, all over before 10.15pm. As setlists were flown as airplanes and the French guy (yes the one from the interval, he was fine) caught one (‘this is my first one, he proudly claimed’), I managed to take a photo of it. Not going to post it, but it was complete with the mentions of ‘Band/Solo/Three Piece’, so while it had to be improvised at short notice, it wasn’t much improvised during the concert itself. Except for one thing: Birthday Party (the request) was not on the list, so it was a genuine request, and instead…..7 Seconds was on the list at the end of it. Damn! So they were meant to play it and didn’t. I’m not entirely sure why, as I don’t think the curfew was anywhere near to being broken, but maybe the emotional toll, or maybe just that the new keyboardist didn’t quite feel ready to take it on after all (it does rely a fair bit on keyboards)? I’ll never know, was slightly annoyed that they didn’t play it despite it being on the setlist (reminded me of that final song at the Shamir concert last year), but the concert had been good and special enough for it not to feel bad or critical, especially given the ‘Sweet’ ending.
So I could get home early, shortly after 11pm, with a perfect connection in Gare de Nord on the way back, but with my achilles in a lot of pain again, and annoyingly also my left thigh (too much indoor cycling or another problem?). And I have to say, tonight was a very good surprise for me. I had fairly low expectations, was rather tired after a very bad night and knowing I was hoping to be on form the next day for HOTS, and yet, I very much enjoyed that version of the show. Sort of a triumph over adversity for the band, probably a more interesting experience for me than the ‘normal’ gig would have been. And whether it is because I feel the mid-length flowing hair suits Dana Margolin better than the very short crop she used to sport a couple of years ago, I found her more comfortable, less forced, more ‘mature’ in a way, quite endearing and charming in her manners and crowd interactions. All in all, a very surprisingly satisfying evening for me, ahead of tonight’s big expectations that I now fear will be crushed. The weather is beautiful in Paris this midday, but the forecast is miserable in London tonight, I hope the music will still be amazing. Despite my ‘local’ Northern Line station being refurbished for works, meaning I’ll have to do walks to/from the hotel I could do without!
Hope Of The States, The Dome, London, 6/12/20244
I’ll hunt for reviews or photos. The setlist is here. Didn’t find a review of the London gig, oddly, but this, from the Manchester gig, gives a fair idea/representation. And the lucky sods got This Is A Question.
Well, after a better than hoped night’s sleep, today was the day for the most anticipated concert of the year. The band I thought I’d never see play live, the band that was the answer to ‘Which band do you wish you’d seen live?’. Yes, time to take the Eurostar not for an Arsenal match but a gig again. The weather was very nice in Paris as I left, but the forecast was in no doubt about a grim evening in London and then the next day’s forecast was even worse. There were a few delays earlier on the Eurostar, so I arrived in a packed lounge, settling in an unusual spot. But my train turned out to be on time (well it arrived about 3 minutes late), and the journey was without any trouble. I managed to top up just a little on rest, and arrived in London feeling fine. Time to check into my hotel (Sonder ex-Cornerhouse on Camden Rd, it’s been redone, it’s nice though not as cheap as it used to be, and the brekkie is no longer on the cards), consider my timings and how to get to Tufnell Park (in the end I walked, the bus journey wasn’t much shorter, the weather wasn’t that bad – I had packed a hoodie, and I felt my legs could handle a 15 minutes walk). Doors at 7.30pm, plenty of time to spare, but I decided that being in the area around 6.30pm would be OK, surely there’d at least be a pub near the tube station or something. A quick check at the venue then showed me there was no queue anyway, so I went to the nearest corner street pub, the Bostons Arms. I figured some gig-goers would be there, as well as a crowd of locals (a few Arsenal fans by the look of it). Guinness was the choice as it generally gets me less quickly pissed than lager or good forbid, IPA. Not a particularly busy pub, so the staff were just taking their time, though it was confusing as only one person out of the three behind the bar seemed to be serving at some point. So the guy next to me had to point the waitress towards the couple that had arrived just before him, whereas, when asked if I was being served, I had to point to said guy who was still waiting, before my turn arrived (by then another guy was serving). An old guy was nicely let to the bar by two younger, slightly loud women, but they ended up shouting their order at the bar before he made his…still as they were having Guinness and he was having lager, he actually got served earlier. Heh. Anyway, life in a London pub on a Friday evening. Once served, I walked away from the bar. I noticed that the guy who had been just before me in the pub had settled by the counter further (where no-one was getting served) by himself, and I figured he was probably going to the gig. And in a perhaps unusual move that led me to later still ask myself ‘am I really an introvert?'( perhaps it’s just a question of circumstances/mood, and music/gigs help, after all I did also go chat with the Italian guy at the Cherry Glazerr gig in Brussels, but that was in the venue, after the gig, and after I’d had a few beers, here I was still completely sober – the smallest bottle of wine on the Eurostar was a few hours earlier! – but it’s something I never do in Paris for instance…), I went to this guy and asked him if he was going to the gig. The answer was, of course, yes. I mean sure, I also went to him because he’d seemed a nice guy just by his demeanour at the bar earlier. I think also, the idea of me just drinking my pint and getting bored in the pub was not appealing. God knows, it was unusually instinctive and spontaneous for me in a way, the sense of event and anticipation that this gig brought, and me just feeling well on the day. And so we got chatting about music, bands, venues. He had his own band (Yet To Invent), back in Tunbridge Wells (but he’d lived on Holloway Road for a while!), and as I was looking to show him some photos of Nick Oliveri, I was looking for the date of that gig on my website, and so he asked for the address, said he liked the site’s name and that’s when I explained I was an Arsenal fan. And guess what? Nope, he was a SPURS fan. Shock, horror! We actually laughed about it, that’s probably when we introduced ourselves more formally by names, and so, out of the blue, going to a gig in North London, I’d randomly struck up a cool conversation with a Spurs fan. I still can’t believe he was a Spurs fan, way too nice, civilised, sensible and not deluded. OK, I’m joking, I weirdly happen to know a few nice Spurs fans. I’m guessing that’s why I know them, cannot blame them for the team they support, just pity them. Is this going to be one of this ‘gig reviews’ that is not at all about music? Yes and no, but that’s always been the style on these pages, and some evenings have some magic beyond the music. I had no idea about the support, but Craig had had a listen, and we quickly decided that another pint in the pub, given the timings, was easily doable as the support was not a priority. But did I say magic? What happened next went from ‘cool and unexpected’ to ‘wow, how fucking unlikely is that?’. I was looking up a few metres away, and who is standing there, pint in hand? Tom Williams. Yes, that’s Welsh Tom ( not to be confused with Tall Tom, now leaving in the US), my ex-team mate from pub football in Paris. Who is also the author of books and Mr Premier League on Canal+ on French Television. I think last time we saw each other was at the football reunion just over a year ago. Anyway, Tom joins us (he’s actually waiting for a couple of mates, who arrived one after the other, shortly after). I had absolutely no idea that he was also a massive HOTS fan (though one who luckily had seen them live in their first life). Timing still looking good, two rounds were added after Harper and Nick (a Forest fan, are all the Forest fans I know called Nick?) among talk of football, music, life. Great times. We weren’t sure what the timings would be (I could tell if it were in Paris but here I didn’t know), but figured the band being on not before 9 would make sense, while speculating ‘what if we actually miss the start of The Black Amnesias? Aaargh’. And then we eventually made our way to the venue, where there was still a small-ish queue to get in. It was obviously fairly full by that time, but the location of the entrace means getting a good spot seemed possible. My round for beers, the timing looked pretty tight (nearly 10 to 9, and the sign behind the bar confirmed HOTS’ stage at 9), but Craig gave me a hand so we could carry two pints each (Nick was skipping that one), thankfully my card worked directly (they have these devices meaning you can’t enter a pin, which I found out later at the merch stand was bringing complications when the contactless transaction failed), and thanks to Tom’s bonce being easily identifiable (he’d said they’d move more central), everyone got their pint, and we were in prime position for the start.
And so to the actual music part. I have to admit a couple less pints would have made it easier to fix in my memory and feel the music more intensely, but quite frankly, given the choice, I’d still go with what happened pre-gig. Much more enjoyable, made me feel much more ‘in the moment’ rather than in ‘music critic, I have to remember the details of the gig because I have to write a review’ mode. And quite frankly, as I am not *really* a music critic, just write a website read by no-one or very few, it’s a good call to reality.
The thing is: the music didn’t disappoint. You could argue about wanting even more titles, but it was an amazing concert, from the first notes of The Black Amnesias on. Sam looked good in his German army surplus khaki jacket, alternating between guitar and piano (sometimes James — that’s James Ramsden, not actually a band member but lending a hand or two for this tour, although maybe he will be one now? He actually was a fan who entered the food business with Sam, it’s an interesting story — would go on the piano), the band were clearly enjoying playing tonight, together and for the audience, there were a few hiccups, restarted songs, but all in a good mood. The chat between songs was not extensive but just great. A Crack Up at the Race Riots (so straight from the start of The Lost Riots to the very end) was a welcome follow up, and the gig just felt like an endless celebration. Most of the setlist came from The Lost Riots (66 Sleepers to Summers? Yes please), but there were a few brand new songs introduced in there, some sounding very promising indeed. I think, reading from the setlist, maybe Concerned Relative Blues is the one I liked most? My Ves y Sufres was another beautiful highlight, live just as on record and there was a cool moment when Sam got out a small packet of what looked like luminous straws, in fact very thin glow-sticks and threw them for the crowd to wave with just before new song Ambient Violence. Then The Red The White The Black The Blue got everyone going again. Only few tracks from Left, including the anthemic Sing It Out before a rousing Enemies/Friends concluded the main set, uniting everyone in the crowd. And so while waiting for the encore, we all linked arms in circle, joined by two random strangers closing the loop, while shouting along, with the entire crowd : ‘Come on, people, keep your friends close, your enemies won’t matter in the end’. Beautiful, communal sing-along. A magical moment in a magical concert.
The encore started quietly with a song I didn’t remember (a B-side from the Nehemiah single, that’s why, getting the singles wasn’t so easy in France at the time) before a frenzied Industry from Left. Then what we all ‘feared’ had to happen: Sam had to annouce the last song, thanking everyone before introducing Long Waits in A&E, the new, epic, ‘single’ (is that still called a single?) released just over a month earlier, the first new music that had been heard from the band in 18 years. It really is a big piece consisting in a few very different movements, works well live, while maybe not packed with truly memorable hooks that their classic songs have. Augmented by bits of The Good Fight at the end as a nice nod back to Left, it makes for a good conclusion.
A perfect gig would maybe have included Blood Meridian, This is a Question (played on other nights of this very very short tour), perhaps conclude with goodhorsehymn? I don’t know, it was just too good to be true already, and, quite importantly, with the promise of more. New tracks were bringing joy, and as they say, it’s so good to be back, and well for me, it’s so good to have them back. With the hope of more records and more gigs now.
Craig had to head back so couldn’t quite hang around after the gig, Nick shortly after too, but the rest of us went to the Merch stand, each of us getting a T-shirt (something I’d mostly stopped doing but this felt like a good celebration, so white for Harper (I suddenly realise I wasn’t sure I’d caught his name right…) and I, black for Tom) and….a Hope Of The States-branded can of beer. It looks very nice, is it supposed to be drunk ever? (mine fell from my too stuffed pocket onto the floor in the pub later so has a small dent….). The payment was complicated but thankfully sorted in the end, and then who’s just ambling around there, not even being mugged by people? Mr Sam of Herlihy himself. After he went to greet a couple of people, we had a brief chat, still felt too shy to ask for a photo, Tom and H had one, but it was a reference to another they’d made at a festival, so feel I couldn’t photobomb this. Sure I regret not asking for a photo as I’m sure he’d have been OK even if it meant two separate photos, but see, I felt happy, not drunk and wild at this stage, so perhaps a little shy again. Although I did talk to Sam briefly, repeating once more that I was so glad to have been here (it’s certainly a gig I didn’t think I’d have a chance to get a ticket for when I logged on Dice the day they went on sale), as they were the band I was always gutted not to have seen live. And yes, I was able to tell the man himself that I thought The Lost Riots was a masterpiece. How cool is that? He thanked me, shook my hands, introducing himself (‘my name is Sam’) which I felt so awkward about, and didn’t know how to react ‘er, yeah I know it is, my name is Ollie’. It was just nice, but I was a bit lost for words or actions, maybe there will be another gig for a photo, it was still a super cool moment. A big thumbs-up to James (he was talking to another group of fans or friends) was gleefully acknowledged as we made our way out of the room.
Time for one last round in the Boston Arms. Still plastic glasses (oh yes, earlier, I didn’t mention but the glasses had moved to plastic also in our last round or two, triggering ‘oh, it’s that kind of pub on a Friday night!’ amused comments), but the Guinness was actually pretty good and relatively cheap, and we talked some more about the gig, music (H is a big Radiohead fan, I told him I had given up after Amnesiac, which he thought was my loss), before we headed back to our respective places. Tom couldn’t go wild anyway as he had to work the next day and take an early Eurostar (probably annoyingly for him, the Liverpool derby, which was the early kick-off the next day, got postponed). The walk back, while in a little pain (that was dulled by alcohol thankfully) was easy, and thus a greatly anticipated gig that turned out to be as good as hoped, had morphed into a truly unexpected and amazing evening, meeting friends new and old, and came to a satisfying end. I was still buzzing the next day (only listening to Hope Of The States on the train back), and am still buzzing a further day later as I am writing this. Normally I’d have a rest, but I think I’ll even go and watch the Arsenal match in a pub. Football results were pleasant yesterday, so I’ve got the feeling Fulham might ruin this, because surely no weekend can be as good as this one will have been if Arsenal win. Yes, that sixth of December, 2024 truly was an incredible evening. Thanks to all involved, and for HOTS for making it happen.
P.S: yes, Fulham did ruin it in the end. Not completely as it was a draw not a loss, but still…
SPRINTS, Trabendo, 16/12/2024
Oddly not seeing any review (yet?). Looks like the competition from October Drift made the ‘usual’ people go there as they are brilliant live. Still, Robert Gil was there for the photos. And the setlist is available.
I am writing this review a lot later than intended. The day following the gig, I thought I might have a go, but felt a little too lazy I thought so just started writing brief notes instead. And then later in the evening I started feeling unwell and was laid low in bed for most of the following two days. So it is now Saturday, I am definitely feeling better and must stick to the task. While in bed, I was also considering what I should do with all this reviewing business. As I am not really advertising this site and the only people who ostentatiously reach it are Russian bots, it’s a bit of a vanity thing really even if at the start it was me wanting to share the music I loved with people and continuing/restarting what I had many years ago, in a different form. But of course, it is now 2024 and it’s all about selling yourself or being an influencer, etc. Not about people writing blogs that someone randomly discovers and engages with in a corner of the internet. Also it’s more or less turned into more of an ongoing autobiographical job through the means of gig reviews (the rest of the pages are not that different in ways). I’ll say more at the end of this particular write-up, but I think I’ll trim those reports down going forward next year, just the basics, less verbose things. I don’t know, it’s not like anyone’s giving me an opinion, that was another hope crushed so…we shall see. But for now back to that December monday evening.
SPRINTS were one of the early gigs of the year, so after having recently witnessed the evolution of English Teacher (who were part of the same bill in January), quid of SPRINTS, a probably less original band given all the ones who played or released music during this year.
After a miserable Saturday at the Arsenal (with bonus feeling unwell following dodgy food (presumably) and cold temperatures (presumably) on the way out), I had Sunday to recover and by Monday evening I was fine-ish. Just ish, I didn’t intend to really drink, but I also didn’t feel great enough to entertain beer in small or big quantities. The decision not to mosh was made following the Bob Vylan ‘setback’, but I knew that with the company intended to come, it would mostly not be a problem (Jed-excepted). And so it is that we all met at about 7.30ish at the old Local Rock café outside Parc de La Villette (same as for Yard Act earlier in the year). A good attendance, so Estelle and Patrice were already there when I arrived, then Alessandro, Jed, Walter successively arrived. Nick was being held by work so we only caught up with him a little later. While I didn’t fancy beer, I felt good enough and with the cheerful company for my last gig of the year (a lot of the present people tonight would still have King Hannah at Gaîté Lyrique on the Wednesday, a concert that remained in doubt until the day before, when it was finally moved to Alhambra) to order a kir that went down well enough. Good chat, Alessandro had to be reasonable too in view of a Wednesday interview, and we all made our way to wards the Trabendo (a fair walk), just as Nick informed us that he would definitely be late and maybe best meet there. In the end, he arrived at the venue just before us. Oh yes, support was called YAR. Only Jed had bothered listening, and was nonplussed, so nobody felt in a rush. Standard 9pm SPRINTS start was advertised. I decided I could try a beer, and we all had time for it outside (but under cover mostly when a few drops started to rain on us) before retreating in not long before kick-off time. The beer was not going down so well, so I quickly decided it would be the last one and declined the next round when the offer came. I was just following the others (think Nick was in charge of location) around the venue, up and at the back (the bit that, for instance, was not at all open for Dream Wife over a yar earlier), and we got a spot with a fairly decent view though some distance back, just by the mixing desk, on the left in fact. No risk of being dragged into the moshpit inadvertently, though Jed had already advertised he would probably go at some point, so took his glasses off.
Even before 9pm chimed, the lights went down, music started, and the band took the stage. I had a vague memory that the guitarist had quit some months earlier and in fact he had, so it was a different guy (not that I’m sure I’d have remembered what the old one looked like, but Karla made sure she bigged up the new one at some point). The first song was already a….new one! Pretty good actually, rather on the slow side, so a way to fool people? A new direction? Or just a way to gently warm up and slowly build up crowd atmosphere? Either way, I liked it. Karla was wearing a nice warm-looking black&white jumper, obviously there was no way she could wear it all night if things were going to heat up. So next was one of the tracks in the magical middle of their one and only so far album. Again, it seems very cleverly selected, as it starts slowly and builds up until it explodes mid-way through, and so there and there, in the middle of it, you could stay the gig really started. Moshing etc. Fantastic. That’s also when I realised though that being that far, I felt the sound not powerfully enough and it was likely to be a great gig, but one possibly a little frustrating in terms of perception, with sound intensity being added to the other physical and mental factors. And then? Well that would just be me probably still favourite track, the fantastic Adore Adore Adore. Too early? Possibly. In a way, it meant the pressure was off for me, and I could enjoy the gig whatever happened for its qualitied and not worry about what would be played or not. Which is handy, because the next track was Feast, the only new track (I think?) they’ve released since the album, and I’m not particularly impressed by it. It’s not bad, but not particularly remarkable, just SPRINTS by numbers. So yeah, a middling track from the album and a new song made it a little more of a difficult phase though I remember finding one of these new songs being rather excellent (whether it was this one or the next one played I’m not entirely sure), before we travelled back in time for a couple of numbers from the ‘A Modern Job’ EP, that’s a furious ‘I’m in a Band’ (maybe not such a great song in itself, but works a treat live), followed by the ever excellent Delia Smith. I think Jed may have been gone into the moshpit by then after a pitstop in the loo, and I was kind of trying to instigate a mini-moshpit as there was room around us, but Nick wasn’t that up for it, and obviously most of the people there are there because they DON’T WANT to be in the moshpit, not because they are temporarily physically unable to fully be there, so it was a losing battle. Then we got the two others top song of that middle section of Letter To Self, that is Shaking Their Hands and Can’t Get Enough of It, though they are probably not the most violently moshable. Stage divers start following one another (including a guy who actually works the stage for the band in fact!) and obviously, Karla had long dropped her woolly jumper to just wear an Osees T-shirt, and prowl the stage, and stand on a speaker once in a while. A couple of excellent new songs followed before a couple of dynamic but not melodically excellent numbers from the album (the reasons why my rating of this album is not as high as other people’s), and then we get another new song. She promises it is just the one new song but will be a fast one. The album closer is next, excellent live as it was on record. I didn’t mention the crowds, but from our position, I was in no position to comment on its composition. All the performers on stage were fairly dynamic, and Karla seemed to be pretty happy and up for this gig, but then it was their last of the year as she mentioned a few times. The final of, apparently, 103 gigs all year, so a bit of a festive one in many ways just before Christmas, but more on that later. When the crowds response was not loud enough she insisted ‘PARIS! HOW ARE YOU FEELING?’ and got bigger cheers, it all worked a treat. Yeah, Letter to Self is a super song, but it wasn’t a set closer, because it didn’t feel like there would be a closing of the set and an encore. Just the impression I got, but next after a little monologue perhaps, ‘we’ve played some new songs, we’ve played some very new songs, we’ve played some old songs, but now we’re going to play a VERY old song, the first single we relased. So yes, The Cheek is next, and still stand as one of their best songs. On record sure the sound is maybe a little rawer, but here, a sort of new version, with extended, slower intro, it burst into life just excellently and everybody at the front seems to join in and enjoy the pogo. One of the lesser songs from A Modern Job is next, which is kind of meh, and then finally, Karla announces they only have two songs left to play so expects us to go mad and dance. Although she does remind people at some point not to leave drinks on the stage as they need the space. She adds, drinks on the stage are OK if they’re ours, we are the rock stars, not you! She gives quite a long, emotional pitch about the year they’ve had and how it’s been a rather shit year for the world, and Free Palestine and so hopefully tonight we can all just forget this, focus on the now and on ourselves and have a good time (I think that’s the gist of it). The first song though, is the rather ordinary (I feel) Literary Mind, no particularly moshpit-friendly in any conventional way I’d say. A bit disappoiting in my book. However, you’ll get no argument from me about the actual closer, back to A Modern Job one final time for the super-frantic Little Fix. Well, this supber version’s intro is slow and lengthened a massive bit, but so it’s a fantastic build-up, until the guy who was next to the mixing desk in the enclosure just in front of us sometimes standing on this toe to take photos, appears on stage to take Karla’s guitar while she gets up on top of the speaker to launch herself into the crowd for a bit of crowd-surfing while singing. A classic and super finish. Jed reappears before the end of it and it’s a great end to the gig. Or is it? I could feel there was no encore, in fact, I had looked at the setlist just to my left by the mixing desk, not to see the track names but to see the structure and so had noticed there was no encore indeed, so at that point I though I could look at the names, and Little Fix was the last one indeed. The band doesn’t actually leave the stage, but hang on, some music is being played, it sounds very Irish, Karla takes the microphone again and sings, and am I hearing that right? Yep. It’s The Pogues A FairyTale of New York being covered there. The band’s partners (and support band? no idea, but there’s definitely couples there) join for a very merry proper Irish Christmassy finale that seems to never end. Most of the crowd manage to sing along to that one too, so it’s a beautiful end to the year in gigs.
So what to make of this? Another strange one for me, as position and fitness meant I didn’t feel completely involved in it most of the time, but there is no doubt that SPRINTS have become a better band since the start of the year, live for sure (103 gigs will probably do that to you if you get on well, etc, so I’m guessing that the guitarist’s departure might have made things easier that way, whatever his personal issues were, I think it was maybe the stress of touring if I recall, but certainly the ‘new’ guitarist has fitted in well and got special praise from Karla and was very much involved in all the on-stage complicity). Also, while it won’t make my top 10 gigs of the year, I can totally see why it would make some people’s, there’s an outside chance it would have made mine in the right circumstances, and there is also no doubt I’d go and see them again after all.
As for the end of the evening, some people left, I felt, with working from home the next day and this being the last of the year, it would be ‘rude not to’, so I went with Jed, Nick, Patrice and Estelle back to Local Rock where I just had…a kir, that went down well. A little tired going home not long before 1am but it was a very good gig and an evening worth it. Well, in the end it turned out I caught something (or I had it? I suspect that either I wasn’t fully healed from Saturday or my immune system was still weakened), looks like Estelle did too, but in fact, there’s been some virus or other doing the rounds in the Paris area, so I think yes the slightly weakened immune system will not have helped.
Anyway, this conclused the year in gigs. As I hinted at the start of this write-up, I might do differently next year, maybe just keep the links to external review, photos and setlists and a brief summary in a shorter format, just based on impressions/company/feelings/setlists/satisfaction, but not a full description of the evening, etc.
We shall see. Maybe posts youtubes from gig-goers as bonus instead. Next stop 16/1/2025 for a French band, singing in French, something unusual, but I’m going with Jed and it could be fun, whether we keep to our Dry January plans or not.