Gwendoline, La Cigale 23/01/2025
OK, so let us try to do things differently this year. More succinct form, I hope.
Context: Introduced to them by Jed last year (while chatting before/at the Dream Wife gig, I think), I liked what I heard, and liked their new album very much too. So it was a no brainer for me to try and see a French band headlining, maybe a first for me!
External review: Benzine Mag.
Photos: N/A
YouTube: the whole gig is here!
Company: Jed.
Pre-gig: not bothered with the support, Jed and I agreed to meet at the Coq and Bulldog pub nearby (owned by no other than Sacha of Bombardier fame), very nice place, with clearly a lot of regulars. I decided I was well enough and could face a drink or two before the return to indoor footie the next day. So I had just a Guinness, declined a second, keeping myself the possibility of a drink at the venue later. Getting weirdly lost at the start, we made it to the venue only shortly before 9pm, enough time to order a round of lager and take our position on the stairs by the front on the left, right on time for the actual start at 9 on the dot.
Crowds: a fair spectrum of age, but I would say mostly 30s-40s, not that young. Mostly men I’d say but really a mix. Nearly exclusively white, though not as much as for Royel Otis (and definitely not the same type of crowds), I did spot maybe a handful of black guys but no more. Plenty of Bretons? I suspect so. Probably far less Brits and English-speakers than at my average gig, very logically. In fact at the end of the gig, a girl came to us and asked if we spoke French, and so she ended up asking Jed if he could understand all the lyrics or something.
Standing location: see just above. Decent view of the front of the stage as thankfully all the action was very much at the front, no musicians at the back, but our position (the venue was clearly obviously totally packed when we arrived) meant we couldn’t see the projections on the screen at the back. Maybe that avoided distraction, mind. We also missed some of the ever-moving frontman’s action on that side, but no big deal, it felt like a good enough view. Prime view on his drinks so the pastis (as in the ‘Chevalier Ricard’ song…) was clearly seen.
Support: N/A
Setlist: with only two albums to their name, plus a few singles, probably far less than two hours of released music, no surprise, they played the best bits, nearly everything in fact but not quite, and the whole thing was still less than 75 minutes, encore included. There could be no disappointment. Not much talking between songs, a few ‘merci’ here and there if that, and the odd ”Ca va La Cigale?’ or two. The surprise, for me, is that they didn’t start with the new album’s opener, but in fact with the first album’s closer (so La Fin du Monde was le début du set). Not just because it’s usual, but because I thought Conspire was a great opening track in every way. As it is, they played it pretty much in the middle of the set, but it was still an hypnotic moment and one of the highlights. Most of the lighting was dark tonight, but during this one, it felt like it was just illuminating the front of the crowd in a stroboscopic way, showing transfixed faces in black and white. The other highlights were the expected ones (Chevalier Ricard, Chèques Vacances (especially for Jed), the fantastic double of Pinata+Rock 2000, and obviously the evening’s finale with Audi RTT), but even the lesser tracks that sound sometimes too repetitive on record (Merci La Ville, that closed the main set, and Parce que j’ai rêvé d’être riche that started the encore) sounded less repetitive for some reason. Another one was Héros National, that sounded even more anthemic live. Speaking of which, beyond the music that you may or may not enjoy (I enjoy it very much), full of keyboards and just occasional guitars (on top of the main duo tonight were two other musicians, one on guitar, one on keys, no drummer), it’s the easy-to-bellow choruses that make their songs so effective. Any surprise? Well neither of us knew ‘Start-up nationale’ or ‘1 new 2pc’, so we assumed there were new songs ( both quite dark in sound), but now I know they were in fact on a single released between albums.
The main set lasted just an hour. They came back for the encore incredibly quickly (far less than 2 minutes), even more surprising as the encore only consisted of two songs, and it was all over by ten past ten.
Post-gig: soooo. During the gig, Jed went for another round, but inspired by us discussing Ricard when we saw the drinks on the stage, he said he was going to get a pastis if they had any. As I felt well and sober enough, I decided that if they only had beer, that was me done, but if ever they had pastis, I’d join him in that. And so he came back with two pastis. As the gig finished early, and we said we’d meet Romain (Romain has newly joined Corcoran’s Football team, and spotted Jed during the gig), I thought having a final pastis while they were serving at the bar would make sense. While we were drinking, the moustachioed singer popped briefly and rushingly into the bar, and so I managed to congratulate/thank him for the gig….in English first before I realised it was an absurd thing to do so added a few words in French. We finally saw Romain just outside, had a little chat. I found out the guys are playing their next match not far from my place on Monday evening so I’ll probably go and see them play if it’s not pouring down. Jed went back to the Coq and Bulldog, but I went home, got there a minute after midnight, and was very fine to play football the next day. So a very good start to the gig year, an excellent evening. It probably won’t be in my top 5 gigs this year judging by the previous few years, but it’s one I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to miss.
The Veils, Point Ephémère 26/1/2025
Context: well, I very much enjoyed their gig a couple of years ago, so when I saw they were playing again, I thought it would be well worth my time. As it is, they had a new album out just two days before the gig, that I found a little too monotonous and uniform in the ballads’ stake, while not at all unpleasant. The bonus was that a week or two before the gig, I learnt that Ale and JC would be coming too, and so if nothing else, it would be a good evening.
External review: Benzine Mag with the goods again.
Photos: N/A
YouTube: indiegilles was there, but shockingly I’m not seeing videos from him. Either he was not in a good enough spot, or something is delaying his uploads.
So for now, the only source I can find doesn’t have a very clean sound, but you can still have Not Yet.
Company: Ale and JC
Pre-gig: the timing of the meeting was decided very much at the last minute, and so 8pm (doors time) at the venue was the plan. JC was already there in the queue when I arrived (thankfully always easy to spot), while Ale was a few minutes late as he’d realised once down six flights of stairs that he had forgotten his mobile (and that has the Dice ticket if nothing else), but still joined us before we went in, so no time lost. We got straight to the room then, and that was already filling up quickly. JC gave the gig money to Ale…who decided to pay a round for everyone with it. That was the only drink for us tonight. Cheers Ale!
Support: Leah Rye, from Amsterdam. One woman, with her piano, or a guitar for a couple of songs. Mostly all quiet, but an excellent voice, you could see there that the support was fitting in with the Veils, and I enjoyed her performance very much. I will check her album, would have been tempted to buy her nicely coloured vinyl in fact if I’d been on my own with time after the gig. Started at 8.15 perhaps? Finished shortly before 9, but I wasn’t really checking the time.
Crowds: not very young, as was to be expected, mixed in genres, I didn’t particularly pay attention to colours tonight though I suspect that was a mostly white one, but I’d say very much a no surprise crowd.
Standing location: not ideal. Just in front of the pillar nearest the merch stall. There were already people on the steps there so we couldn’t chose the merch stall vantage point itself. The view should have been pretty good, but a giant (Dutch or not), popped up not long before The Veils started (intro music at 9.20pm), and so I had to check on the side at various points. When Finn was standing and playing guitar, the view was good, when he was sitting at the piano, it was a bit of a struggle at times.
Setlist: Overall, I have to say, nowhere near as good as in 2023 for me. Well, Finn Andrews did a fair bit of context setting, announcing straight away that they would start with a few numbers from the new album, and so we got treated to four new songs at once (and no, that didn’t start with the opening one from the album), the last two being the only two I had marked on a first listen (the album may or may not grow on me, but that was the first impression). And so the first highlight came just after, when Finn stood up to pick his guitar and they started with Swimming With The Crocodiles. In fact, the next three songs were played in the exact same order as in 2023 there, not sure that’s a great thing, but Here Come the Dead and the excellent Birds (‘the next one is a song about, er, birds’) were played next. And then, well, the next two songs were also the next two in Petit Bain last time around, just in the reverse order. It’s not exactly a good sign of setlists renewal. And having been there before, it felt less engaging too. Finn looked touched and happy to be there, no big discourse or anything, just many expressions of gratitude and focusing on his music. Asphodels, the title and opening track from the new album brought us back to the present, before one of the highlights from the previous album, No Limit of Stars, that was very good, but somehow didn’t have the same effect on me as one and a half year earlier. Whether it was the version, my emotional state, the view or the fact that the setlist made everything a little more dull, I don’t know. The main set finished with Nux Vomica, the title track from the second album, same thing as last time, though again a good performance. But about 70 minutes of main set was very satisfying. While I wasn’t as taken as last time, I definitely didn’t feel I was ever getting bored, so it was a decent gig. What would the encore hold, I did wonder. Finn came back on his own, sat at the piano, and said he would play something from the first album, as it had been neglected so far. As they hadn’t played anything at all from it last time, I thought maybe what I’d been waiting all along was happening. However, The Tide That Left And Never Came Back was not what I had in mind. Musically, it felt like it occupied exactly the same space as Someday My Love Will Come that was the first song of the encore at Petit Bain, but somehow, I don’t think it’s as good. And then he seemed to ask for requests, lots of shouts for Lavinia, he asked ‘so are you more of a Lavinia crowd or….’? And he decided to play it. Not sure how improvised it was, as it had also been the second song of the encore at the first gig (this was the second night of the tour, as he himself announced), it drew a great response, and yes, that’s one of the very good songs from that first album. But that’s still not The Leavers Dance or Vicious Traditions. So I’ll probably never hear either. The violonist came back for the last song, just him, not the full band and….at last I heard a song I wanted to hear and wasn’t played last time: Axolotl. Very good interpretation, even if it’s not on the ’emotional’ side of Finn’s song spectrum. Only thing I regret is no mention of David Lynch who’d just passed away the previous week, as that song was performed by The Veils at the Road House in the third season of Twin Peaks. Oh well. Gig over, and I came out of it with very mixed feeling.
Post-gig: straight back, no transport problems, Ale was taking Line 2 (Eastwards), I took line 5 as it was JC’s way in the same direction, both lines being pretty similar to me to reach Gare du Nord. Home at 11.30pm I think, sober, having spent a pleasant evening, but, I have to say, not so happy with the gig itself.
Test Plan+Library Card, Supersonic, 7/2/2025
Context: Well this was announced only a few weeks, maybe a month before it happened. Two of the bands I enjoyed the most at the Supersonic Block Party on 1/6 last year were invited to play on the occasion of Supersonic celebrating nine years of existence. And it was all for free. So I didn’t have any hesitation, and while a work trip had to be organised that week, thankfully, I was back the previous night so was well up for that one. After a sensible January, this, on a Friday, looked like a good occasion to celebrate good music and the weekend with a few drinks and friends too. The ‘top’ band on the bill however were The 113, and I had not taken the time to check them. Three good bands may have been too much anyway.
External review: can’t find one yet, but, as there were several people from SOV, I suspect one will appear within the next week or so. It is here now, and includes the setlist for Test Plan (hopefully accurate)
Photos: Laëtitia from SOV was there, but didn’t post any photos from Library Card there (oddly as she definitely took a few, and I know they are not within the scope defined by SOV, but I’m sure in festival types of events that doesn’t stop the exception), but ones from the Test Plan set are available. Perhaps I’ll find the LC ones elsewhere if she publishes them.. Robert Gil was seen popping into next door’s Supersonic Records before the gig, for what seemed like a private party for the Supersonic Birthday, but he didn’t show up into the main club, so no photos from him!
YouTube: annoyingly, I can’t find anything at all. Sure, Test Plan and Library Card are not easy searches as common names, but perhaps I’ll find via the 113? Nope, nothing. Either way, plenty of snippets published as reels on Instagram (those annoying things that have a limited lifespan), but that’s all I saw.
Company: Jed and Nick.
Pre-gig: well, what’s pre-gig when the concerts is basically in a bar? Just meet there. Timings were uncertain. No need to be in there early normally, but someone had told me it might be busy with these good bands playing on a Friday that is the Supersonic Birthday. So I thought maybe straight at 7pm or not long after. As it is, 7.15pm seemed OK, I was the first on the scene of the crime at 7.10pm. Jed messaged me but he was having a kebab around the corner (I had decided to have food before leaving) that took longer than expected as he had to wait 10 or 15 minutes for chips (I know!), and so Nick actually turned up first just before 7.30pm. No queue at all so no need to show our ‘coupe-file’ passes (valid only until 8pm), there was a small queue when I’d arrived but only at Supersonic Records that seemed to be guest-list only. Library Card walked past me just a few seconds before Nick showed up in fact, and we got into the place straight as we knew Jed was being delayed; it was pretty much empty as we ordered a first round. I got upstairs for a wee, and on exiting there bumped into the drummer/singer from Test Plan, which I clumsily greeted with ‘Mr Test Plan!’ I told him how much I’d enjoyed the gig last year and was really looking forward to tonight. And he told me ‘see you in the moshpit later, yeah?’ so that was a good start. I was a bit restless, considering whether to actually use the cloakroom as I had too many heavy layers for such a gig and thought maybe because of the nature of the place, there’d be no queue after. As it is, it was the right decision as there were queues later, but also the wrong decision for an unforeseen factor (see the post-gig/aftermath section). Jed arrived not long after, just as the guitarist from Test Plan was walking past us to go upstairs. I saw Laëtitia arrive to take her place at the front ready to snap the gigs, so greeted her briefly. She seemed to be there nearly against her will, as she was meant to go to the Katy J Pearson gig, but that was postponed to the end of April (I’m not going as I was a little disappointed by her most recent album and have decided I’d be more reasonable this year). Jed had a heavy-ish day of drinking behind him already (hence the kebab). Anyway, not sure what time the gig started, I really didn’t do much conscious time checking. Maybe not before 8.30pm though!
Support: N/A, not because I didn’t see them, but in a way, the bands I came to see WERE the support for The 113, which I didn’t actually see (but heard, a bit).
Crowds: it’s the Supersonic, you get all sorts, pretty much independently of the gigs.
Standing location: near ‘the’ pillar (handy for putting down your beers as there is a small ledge) for Library Card essentially, great view, going to get a round between bands was not ideal as some people sneaked in. Namely one Arne Slot-looking guy with two girls, who were quite annoying at the start of the Test Plan set, chatting between them a lot (sure you couldn’t hear them, but I found that irritating, especially as I wanted to get even closer). Thankfully, one of the girls after one song and a half decided that it really wasn’t her cup of tea, so they all fucked off to the back, and everything became a lot more enjoyable and easier. Until the (equally enjoyable) mayhem started, see next section.
Setlist: N/A unfortunately though not that surprising. But perhaps this gives an indication for Test Plan, can’t have been much different, I think the end was the same anyway. Library Card setlist may be like that one? Edit (16/2) : test plan setlist now appears in the SOV review linked above (and is indeed as expected barring an extra song at the start not played yesterday?), while the Library Card one was published by the band on Instagram. And is indeed very much the same as linked above, except this time with an EXTRA song in second : Sisyphus. Interestingly also, those two bands don’t even have a LP out between them. Library Card have an EP or two and a few singles, and Test Plan’s recorded output, as far as I can see, consists of only three singles, incredibly. But anyway, I’ll use that section for the actual, vague, gig review as usual. Same people on stage as usual for Library Card, though the bass player’s look was slightly different. Don’t ask me what they started with, especially as I didn’t rehearse (but yes, it was Cognitive Dissonance after all), I think I saw them announce they would play some new songs, but essentially it was kind of the same type of set as last year, with the difference that I knew some/most of the songs now. I thought it slightly underwhelming at the start, perhaps, the different sense of anticipation, this being, once more, the first band, but not at 4pm to kick off an amazing afternoon with a great surprise, and despite the bigger crowds, I think it never really properly got going. But I’d say they’d constructed their set well (including some new songs), because the end was the climax. So the singer got to the floor like last year for Local Newspaper, and the finale was the still excellent Well, Actually, that got more people dancing, and you feel moshing was on the edge of starting, though in the end it didn’t. So while at some point I thought ‘maybe you should never go and see again a band you didn’t know and surprisingly enjoyed the first time – a stupid thing to say, I’ve had more counter-examples than examples, I think)’, at the end I felt suitably pleased. Oh, and I thought the drummer was very impressive again. Apparently it was Library Card’s third gig here (as in ‘the Supersonic’ as well as Paris) and they said how much they enjoyed it. Jed looked like he was falling asleep at some point during this set, in real need of perking up, and so when he went to order the next round, he wisely decided to go for a Cuba Libre rather than stick with beer (I stuck to Lager, Nick to Pale Ale).
And then, after whatever time, Test Plan set up their gear, and when they started, it was immediately again ‘wow!’. There was no doubt that near top gear was hit from the start, and as I’d warned the others, this would be absolutely relentless. So yeah, first second I was already ‘forget what I thought about going to see a band the second time’. Again, I’m not sure of all song titles, but once more my drummer friend was absolutely on top form, guitarist all smiles and fun producing some incredible sounds, and Rory on bass was a pile of energy again. The crowds were moving, but there was no real moshing/pogo to speak of for the first half or two-thirds of the gig. The drummer rose from his stool and stood tall before doing a short trip into the crowd at the start of a song mid-set. And then, the guitarist asked if we were ready to dance, before they launched into Walking in a Vacuum, their excellent single released on my Birthday last year. That is kind of stop/start at times, and then I think at the last section when it really kicks off again, well….it kicked off in the moshpit too. Rather than coming from right at the front of the stage, the movement seemed to start just from my left, and proper mayhem ensued. Pogo galore, not stopping until the end of the gig more or less, as first Vacuum morphed into the still truly incredible So Bored At Your Squat Rave where everyone went fucking mental. I think the guitarist was laughing by then, and then they finished with It’s Not Enough, which may be, by a little, the least exciting of the three singles on record, but you wouldn’t know live, when it continued the fun! Rory made a foray into the crowds, going halfway through the room and back, before they finished the song while he was trashing his bass or nearly. So yes, same as last time, another ‘claque’. If anything, it was even better, because the venue itself was less confined so your ears were not destroyed at the end, and also there was no moshing last time. Needless to say, Jed joined in too and was well perked up by the end of this set!
Post-gig: well, there was a lot of post-gig, especially as there was still another gig. But we’d decided beforehand that we’d retire to the upstairs area for the last gig, as none of us actually knew the band. Not necessarily an ideal choice music-wise, but probably actually a…. wise choice. I’d seen some of Library Card on the merch stand corner just after Test Plan, but they were probably packing their stuff, and I saw nothing on sale even if I was in the mood for buying T-shirts. On the way up, I bumped into the Test Plan drummer again, so told him how great this was again, and we got sort of more ‘formally introduced’. ‘What’s your name?’ ‘Ollie’. ‘I’m Max, nice to meet you!’. I asked if they had some merch, but unfortunately not, though he mentioned some tote bags upstairs, but they were probably not officially on sale then. I’m guessing the whole Brexit shit also makes carrying merch around more difficult, especially if here they were not exactly on a normal tour, just a one-off gig. We had a couple more rounds upstairs (Jed improvised the last one by ordering a pastis for both him and me, which was nice, I think we might have reminisced earlier about how this had worked for the Gwendoline gig), while The 113 were playing. A word on them: while to us tonight they were background music, I have to say it sounded excellent. You could see why they would ‘headline’ tonight as definitely more accessible than the other two bands (and maybe they have more songs out –though having checked now, they have six singles or so, but no album either!), but still musically enticing. After that, Nick suggested we should go and see Duncan in the Black Sheep rather than stick here (I’m the one who had insisted on having one extra round here first), but in the end, that was not necessarily the best, or at least the most enjoyable option. I mean, it was cool, I had a Guinness there, but it was a bit empty compared to the buzz of the Supersonic, But before we moved out, as we went down the stairs, we saw some of the band come back up so I shouted ‘Rory, that was amazing!’ as we stepped past him. He acknowledged and happily thanked, while Nick had a quick chat with the guitarist. I wouldn’t have minded staying there perhaps bumping into random people and having more fun with the start of the club night/good music being played. Perhaps one day I should do the whole Supersonic experience. Incredibly, when we exited the place (don’t ask me for the time then!) there was a big queue outside. And that’s despite the fact that you actually have to pay to get in there after 11pm (I think, not midnight). I had decided from the start that time wouldn’t be an issue and that I’d catch a late metro home rather than have the pressure of trying to catch the last RER, and so after a single pint (I think again, not totally sure) at the Black Sheep, I took line 1 then 4, and then the half hour walk from Bagneux (that I could have done without especially after midday footie, but my achilles while in some pain are no longer in agony), and so I got home at about half past two, after an excellent night. Can’t complain really!
Aftermath: OK, one bad thing, entirely my doing. Before leaving home, as I felt my eyes a bit dry following the post-footie shower early afternoon, I thought maybe I should take a lens case and my glasses just in case I feel too bad later and can’t focus. But I did find some old product to moisturise the lenses a bit so used that anyway and I was fine forever after. But while I put keys in an outside zipped pocket, I put these in a small case (the regular one is too big and hard) in my inside pocket on the jacket I was wearing. And I didn’t find that case the next morning. Now, I mentioned being tempted by the cloackroom, but in the end, I tied my jacket around my waist, and then also my hoodie, because it was way too hot. Managing to keep both tied there during the moshing was not so easy but I succeeded. However, I guess at some point the case got out. It’s not completely impossible that it went out when putting the coat back on or later than during the mêlée but if it’s the latter, no doubt as the case was not very hard that they got smashed into pieces. Interestingly, my cheap ‘reading’ glasses, in the other inside pocket but without a case stayed where they were. Oh well. Edit 16/2: well I e-mailed Supersonic on the Sunday, and they replied during the week that they had found the case. So last night, I went to fetch it and the glasses were in one piece. I suspect they must have fallen later than I thought, as even the case was pristine, it had not been trampled on.
CMAT, Le Trabendo, 9/2/2025
Context: A slight case of ‘more in hope than expectation’ this time perhaps. Well, I fairly enjoyed the previous year’s concert, but there was no new material since (apart from a single that is OK but not overwhelmingly excellent as far as I am concerned), so I was still quite keen to go, and maybe hope that she would play ‘Phone Me’ this time. Sunday evening gig, I was going to stay sober after Friday’s exertions, and also I was flying to Stockholm the next day, so it was not greatly timed in the end.
External review: the good thing about me reviewing this late (as the week away had made it complicated) is the SOV review is here at the time of writing. Slightly concerned that it is by AD again, who’s often right, but his style really gets on my tits. Though the Supersonic review for the previous Friday was actually not irritating for once.
Photos: Here, from SOV.
YouTube: a little choice, but has to be the encore, fully featured here, good work!
Company: none, just me this time.
Pre-gig: well, having had a cursory listen to the support, I was totally uninterested, so with tiredness and a suspected classic starting time of 9pm, I aimed to arrive at around 8.30pm (by which time obviously the place was fairly full).
Support: Mickey Callisto. I still managed to catch his last song, and yeah meh. See above, so I’m not qualified to comment on the live performance.
Crowds: this was just after Ireland beat Wales at the rugby, but I’m not sure it played a part in crowd drunkenness. It wasn’t mentioned either. Fairly varied crowd, a fair amount of gay people (she has a big gay following), and, predictably, an enormous lot of Irish people (which made some of the comments about Parisians maybe not as welcome as they could have been since the crowd’s mostly not local….)
Standing location: managed to squeeze in pretty much in front of the mixing desk. Couple of people could possibly hamper my view, but not so much in the end, as they were not arseholes and were spatially aware, so I had a fairly good view in fact, and pretty central.
Setlist: N/A on the usual site, but it’s actually included in the SOV review, see above. Anyway, it was the exact same as Brussels so I’m linking it the usual way (also shows some artists really don’t improvise as much as you’d like). In fact, it is scarily similar to the set played in Petit Bain pretty much exactly a year ago. In the same order. Only differences were Nashville as intro, that ‘new” 2024 single, the absence of No More Virgos (but it was a (most welcome) one-off last time), and an extra acoustic start at the end of the encore. So what can I say? I was slightly concerned, before the concert, as last year was maybe as much about the show as it was about the music, that the anecdotes and tricks would be too similar or identical. But I was quickly reassured on that front (and so now with the setlists comparison this was even more needed). No French intro music this time, straight to the musicians appearing on stage, in uniform or nearly. All wearing a white shirt or blouse, a blue light scarf (apart from CMAT herself, I think), and four of them (out of six) wearing shades (they didn’t drop them at the same time, in fact, all did at different times, CMAT being the last one, and later on the shades got back on, but not for her). Not sure I recognised all the musicians, though the keyboardist, bass player and drummeuse were definitely the same. Was there a pedal steel player last time? I can’t really remember. But yeah, no intro music and straight to business with Nashville, followed by the excellent California. And so, as there is no surprise to be gleaned from the setlist before the encore, it is only the show that is to be talked about, the variations in anecdotes. Although one trick was re-used from last time, the ‘band collapse’ with everyone on the floor, though it came very early in the set, think it was much later last year. Thankfully, no other part of the show was the same. Because really, even more than last time given the unchanged setlist, it was all about the show. She proudly announced early on that it was the last gig of their tour, but I’m not sure it brought a lot of ‘special’ to the proceedings. Lots of ‘oh matron’ moments, especially once someone threw a ‘bra’ at the stage (another bra arrived late in the encore). Oh yes, one similar pronouncement was the ‘my French is rubbish’ bit, but it was not dressed in the same anecdotes as last year so fair enough. We got some context about a new album being recorded (or just having been finished) in Paris, fuelled by French cheese (a piece of said cheese was proffered for our admiration), and yet, despite that new album being mentioned several times, absolutely and disappointingly no new song. Vincent Kompany got introduced differently. It started with CMAT narrating a very ’embarrassing’ moment, her coming to Paris to try to attend the Jane Birkin tribute gig despite not having a ticket, and ending up not being able to get in at all, having wasted the day/night there, before she announced ‘another thing that I am embarrassed with, I have written a song about a French-speaking man, but he is Belgian’. ‘Où sont les homosexuels’ (in a small speech in French) drew a sizable reaction (see ‘Crowds’ section), and then someone threw a red/orange beret at her. She asked the guy ‘I hope you are French at least’, but nope, he was another Irish, from Wicklow, which drew a fair amount of derision from her and from the crowd. There was a bit of gaelic banter with people from her neck of the woods, and yeah, in all that, there were a few moments when the music felt average and lost in the middle of the ‘show’. Which is fine for some, but still not so much for me who is into music much more than into shows. But fair play, it was a good show. You could argue though, that, even more than at Petit Bain, the keyboard player was making things maybe a little too ‘camp’. I suppose it goes with the crowds, but it did lack subtlety. Anyway, can’t remember if it was during the encore or before, but another thing she did was, with the speakers being how they are at Trabendo, lie down at the start of a song, while having an Irish flag draped over her (‘pretending I’m dead’), see lots of small stuff, some that worked well, some not so much. The main set ended after about an hour with Where Are Your Kids tonight? And then…..what would be the encore? Well, it was actually the better part, and I think better than at Petit Bain. Just CMAT with her acoustic guitar to start with (after a fairly long speech: she reminded us – some line I think she already used last time- that the French ‘like depression’, so this is the sad part of the show), and that was actually quite nice and beautiful, first with Such A Miranda, and then with Rent, which sounded stunning before the band joined her for the second part of the song (and unfortunately it meant the music became ‘by the numbers’ again, far less engaging or interesting). She told us she saw Parisians as cats (video checks suggests that was earlier though, in the main set), which was kind of cute and funny, but as I have mentioned probably didn’t even concern half the crowd tonight. Time for the classic I Wanna Be A Cowboy Baby, accompanied with the ‘Dunboyne, County Meath, two-step’ shuffle(I think that’s the full name). And while there was no joke to be made about the boat being able to stand it this time, my position and view made it easier at least for me to execute, and it was actually a very enjoyable bit of communal singing/dancing, not the forced call and response that can irritate me (we got that a little for initial shouts during band members intro). That was stopped/temporarily modified when she announced that because it was the last night of the tour, they would do something special….which turned out to be the band presentation, made differently indeed with the ‘sexy police/ambulance/air force’ etc, coming for each band member, each one being introduced by a sound/gimmick before showing off their skills on their respective instrument (and voice for the keyboardist/ main backing vocalist). No ‘French-style’ nicknames this time, but all rather good fun and well done. Whether it was truly ‘special’ or similar to other nights, I shall never know. Anyway so that was with the ‘cowboy’ music playing like a theme in the background, and so the song resumed for a finish with more joyous two-step shuffling, with Mickey Callisto as guest. Time for one last song, the more dynamic and rapturously received Stay For Something, to conclude the gig on a bright note (with it being the same as last time, I am not sure the end at Petit Bain had been extended spontaneously after all, unlike what I thought at the time, although, we did have No More Virgos as a bonus at the end of the main set). Hell, at the end, she was even bouncing as she shouted ‘Scotland!’ when someone offered a…Saltire for her to play with. Guess there’s a celtic connection between Scotland and Ireland. So….I am having a hard time figuring out how much I liked the gig or not. I think it was a slightly better show than at Petit Bain in some ways, but not as good in others, with the show taking too much of a main part occasionally this time. But then, given the far too similar setlist, there was no other way this could work. She still didn’t play Phone Me (not sure why, is it just because it was the same tour, and so not much musical variation, just the show), so unless the third album is truly excellent again, I might not bother next time. It was a feelgood/happy gig, but I think not entirely satisfying for me as a second time around, ultimately.
Post-gig: straight home, and with no public transport issue, so there before 11.30pm.
Hak Baker, FGO Barbara 21/2/2025
Context: Note that I am writing this a week and a half later. Initial delay due to being out in London then lazy, and the accident happening on the day I was meant to finally write the review. So memories are a little less vivid now. Anyway. So yes, an album I enjoyed in 2023, a decent EP in 2024, this sounded very interesting and also a second time at FGO Barbara. So not much hesitation. Night before a big day out with Jez at the Arsenal, so decided I would essentially stay sober.
External review: this would potentially be inside the SOV scope, but rather predictably, nothing can be found here or anywhere.
Photos: N/A, nope, can’t find either, well I put some shitty ones on my instagram.
YouTube: sadly and annoyingly I can’t find anything.
Company: on my own for the gig, but….
Pre-gig: …Jack White was playing at La Cigale that day, and Nick and Patrice were going. As timings managed to be agreed (I had no interest in getting pissed, or in seeing whoever was supporting and was not announced anywhere, so when Nick told me they were already in the designated bar at 5.30pm or something, halfway between the venues, I thought it might not happen), we all met in La Binouze (recommended for drinks, expensive though for these lovely craft beers) at about 7.30pm. I found Patrice and Nick at a table with Guillermo and Santiago they’d just met in the bar, who travelled from Germany to see Jack White (but the next day at the nearby Trianon). Just had one beer, wisely, while we also waited for them to have food (quite amusing slow service including sardines selection), good chat, good fun and I made my way to FGO Barbara. Now I remember reading about the dodgy area last time, but hadn’t noticed. However, this time coming from the Anvers side rather than Gare du Nord, yeah, not the same scenery, I certainly didn’t stop on the way. I still like the bar at FGO, so decided to order a….half-pint, no, really. Kind of regretted not having a full one as I was feeling good, and it is actually much cheaper here than in any other venue in Paris. Had to save myself for the next day though, so OK. Just the gig called for more drinks….see later.
Support: no idea, but I arrived just to catch this guy with a keyboard or some mixing machine, just some music playing and him MCing over or not even. It was the last tune anyway, he asked if we were looking forward to Hak Baker (in French? Yeah, I think so, think he was French). When I arrived, the room wasn’t full, so as usual here, you could very much be at the front though I took one step back as often in these circumstances.
Crowds: now that’s an odd one. Hak is a black artist, but mostly he is a Londoner (East London originally, think I’ve seen pictures of him in an Arsenal shirt though), and does music that mixes genres and style. And so a very mixed composition of crowds in genres and colours (perhaps less black people that you could expect), but also that very strange thing: the crowds appeared incredibly homogeneous in age, probably mostly late-twenties/early/mid-thirties I’d say. I felt like I might truly be the oldest person here, which is relatively rare. And yet, the average age felt a lot higher than at gigs like Aurora, Royel Otis or Sarah Kinsley for instance. Just not a big spread.
Standing location: pretty much perfect, front but with room and not too close, perfect view as the stage in there is wisely high enough too.
Setlist: well, perhaps I should have stopped the guy who got it from Hak and asked him if I could take a picture, because I can’t find it anywhere! Hak came onstage at 8.45pm or so, wearing an interesting colourful jumper (or cardigan as he called it) and just his acoustic guitar and a bottle of tequila (provided by the venue it seems). And rather than straight away start a song he, did a lengthy chat about this and that, and introducing the song (Wonderland) with context, explaining it was his favourite (he may have a few favourites) and how it was about him and a mate staying at his brother’s while he was working and essentially getting pissed. The acoustic nature of the gig meant he couldn’t really play tunes that were shouted for and some of my favourites like Telephone For Eyes and Doolally. As he said himself, these require the full band, so hopefully another time. And so we got treated to a wonderful performance. I’m not sure how many tunes I recognised, the excellent Boys X Girls from the Nostalgia Death EP was one, and he had more material I hadn’t yet heard about from before 2023 (the excellent Quasar in particular stood out). With the distance of ten days, I feel maybe a bit too far or too lazy to recount everything, but the music was great, and, more than anything else Hak himself both fun and endearing. Also getting progressively more pissed as the gig progressed (he had to get the setlist from the floor as he couldn’t read it from the distance of his height anymore). So yes, anecdotes and talks of his past life as a misfit, having done jail time etc. He mentions the dodgy area around the venue, how he was walking around being offered drugs and ‘wooaah’. He sounds like such a good guy who did a lot of mischief that could have got him all wrong (and did at points in fact), but never with a mean heart behind. He liberally distributes shots of tequila to the audience (I am tempted but just decide to stay back), invites a loud Irish guy (called Liam) on stage for a drink at some point, does some fuck the police shouts and enjoins us to not give in to all the shit around (I summarise with the wrong word, I feel too lazy to write this well, but he makes good points about good people and making this world a better place). When the tequila runs out, probably wisely the venue does not bring another bottle. But as we reach the end of the main set with the excellent and classic Windrush Baby (another highlight I was indeed hoping for), he stays on stage (no point in going off and back on on his own) and considers what to do (it’s still early, really, maybe not even 10 pm) and says he could do with another drink. And so a girl at the front just goes to the bar and brings him a pint, which is cool. He asks what he should do with it, cue lots of shouts of ‘cul-sec’, that is then explained to him as ‘down in one’. And so as a challenge (can’t remember what the challenge was : play another song if he downs it in less than 6 seconds?), he invites someone on stage to time him with their phone, takes his guitar off (wise move) and downs the pint in less than 5 seconds. He says we could go on until 1am, or perhaps 2am. 3am? Etc, and so the final song is one of his earliest. 7am and an excellent way to finish. He still stays onstage a little bit afterwards, unsure what to do, there’s more heckling for Telephone For Eyes, he even seems to somehow consider it so I am starting to wonder about an interesting acoustic version of it (sure he must have done the initial version so), but after considering time (still not late) and practicality decides against it and exits the stage. As I exit the room and he is slowly making his way on the same path too (to get to the back of the bar where they have set up a small area for him to sell LPs and such), I managed to thank the big man and we hug (I’m not the only one, obviously!) before he gets there. Despite my intention and given the early time, I do strongly consider staying a bit, getting another beer and maybe chatting to strangers later, but decide that no, it was perfect as it was and I’d still save myself for the next day. Regrets? Not really, I’ve been there before and at least the next day I was in good shape and, ignoring the actual football, had a great day out though I got way too pissed in fact to the point of forgetfulness in the end (the return was a blur). But tonight, I’ve spent a happy moment. Hak Baker made a whole room laugh (despite him proclaiming he was not a stand-up comedian) and smile and feel good. Little did I know it would be my last gig in a while as this wasn’t the plan, but I very much enjoyed it and will be back for more, band or solo again.
Post-gig: RER home, got an express, didn’t have to wait, it’s distant now, but I think I was home before 11pm. And extremely drunk the next day.
The Buoys, Supersonic 28/2/2025
Context: Aussie band had a great album last year. Free gig at Supersonic on a Friday night, what’s not to love? But having ruptured my right Achilles on the Tuesday, well this was the first cancellation. I got operated midday and all went fine.
External review: none that I can see
Photos: N/A
YouTube: N/A
Setlist: here!
Heartworms, Petit Bain 1/3/2025
Context: I missed her last time around at Point Ephémère (can’t remember why, if it was just tiredness, or if I genuinely couldn’t go), so was first to get a ticket there. Nick followed a long time after. The album’s been out but due to the circumstances, knowing I couldn’t now go, I hadn’t taken the time to listen to it. Thankfully, Patrice got convinced to go by Nick, and as he managed to get an extra ticket just before they sold out on the day, I could transfer him mine so that he and Estelle went. Looks like it was (unsurprisingly) a great gig, and the short snippets I heard tell me so. So yeah, it’s one of the probably two I was most gutted to miss, but at least the ticket went to a good place. Next time, hopefully, but I’ll have to pray she hasn’t upgraded to bigger venues by then, which seems unlikely.
External review: SOV has it. Well it looks like Laëtitia did the review and the photos, so you can check some photos on the site too.
Photos: Since our friend Robert Gil was back to one of ‘my’ gigs, here are his.
YouTube: Thought there would be more, but have the wonderful Jacked anyway.
Setlist: yes you can have it.
Hinds, La Bellevilloise 7/3/2025
Context: One of those I wouldn’t necessarily had gone to on my own, but Nick was up for it, and I thought their recent album was actually quite good and upbeat and this could be a fun and happy gig. The fun of Hinds after the intensity of Heartworms. Well that is probably what happened, but obviously not for me, just the third gig I had to miss. Patrick was the happy recipient of my ticket again, having not gone to a different gig he had a ticket for earlier that week as nobody he knew was going.
External review: N/A
Photos: N/A
YouTube: I managed to find a single video for it, so have it.
Setlist: N/A
18/3/2025 Kelly Lee Owens + yunè pinku, Le Trabendo
Context: I enjoyed KLO’s album last year very very much. I wasn’t sure how this could translate in a gig though, but curious, having missed out on Romy the year before. Still, it’s only when yunè pinku was added as support that I decided that I really really fancied this, as yunè’s got some cracking tunes (I’ve seen her describe her own output as ‘music for introverted ravers’, and I like that idea too). So it was one I was really looking forward to. However, yeah, I’m probably still about a month from going to gigs, certainly at Le Trabendo! In the end, and based on the YT below, it’s probably one that would still have felt bizarre for me to be at, with music I love moving or dancing to, but that perhaps doesn’t require a stage presence.
External review: N/A
Photos: N/A
YouTube: Well, I did find a small compilation from Kelly Lee Owen’s set, so there you are. Sounds good.
Setlist: N/A
4/4/2025 Fat Dog, Trabendo
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YouTube:
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Support:
Crowds:
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5/4/2025 Panchiko, Point Ephémère
Context:
Photos: N/A
YouTube:
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22/4/2025 Ride, Le Trianon
25/4/2025 Benefits, The Lexington, London
29/4/2025 Miki Berenyi Trio, FGO-Barbara
27/5/2025 The Raveonettes, Petit Bain
28/5/2025 Patrick Wolf, Trabendo
31/5/2025 The Flaming Lips, Le Trianon
15/6/2025 Basia Bulat, Supersonic Records
18/6/2025 Horsegirl, Petit Bain
28-29/6/2025 Levitation Festival, Angers, feat. Blonde Redhead, Boy Harsher, and mostly a catch-up session for Heartworms, Hinds, bdrmm,…!
15/9/2025 Blondshell+Francis of Delirium, Trabendo