Ruth Radelet, Supersonic Records 4/9/2025
Context: ex-Chromatics singer in town in a very small venue. I only had one EP of hers initially (well she only has one out, and a bunch of singles and collaborations), which was a mixed bag, but I decided that having inadvertently missed on Basia Bulat in the same venue, restarting the whole gig season with a low-key peaceful music dose would be the right thing. I had a fairly mellow summer, so it felt like a very good idea.
External review: Benzinemag has it, I’m not totally with them there, but it’s fair enough.
Photos: N/A (beyond the couple featured in the article)
YouTube: indiegilles was there and captured the highlight. But if you look around, there’s a guy who hasn’t got many videos and probably came from a different angle and is not used to filming these and has Cherry (and a couple of others). The quality’s actually not bad at all, and, well, you can see actual indiegilles on it….
Company: just me.
Pre-gig: nothing really. First day back at work, but I’d had a bad night so worked from home, which allowed me some welcome naps now and then, that were much needed: I was feeling exhausted but better by the time I went to the gig. Decided not to get in early, but at a relaxed time, so I missed just the start of support. Only one beer, during support (very clever to now ask if you want to tip while paying by card, but this could end up being ruinous and the beer’s not really cheap).
Support: kndns. A French band. I had a quick listen beforehand, not bad, but also not good enough to get me to be in early. Not that I missed more than ten minutes anyway. What I certainly didn’t expect on arrival was to be greeted by the sight of a guy in a sort of very cheap astronaut suit on stage trying to open a triangle sandwich. Ruth Radelet herself appeared briefly by the bar soon after I got in but didn’t linger, getting back quickly to the dressing room. The music itself sounded pretty good at the start. Apart from the aforementioned astronaut (who was mostly dancing on stage during the set, but also using a camcorder to film band and audience, and started the distribution of Haribo sweets to the members of the public- the big box was passed around but I swerved it, at some point the singer asked if everyone had been able to get to it, and it ended up on the bar counter), classic rock line-up with singer/guitarist, another guitarist, bass player and drummer. As the singer himself said ‘c’est comme une boum’. So party-ish atmosphere, but after a couple of songs, I found the music rather unremarkable. Near the end, I thought the singer was going to present the band and they’d each get a minute to do their stuff as they were being introduced, but it seems like it was only about the drummer and what he was going to do, as all we got was a very wanky and unnecessary drum solo of two or three minutes, that wasn’t even particularly brilliant, but maybe that’s just me. Anyway, they must have finished at about 8.45 so not a very short support slot, fine, and they said they’d be at the bar (no idea if they actually were as I had moves slightly forward for RR, only spotted them outside at the end of the evening).
Crowds: mixed bag, probably due to the pairing. Not very young in general, though I think probably younger for the support. The gig was sold out, so the room pretty full even when I arrived already, not sure how many were there for the support (as they are local) or for Ruth, but as it was a paying gig unlike next door’s Supersonic Club, we didn’t have the semi-habitual exodus post French opening bands. Mostly white I’d say, but all ages and genres and nationalities.
Standing location: Near the bar for the support, a few steps forward for Ruth. Either way, unlike you really are at the back, it is easy to be pretty close there. Sure if there weren’t the usual old habitués at the front, you could be even nearer, but that was more than good enough.
Setlist: It is here. Sometimes was initially missing but I added a comment and someone else actually edited the list (I didn’t want to do it this time, as I didn’t have the whole thing, and if there was a mistake, there could be more). So yes, I mentioned in the context that she had had one EP and a few singles in. There’s a couple of songs I really like on the EP, others not so much (a bit boring and bland maybe, the benzinemag commentator got that right), and a brief check on other singles a few weeks ago led me to get one of those singles which I really liked, and ignore the others. So I had no idea what we were in for. I also had absolutely no idea if she would play Chromatics songs, or if she was even allowed to (legally, I don’t know, things like that may not be that obvious, beyond the choice she would make), but just figured it would mostly be nice and ethereal. The band came on stage for good (after the initial setting up of things) shortly before ten past nine, and started with Stranger (an OK though not brilliant song). And well, Sometimes and Crimes were played early enough in the set, so that was me sorted for good tunes already. Ruth was playing a pale blue Stratocaster matching her cardigan, very nice touch, fair play for this sort of attention to detail. The drummer was young and cool, the other guitarist played an all white Jazzmaster, while the bass player had a Jazz Bass, so it was an all-Fender affair tonight. Amusingly (for me), after Crimes, she said ‘we’re going to slow it down now’ before switching to her synth for Be Careful. Amusingly because it’s not like Crimes is fast, so it really was a case of we’re going to do something even slower rather than a Gurriers-style ‘we need a breather now’. So far, we’d only had tracks from that EP (and all of them in fact), but next came a new song, that she said they’d only played twice live before. And I quite like it, it has to be said. That was followed by the slightly more dynamic single I mentioned earlier and that I really like ‘Shoot Me Down’ (looks like the BM reviewer likes it too), before a song I didn’t know (a cover) and another one I’d not fully checked though sounded OK in my investigations, as I didn’t know if it counted as part of her repertoire: a number that is in fact part of a game soundtrack and is a collaboration with some of her ex-Chromatics bandmates. Decent song too. There was not much inter-song chat, although she thanked us a few times, and early on mentioned she hadn’t been in Paris for about six years and loves it. And then, she thanked us again for coming to, well whichever venue she was going to be in next as she realised she’d got the name wrong unusually before correcting herself, she thanked some of the people from Supersonic, before saying ‘you might know that next one’. So, Chromatics? Indeed, the keyboard intro from Cherry echoed in the small venue (sold out, did I mention? I read it has a capacity of 180, didn’t think it was even that much, don’t think it can be that much in fact, unless you put people in the railing upstairs, but there was nobody there, it’s not public), to rapturous applause. I was a bit shocked to see the guy next to me attempting to use Shazam to recognise the song, but hey-ho, I guess he either came for the support or only knew her through the video game (I can’t imagine someone would go to a RR concert without having at least an idea of Chromatics). After Cherry came….the cherry on top, really. It didn’t take long for what was happening to sink in, despite the intro being unusually played on the guitar this time, the riff was unmistakable, and when she starting singing ‘Shadow, take me down with you….’, it was a moment of magic. You just wish you could have been in the Roundhouse in Twin Peaks really, but it felt special. I’d been slightly annoyed earlier that the voice felt probably too low in the mix, but I forgot about that then. Another thing that was great all evening was the general sound quality, and in particular the bass. No saturation, just perfect, and driving the songs masterfully. Whether that all came from the bassist’s skills or the set-up, it made me think I should really also a buy a bass to complete my music set-up. But I digress. If that had been the last song, I think it would have been perfect, but at the same time, you felt it wasn’t to be. Ruth said they’d play an encore but as they couldn’t go offstage and back on easily here, she’d just introduce her band first instead. No wanky thing here, just nice words from her and polite and appreciative applause from the crowds. She mentioned she’d be at the merch stand later selling records and the about five T-shirts they brought with them, before they started with the last song. I didn’t recognise it at all, it just felt totally unnecessary, some lounge Jazz number, but somehow I wasn’t upset or very offended by it, because the previous songs had lifted my mood and made me feel very well, and I knew this was the last song and wouldn’t extend forever. But yes, it was Blue Velvet (so another wink at the late David Lynch), but I’ve only ever watched the film once, and that music is really not my cup of tea, so it completely passed me by on the spot! Either way, this was the end of a beautiful set from lovely Ruth Radelet and her merry band. Music really heals, and at the end of a difficult day and a slightly complicated, tiring week was nearing, I felt a lot better (well the struggle for that week wasn’t over, but that evening felt like a happy conclusion then).
Post-gig: straight home. I’d have been tempted to hang around for a bit (it wasn’t that late, all over shortly after 10pm, but I’d been out later the previous night), but on my own and not forgetting that despite the music buzz I was tired, I felt I might feel a bit lost and desperate staying, so a bit gutted I didn’t get to thank the musicians and have a brief chat with them if possible, but I was home by 10.30pm and that was just good.
Blondshell+Francis of Delirium, Trabendo 15/9/2025
Context: When this gig was first announced, I was probably not going to go for just one song. On hearing the new Blondshell album, I thought ‘maybe’, though a little unconvincingly, even though I think I like her second album better than the first, despite no ‘Salad’ on it. But then Francis of Delirium were announced as the support, and so it became ‘definitely’. First trek to the Trabendo since the injury. I mean it’s all fine now despite this venue requiring the most walking of them all, but always a little more painful on physio day.
External review: can’t see any so far, and probably won’t find any.
Photos: annoyingly none either.
YouTube: again, very annoyingly, nothing for the Francis of Delirium part. Not as much as I thought for Blondshell. Mostly shorts, so only found a couple of whole songs. No Salad.
Company: Nick and Ornella.
Pre-gig: meeting time on a workday wasn’t too early, so with a few minutes delay and me very keen on seeing Francis of Delirium from the start in case they had some new songs, we decided to head straight to the venue. Beers having been ordered, we got inside quickly to ensure a good spot.
Support: Francis of Delirium. Well, they were one of the big reasons for me here, in fact, the one that made me definitely decide to go, so the ‘support’ part is not quite right for me there. But they played first and it was a fairly short performance so support they were, and that section may be the biggest for once.
So, a year and a half on, what’s new in the world of FoD? Not that much, by the look of it, although maybe the bigger place, the better sound and other factors mean an even more confident performance and getting ready for bigger things. The bass player is quickly spotted walking from the mixing desk and doesn’t look as gigantic as I remembered him (more on that later). I’m not totally sure I recognise the drummer, but that’s with the distance, and also, as the bassist told us later, he’s rather introverted so more discreet, and in fact we didn’t see him post-gig .They take to the stage a little ahead of schedule, unusually, and the first song they play doesn’t seem familiar, although the sound itself doesn’t make for a departure from their usual style. If I believe the Belgium setlist, it’s called ‘Little Black Dress’. We get the classics from the so far only album next. Blue Tuesday starts the sequence (Nick reminds me he had put that one on his ‘best of 2024’ list), before Jana tells us ‘we are from Luxembourg….Jardins du Luxembourg’ as a little joke (just in case some people weren’t aware, she later specifies that it was a joke and that they are indeed from the small Duchy). She’s looking and sounding very confident, and introduces the next song asking the audience if they ever found themselves groping their best friend, etc., and in the end wondering….’Am I gay?’ which leads to laughter but is in fact, the theme of the next song, the excellent Real Love, still one of their best (unfortunately once more we don’t get Something Changed tonight, maybe they never play it?). Jana’s voice renders superbly in this venue, I can’ truly say if it’s even better than ever, but it really shines tonight, beautiful and strong. She’s having fun onstage, sometimes playing the big guitar moves with Jeff (the bass player, wearing a skirt over his trousers). Nothing else is new on the setlist, but every song is excellent and splendidly executed. We get another brief mention of the F1 hotel in Montreuil, but this time even more as a distant anecdote, a place they will probably never have to stay at again. Jana sets up the ‘Give It Back to Me’ play again, asking the audience to sing back the bits at the end, but from my position, it doesn’t sound as good as at PopUp, whether it’s because of the bigger venue, or the fact that they are just supporting and so the audience is less theirs. Later when I mention that to her, she said she thought it actually worked quite well, so maybe it felt different from the stage, or maybe she didn’t want me to feel that bit didn’t quite succeed this time. Anyway, we get the fairly usual closer (only one this time) with ‘Quit Fucking Around’ , people –or me anyway–, shouting the words, and it’s all over too quickly. In the interval, I briefly go to the merch stand as it’s near us and kind of rudely interrupt just to say that was great, but once there are less people, I get back to buy a nice T-shirt and have a slightly longer convo with Jana, asking her if she still designs all the merch (of course she does, and I have to say those T-shirts are splendid), talk about the gig a bit, and ask if/when a new album would be out, but she just affects an air of mystery. Anyway, after ordering another round, it’s time to get back in position, but there’ll be more FoD chat in the post-gig section.
Crowds: have to admit that from our location by a fence, I didn’t pay much attention or didn’t have to. I think it was a very mixed crowd age-wise. Definitely mostly middle class white if anything.
Standing location: just firsts on the fence on the elevated bit at the back. Perfect really. You can’t be totally in the middle, but perfect unimpaired view, and in my still healing state, not having to constantly check my step and position was a huge bonus.
Setlists: not available, but both for FoD and Blondshell, I think the setlists from two days later in Belgium, here and there, are a very good indication. In fact, most likely there was no variation at all, and this would confirm Francis of Delirium’s opener was indeed a new song, or at least one I didn’t know and has not been released. In fact, looking at more Blondshell setlists now, there seems to be no variation, so you can be pretty sure it was exactly the same. Edit 24/9: well the Blondshell setlist is available now. And there is a slight variation, not in content, but a slight alteration in order, as T&A was played just a couple of songs later in Paris, though it seems to be the only time for this tour, so there is a doubt about the accuracy there, I’d say.
So yes, to Blondshell. The start is very direct, no slow messing about with opening track of the new album, straight with the main hit/most immediate track (I think) of the new album: 23’s A Baby. And that’s followed with another of my favourites on that album, Toy. After this, I’m kind of concerned that she played all her best songs first and the rest might be a little boring. I mean, Docket (obviously not featuring Bully) is played next, another excellent song, and Sepsis from the first album just after is rather good too though a little less obvious. But, to be fair, the next few songs pass pleasantly so it’s all very enjoyable. Sabrina does not speak much, but she moves about freely around the stage and the musicians are very proficient, so it’s a very enjoyable gig, once more helped by excellent sound. It all eventually does peter out as we reach more boring songs and attention fades, but it’s not going to be a very long gig. When the encore comes, it starts with a slower but very good song from the new album and then, obviously, we get the forever excellent Salad to conclude the concert, still her best song I’d say, though I’m not sure it has the same vigour as at Point Ephémère.
Post-gig: We go by to the merch stand again, as Ornella, still impressed by FoD, fancies getting a T-shirt too. Jana’s had time to get changed and now sports some nice big round glasses. Ornella gets her T-shirt signed, and then Jeff’s just standing by there so we chat a little more with him, he says the drummer is amazing and they’ve been playing in bands together since they were about 15. Ornella does the clumsy chat, telling him she had wondered if he was a boy or a girl because of the skirt (really? she realises quickly it felt like an embarrassing thing to say, but it’s no big deal, he had just laughed it off, that’s not the bass player from Library Card there though!) and even tells him he’s not as big as she thought he was. To which he replies: ‘haha, no I’m not that tall, it’s just that Jana is really tiny’. And in fact, I think that’s right, because despite my initial remark above, he was indeed back to looking like a giant on stage during the gig! Anyway, I think he says new album may be out next Spring, or something, and well, we have to say goodbye, after Ornella gets a second signature on her T-shirt.
After that, it’s pretty much straight home, apart from waiting for Nick to cadge a ciggie and smoke it outside the venue with the people he took it from and who may or may not be there for Dog Race on Friday (they weren’t, or we didn’t see them anyway – Nick had given his number).
Dog Race, Supersonic 19/9/2025
Context: Well, that EP they released earlier this year was one of my favourite releases this year, and is practically flawless. Nick shortly after had asked me if they were playing live as he really wanted to see them, and a free gig at Supersonic was announced not much later. So it was a no brainer to attend this.
External review: I was suprised, but benzinemag has it. A very good review in fact, rendering mine superfluous. SoV also has one, that came out quicker than usual, but maybe is slightly less to my taste. Only slightly, mind.
Photos: N/A, apart from a couple in the Benzinemag review. Unusually for a gig covered by them, SoV don’t have any.
YouTube: unlikely, but we’ll see in a few days maybe.
Company: a big gathering this time : Estelle and Patrice, Ornella and Stéphane, Nick
Pre-gig: I could easily miss a free gig on a physio day, feeling a little pain and being generally very tired, but I wasn’t going to miss that one. However, having seen there were two French bands supporting and despite not having tried to check their music, I thought I wouldn’t meet up there with the others early. Also because I didn’t want to get pissed ahead of Sunday in particular (big day back at The Arsenal at last). I was hoping to at least miss the first band altogether, but being ready and not having much to do at home -because I felt too tired to write the FoD/Blondshell review above, that I wrote just a few minutes ago now- I ended up inside the Supersonic long before 9pm so catching a good chunk of the first band. From the bar, while chatting, and enjoying the first beer (I skipped the second round and only had the next one just before the main act – but then I had more afterwards…). They were OK-ish. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see them or buy their music, but as I said to the others, they don’t make me want to go outside and escape. Which is more than what can be said for the second band (starting at 9.30pm sharp). A lot of very heavy rock/close to hard rock in fact. Later in the set, there are a couple of maybe half-decent songs, or maybe I just get used to it. Probably excellent to mosh to, mind, but obviously, on top of everything else and company, I suspect moshing is still absolutely to be avoided at this stage of rehab. At the end of their set, with Patrice, and shortly followed by Estelle, we move closer to the front as space is being vacated, while the others stay at the back. I have a good chat with Patrice, and we both were in fact wondering, having enjoyed that EP, if the singer was male or female, as it wasn’t that obvious from the sound, and neither of us had seen photos of them before. Patrice thinks it’s a bloke as there is no woman appearing in the initial soundcheck/setting up of instruments, but I recall Light By The Sea and told him she could still appear only just before the set starts. And in fact, shortly after, the singer, donning a magnificent red jacket, appears to finalise the soundcheck and all doubts are cleared. Oh yeah, that’s beyond ‘pre-gig’, I’m already eating in the other parts, but never mind.
Support: Scorie (OK- small amusing talk as before they played their last song ‘toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin, les choses moyennes aussi’ – actually now that I think of it, can’t remember for sure if it’s them or the next band who said that), Mosees (no thank you)
Crowds: It’s the Supersonic, it’s hard to know what part of the crowd is here for the bands. So yeah, we’ll say usual Supersonic crowds, mostly students, and an enormous lot of annoying people among them. But it’s normal, been there, drink, dance about, snog (for some, clearly), talk and not care so much about the music. Though I kind of wish most of these stayed upstairs or at the back, because at times it feels more like ‘a band playing in a pub’ rather than a full-on concert.
Standing location: on the left of the pillar, maybe a metre further back than I’d ideally wish: not perfect but good enough.
Setlist: incredibly (or not), it IS available.
Obviously, with only one EP and a couple of singles to their name, there wasn’t anything missing, and it also couldn’t be extended indefinitely. But all the songs are excellent, and we even get a new one. The set-up is the singer only sings (apart from one song, that new one, when she also gets to the keys while the main keyboardist temporarily exits the stage before returning for the more agitated second part of the song), there’s a guy on keys that’s at the front on the left. The bass player, maybe a little unusually is actually kind of hiding behind the keyboards man, and on the right (looking at the stage), drummer at the back, and guitarist at the front. Those two extra singles are played, there’s maybe another song or two I need to locate (don’t think they are available, but maybe they are also new just weren’t announced as such, including the opener), the voice is excellent and intense, the music makes you want to bounce (if only I could). Just the crowds coming and going, sometimes tall people impolitely squeezing themselves in front of you, and most annoyingly, especially in the more quiet moments, the incessant sound of rather lound chattering. But when The Leader starts, I think everyone focuses back on the music, and while I can’t properly tell which song is my favourite, I think this is the one that makes more of a difference live. And we finish with another excellent classic (well it will be deemed a classic in the future) : It’s The Squeeze! No encore, there rarely properly is in The Supersonic, but then they might not have had any songs left anyway: they played the whole EP, the two singles and three unreleased songs! Not a dull moment, very enjoyable music and performance. Only annoying thing is, at the end, even as most people at the front are gently jumping up and down, I can only keep my right foot firmly and flatly planted on the floor, and just go slightly up and down on the left. Hopefully, one day, maybe next time I see them, I will be able to move even better.
Post-gig: well, it wasn’t too late, it was Friday evening, so lingering on a bit seemed to make sense. Also the music was good, with Siouxsie and The Cure played immediately after the end of the gig. With Patrice, we thought everyone was going upstairs, but we went with Nick and then Nick immediately went back downstairs. Patrice went to the loo (further up), so I told him I’d wait for him before going downstairs again. Estella joined also before Patrice eventually came back (obviously busy time at the loo post-gig) and we went straight back downstairs, to the bar (another pint for me after all), only to find the others (well Ornella and Nick, with Stéphane a little less involved) talking to Katie, the singer, who it took me a second or two to identify without her jacket. She seemed nearly overawed, very enthusiastic, though no idea what was talked about, Nick asked about merch, the guitarist went upstairs to fetch it, and the rest of the band was there for a while. Now I felt a little bit awkward and not that good, having joined later. I’m normally (well, sometimes after a few beers) the first to go and congratulate the band and express my gratitude, but here, arriving after, not too tipsy, and surrounded by more extroverted people, the introverted me kind of retreated and kept frustratingly distant, which I have to admit annoyed me because I’d have really wanted to talk to them all. But as the drummer (less obviously popular? or just a positional circumstance) came a little closer, I could at least thank him, which was nice. No photo for me, it all felt odd, as if suddenly our group wasn’t completely a group. Anyway, yeah, more reflections about introverts/extraverts came to me. At least, I suspect Estelle who is more introverted (but also more generally confident in herself than me, I suspect) was not bothered at all about this flurry and activity so was a beacon of calm or something. Nick left shortly after, but a look at my watch suggested I still had more than enough time for one last beer before leaving, so I had a quick one with Estelle, Patrice, Ornella and Stéphane, before the latter two and I made our way out. All in all, it was really all about a good evening in a good place, and one truly excellent band I hope to see again somewhere soon-ish. As an aside, with this place never being truly full, etc, I think Ornella is right, we shouldn’t be coming this early if we want to see only one band. In fact, on seeing all the people on the terrasses in the cafés around, I thought I’d quite have liked to have had a drink there, as I had arrived too early for my own taste. Maybe it’s an idea for next time we all go there (possibly 10/10), although it’s unlikely that we’ll have nice warm evenings like that again (T-shirt and shorts weather it was) before next spring. I managed to blag a match ticket for Jez for the Palace match miraculously on the way back (4 pints at Supersonic, not very big pints either, don’t make you very drunk), so a productive evening too, even if back home just after 1am. I truly enjoyed it, less pressure on Fridays too!
Benefits, Petit Bain 1/10/2025
Context: Where do I start? Benefits released one of the albums of the year, and this one was in the offing long before it was officially announced. In fact, as early as when I saw them in April, Nick had the news they would be playing at Petit Bain on 1/10. It got announced a few months later, as part of just a few Europan dates (some gig not relating to each other rather than a tour, I think), and so a ticket was procured. It didn’t even sell out, but I was looking forward to seeing them on two legs this time, even if still not yet 100% fit, having so much enjoyed that Lexington gig.
External review: I didn’t feel peaceful enough to write the review until now, but handily, the SOV review has appeared today.
Photos: Excellent photos from Laëtitia at SOV. If you wonder about that photo of Robbie, now I can see how it just shows he was feeling unwell.
YouTube: none? Again some filming but such a small attendance, basically ten fans and the rest of the people.
Company: Nick, Alexis and a mate of his.
Pre-gig: The first surprise was learning on the day from an Instagram publication that they were not headlining. The day before, I’d got a DM reply to me saying ‘see you tomorrow’ stating ‘we’re on at 9pm’, which is kind of a standard starting time for headliners. But on the day, that post said ‘Paul Parker 8pm, benefits 9pm….Volition Immanent 10pm’. Now there had been a clue from the start, as the poster from the gig said ‘Gonzaï Night: Volition Immanent, benefits+guests’. The way it was presented might have been unclear, so I’d assumed that ‘Volition Immanent’ was just part of that odd gig title from whichever organiser, it didn’t occur to me that a) benefits could be not headlining, b) it was worth checking what that was all about since, it was clearly not the name of the benefits tour in general. So while I now know Gonzaï is some electronic music French magazine, I could have figured out that the second part was not some clever subtitle. Oh well, anyway, as Nick said ‘it might allow us to go back home later’ (but you’ll see later that’s not what happened), especially as he’d been to a gig the night before already. Anyway, all this is kind of ‘pre-pre-‘ gig. A quick check at Paul Parker told me ‘hmm, interesting but not worth rushing in for’, while Volition Immanent (some kind of industrial goth music perhaps?) made me think I wouldn’t particularly be bothered to listen to them either. So meeting was arranged in front of the venue for about 8.30pm. I thought I might still get in earlier but somehow found myself busy and forgetting time. Also, no physio that day, but I’d been in my first short outdoor run for over seven months, and I was in a bit of agony. I decided to take a more serious painkiller than Ibuprofen this time, but not without checking if it would be OK with alcohol (I’d have to choose the painkiller if not, honestly). Nick was a few stops behind on the metro, and when I got to the venue, I got a text from Alexis who was just there. And so we all got inside, to find the venue not very full at all. In fact, it’s probably the emptiest I have seen the Petit Bain in a long time, if not ever.
Support: Paul Parker. We only caught the last number or two, can’t really say if I liked it or not. It was as weird as I’d had a hint of from the quick listen and style-description, and possibly interesting. The sparse crowd liked it (he is French, we later learnt he was called Paul, but obviously not Parker, so possibly he had some mates in there too!), but with the heavy effect on the microphone, whatever he said between songs felt quite unintelligible (just turn the effects off when you speak, mate? would make it easier), although I glimpsed a ‘one more song, or maybe two’ or something. Anyway, not sure I’ll investigate further, unless he collaborates with benefits, which is maybe not to be excluded if I believe small hints from a later conversation (more about that later). When the crowds fled after this set, it was easy to get to the front, in fact, it felt so awkward I basically stayed there and wen slightly furthe back a few times while the rest of our crew stayed back (there was zero need to occupy the space or keep your spot) before eventually convincing them to move. Laëtitia from SOV was around ready to take photos, but chatting with someone (probably the SOV guy who wrote the actual review?), so we didn’t get to greet until just shortly before the gig, no time for a chat.
Crowds: none. Joking but hard to say. The place pretty much emptied before benefits, and while it did fill up during the gig, I doubt it was full. At the start it felt like it wasn’t any busier than when Been Stellar started at Trabendo a couple of years earlier. All the better for us really. It never got too dense though, so apart from occasional filmers/photographers (well a couple of photographers, plus one very non official guy roaming around filming from time to time with his mobile, slightly more annoying), the ‘front row’ was just fans. I couldn’t move too much, but there was a relatively young black-haired girl with a piercing in her eye that went really mad for the hardest tracks (including warhorse, so she definitely wasn’t new to them), and another older one also doing a lot of up and down jumping on some tracks (turned out she worked for BBC2 – she wasn’t there in that capacity though- as we found out when chatting later), just to my right, in front of Nick more or less. Anyway, so, crowds, not sure what to say, but judging from the actual benefits fans met later, and isn’t that something I said about the Lexington gig too? *checks, yep!* So same reflection comes to me, given their message, if the younger generations won’t listen to them, how fucked are we?
Standing location: straight in front of stage, none of the old schoolers hogging that space today, so absolutely fantastically perfect, you can’t beat that. I had to convince Nick and Alexis to be there as they wanted to stay back or on the ramp to avoid noise overload (they used their earplugs though – mind you, I did have a brief tinnitus -extra tinnitus, I more or less always have a heavy dose now- the next morning), but there was so much nobody it would have been criminal to be elsewhere in the room. Also, there was not going to be any moshing, so I didn’t fear for my foot.
Setlist: It’s not on setlist.fm, but it’s actually there with the SOV review linked above, and I think it’s accurate, from what I remember anyway. And I will in fact start with the setlist mention. As we proceeded forward, Nick had a look at the mixing desk (they generally have the setlists there, obviously, and it seems it was on display before the gig), I reminded him that I didn’t want to see it, that I hate not having the surprise and he should know. However, much to my dismay, he proceeded to tell me, ‘I’m surprised there is no ‘Blame’ or ‘Divide’ ‘. I figured he was clever enough to just be winding me up and either of this tune would figure in the set. But more on that later. After the setting up (nice knotted colourful Boro scarf on Kingsley’s keyboard’s feet), the start was, as expected, with ‘Constant Noise’ followed by the forever excellent ‘Land of The Tyrants’. Kingsley looked to be in super form, chanting/wording with extreme conviction and not hesitating in emphasing the lyrics (‘Hail to the Thief! Hail to the FUCKING Thief!’) and you knew you were in for a proper treat. With a shorter set, I wondered what sort of tracks we would hear, so when Warhorse sounded next, it felt absolutely monumental. The girl to my right went mental, Kingsley was an absolute pile of energy (throughout the set, doing lots of spectaculad an dynamic moves when he was singing/screaming/shouting and not at the decks), and this followed with Lies and Fear, it was a particularly compelling part of the show. Somehow, I felt back all that intensity that I had been amazed by when I first heard them live in 2023. I’m not sure why, if it was because of the (slightly) softer musical nature of the second album, or my own particular circumstances at the time, but I remember the Lexington gig as being phenomenally good (Robbie said later it was), but somehow without that sheer intensity. Missiles brought a little respite, and, well, there’s something I’m confused about, as I felt it happened later in the gig, but as it was an adaptation of the end of Lies and Fear, maybe it WAS just the end of Lies and Fear. Either way, that bit I want to mention is Kingsley adapting the lyrics fantastically about the Gaza genocide, and observing the destruction, instead of ‘what will you do?’ that is in the original repeating ‘WHAT DID YOU DO?’. Honestly, there’s something absolutely vital and spectacular about the way Kingsley expresses himself, both in body movement and lyrics. As I listened to both albums again the next day (I meant to keep that for the post-gig bits, but what the hell, the stream of consciousness always takes me, even if all the elements here have been around in my mind in the past few days rather than just now), I enjoyed Nail even much more than I did when it was out – somehow it felt a lot more listenable, don’t ask, especially as I’ve just spent half the year saying the evolution of their sound was necessary as they may not have been able to survive, with an audience, without that), and a think that strikes me over, and over again, as it did during the gig, was that Kingsley really has a way with words, and I mean not just their significance, but their sound. There’s an incredible quality to the phrasing and the collection of sounds, and, especially live, the variations he offers, being able to switch from some kind of primal screaming to near-crooning is remarkable.
But back to the set, and hang on is that just….? Yes, of course, it is ‘Blame’. Fantastic. And yes, followed straight as well by the no less excellent ‘Divide’ ! No Shakk this time for extra voice and entertainment, but it still sounds essential. So what was Nick on about? We got both. So I told him later I did think he had probably be pulling me leg, but he said this wasn’t actually the case. Given the setlist confusion as mentioned by Kingsley onstage and Robbie later (seems everyone had the wrong setlist), I am honestly none the wiser, but happy they played both.
With it not being a headline set, they had to be selective with the tracks they played, and also probably reduce inter-song speaking, though Kingsley had time to give many words of thanks and love as usual, and we got the Free Palestine speech from Robbie, a little earlier in the set (it was more or less in conclusion in London), and very nicely adapted to the local crowd. And so he starts saying he used to not like the football team PSG, but after seeing the tifo they deployed before a big match about the Gaza genocide, he is now a fan. For context, while I don’t remember the match (and I think the SOV reporter got that particular detail wrong, but maybe I’m the one in error, just didn’t think it was the final, more likely a match in Paris), the PSG ultras had an absolutely gigantic banner deploring the genocide. Following that there was some uproar, calls for bans and sanctions, etc., and I think in the end, and surprisingly and pleasantly, the way it was done, UEFA (or whichever instant, but I DO think it was a European match) declared that it wasn’t an illegal political message or something and there was no sanction. So we joined just a few second of ‘Free, Free Palestine’, not as noisy here maybe due to limited crowds and also not necessarily their crowds, before the gig carried on. Robbie was sporting a nice Free Palestine T-shirt, and there were a few times when he was not facing the stage, and I just assumed (correctly or not, but it felt cleverly done) that it was to display the bigger logo on the back of the T-shirt. Mind you, there’s also a couple of minutes when he programmed the beats before going off for a minute or so while Kingsley carried on (it was well done so there was no disruption to the flow), and now that I know he had a ballooning stomach, I suspect it might just have been for medical reasons (again pure speculation). He did tell me later, mind, that when Kingsley gave him the microphone, he wasn’t quite ready as he hadn’t been expecting it at this particular moment. All this may even have been before Blame, I don’t know, as with many things, I remember elements, most or every one of them, but I’m not always good at remembering order. Might even be some sort of cognitive issue in me, but it’s not new. Anyway, redouble the intensity for Flag and we get to the last song, which, as in the Lexington, is a mash of Born Slippy and something else. Not sure I’m right but for some reason, I seem to remember bits of ‘Everything Is Going To Be Alright’ (from Constant Noise) finding place here, rather than the Suicide cover. Maybe, maybe not, but it’s the moment when, I’m struck with the quality of Kingley’s voice when sort of ‘crooning’. And then it’s all over….after 45 minutes.
Now, generally, if you see a short-ish gig and say ‘it felt like it lasted for hours’, it might mean you got bored and checked the time, but here my feeling was the opposite. I felt like the gig had lasted longer, because I was actually totally immersed in it (very well helped by being at the front, for sure), and so when the music stopped, I’d felt like I’d been part of such an intense musical experience worth more than a 45 minutes fill. And I’d only had a single pint before the gig at this point.
Post-gig: with Nick and Alexis and his mate, we stayed just a few minutes by the stage, while Kingsley and Robbie were clearing it. Nick asked Kingsley if they’d come up for a beer afterwards (they would). In a weird and absurd ‘so what do you say to the artist after the gig?’ (caveat : with the previous invitation, while I’m never 100% sure what’s next, I’d surmised we’d have a chance to chat longer, so I’m not even sure at this stage I even said ‘thank you! or ‘great gig!’), I asked Kingsley as he was still on that stage ‘So…are you top of the League’? and it took him a second and he said ‘YES!’. (shit, just reminds me I didn’t check what they did at the weekend, now I see they lost and Coventry are top, so I can’t send a message to Simon to remark both Arsenal and Boro are top, oh well, hopefully soon again). We moved towards the bar while the band were still taking a few selfies with people in front of the stage (we did one later just outside the bar room by the boat’s railings – wanted to do it mostly for Jez), and so yeah, the ‘one pint plan’ slowly unravelled as the four of us (not with the band now) ordered a round and started chatting about the gig and this and that.
A drink later or so, Kingsley and Robbie appeared just outside, so we went and had a bit of a chat, or a long one, mostly with Robbie in my case, talking about various random things, football teams (Robbie’s a Man U fan, something I didn’t know), football injuries, life on crutches, Gaza, the price of beer, transport, politics, and various places in Europe and in the UK. And obviously about the Café de La Presse and Lexington gigs too. Alexis and his mate went to check the headline act, eventually Kingsley also went down there briefly as he nicely felt it was the right thing to do as they’d been invited onto this bill. Paul Parker came by and exchanged a few words with Robbie (that’s when we learned he was called Paul but indeed not Parker, and I suddenly remembered there was a Man U player from the past called Paul Parker – clearly not the influence in this case!), saying they should keep in touch (hence me thinking a collaboration on a track could sound interesting). When Kingsley came back, Nick went in to offer him a beer and have a chat with him and other fans, and we joined them eventually; Robbie had to absent himself for a bit (he’d been unwell, dodgy water or something), so this may be why, as it took him longer than he’d hinted at, soI got the next round in and the beer was ready some time before he could eventually make it back. I had a little chat with Kingsley indoors, who on seeing my T-shirt actually rememeberd he’d sent it (stating he obviously remembered better when sending somexhere ‘exotic’ ie outside the UK), so I told him about the Christmas card from that year, and indeed he never got, he would have changed address in the intervening months, I think! Anyway we chatted a bit with a couple of other French fans too, then a girl turned up, asked me what my story was, a question which totally confused me (my life story or my story with benefits?), so waffled about Bordeaux, I asked her where she was from, and she said Nottingham, so I made her connect with Nick as she was a Forest fan too. Turns out she worked at BBC2 (Ellie’s the name, doing some of the breakfast shows) and was there with her boyfriend who also works on BBC Radio (6 I think?), anyway, such a nice evening witht lovely people, and somehow, even to this introvert, it felt good to randomly chat with random people, I was in a very good space. Someone suggested we all went to Odeon, which under other circumstance I’d have been very happy to do.But having committed to drive a colleague to work the next day, I couldn’t really go (would have been absolutely incapacitated, especially as an evening when both me and Nick had planned to only have one beer, was already tutning into a 4 ( or 5?) pinter). Nick was unsure but having to work too and having been out the next night, decided to also not join. Regrets? Sure, but at the same time, definitely wise, because I think it’s one of those evenings I could have gone out and have fun and possibly be fun until the morning, but in the circumstances, would have been a big mistake for the enxt day, sometimes I still have to choose to be wise, but it reminded me of the good days of going out in Paris with the Mardous and other gig going folks, some stuff coming back at the moment, more mature but quite fun and etc. I suppose I also have to take into account I am nowhere near 30 or even 40 anymore…. So yeah, home at about 0.30am with the antepenultimate RER and the next day was more manageable. In short, one of the best evenings of the year: superb music, great band, and fantastic people. Go see them if you get the chance. I’ll definitely catch up when they’re next around, that’s if I don’t go and see them somewhere else. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?
Nova Twins+HotWax, Alhambra 8/10/2025
Context: one of these that was a ‘maybe’ initially. When the new Nova Twins was released, I thought ‘hmm, it’s a little less ‘in your face’, might make a good gig without being too much’. HotWax were supporting, which hugely added to the appeal. And Jed was going, which I think clinched it. Not sure I’d have gone if either od these two factors didn’t exist.
External review: SOV has it. I always write my review before reading others, in order to not be influenced, but I will happily note the same remarks on crowds composition now.
Photos: Robert Gil was there, for both sets, support and main.
YouTube: one from HotWax (unfortunately not their best song)
looks like indiegilles was just there for HotWax (so that explains why I saw him where/when I did, see below) but this is an excellent view of the night’s closer:
Company: Jed.
Pre-gig: I’d felt a setback when doing simple jumps midday (despite feeling the best in a while in a morning, with more freedom of ankle movement), so had been in pain most of the afternoon, painkiller time, but just the Ibuprofen this time. Anyway, as the support was a must for me, while we agreed to meet just before 8pm in front of the venue, Jed who’d been golfing in the afternoon in Chantilly had to be a bit late, so I went straight in, after the little queuing that was left to do. Some guy (who was with his young daughter) asked the bounced if there was a support, so they didn’t have to get in already. Picked my spot to be easily describable for Jed to catch up later, and settled there.
Support: HotWax. One EP and one album to their name, plus a recent single. Two girls fronting it (one with bass and occasional backing vocals, the lead vocalist on guitar), and a drummer ticking it all together excellently. They make a good racket, Rip It Out from that 2023 EP was the first hit, something slightly off-kilter, starting a little quietly before exploding to life. The advantage of only two front performers is that can use the whole of the stage to move, and the bassist in particular used the space well. Their ‘hit’ (it probably isn’t, just the most accessible/melodic track? a banger anyway) ‘Strange to Be Here’ is the expected highlight, and we get treated to a new song called ‘Change My Name’, not bad at all. Not a lot of inter-song banter, apart from the usual expression of delight at being back to Paris, then mentioning they’d tour with Nova Twins before and that they were excellent people, people they’d chip their teeth for, nicely introducing the next song ‘Chip my Teeth for You’, that kind of serves as title track on the new album (as it features ‘Hot Shock’ in the lyrics), before finishing with a couple more tracks from this year’s album, ending with the opening track indeed. A very satisfying rock’n’roll performance. Maybe they’ve peaked already, or maybe they’ll find another gear, but either way, they’re good.
Crowds: very very mixed in colours, styles and ages. Even some young children, I noticed one wearing some kind of heavy-duty noise-blocking headphones on the balcony. As the set itself proved, it’s not entirely surprising, as the nature and originality of their music mean they can as easily appeal to hip-hop heads as rock’n’roll headbanging fanatics or something. The ‘old guys’ gang was there, indiegilles and the usual very very tall geezer, probably some others I couldn’t see from my spot. In fact, I only saw ig as he went sideways back from his usual spot between the two acts. Could that mean he was not in his usual spot or ‘on duty’ and why I don’t see any YT from him yet?
Standing location: didn’t want to be anywhere too near the front as moshing in my state was out of the question, so settled for a spot on the left, kind of middle of the room depth-wise. Not ideal or perfect viewing, especially for HotWax where I felt a tall geezer was really hampering my view, but good enough, and I didn’t feel impaired during the main set. As I said, I’d tried to describe the spot precisely for Jed, yet we managede to miss each other initially. I thought I’d spotted him halfway through HotWax, but then didn’t. So at the break when we texted each other, he told me he’d just been there by the fire exit, meaning probably a couple of metres to my left but slightly forwards. It might have been him then. Either way, it would be easier in the light, he was upstairs in the bar, so decided that reasonable sobriety would allow for a beer, and he came down with the round, no problem with spotting each other this time. It was sold out, looked crowded enough, yet, but maybe that’s just because of the law these days, the density of folks at least where we were wasn’t too high, pretty comfortable. Well, the temperature rose near the end of HotWax as the venue filled up and some people starte to push forward (I kept the same spot as it seemed just right for me for tonight), so I tied my jacket around my waist rather than keep it on (I know I occasionally did it in the distant past, but I can’t get the appeal of cloakrooms given the queues on exit).
Setlist: HotWax setlist not available, but supports don’t change their lists, so here’s one from earlier in the tour, and it looks unsurprisingly that it was exactly the same. Here’s the Nova Twins one.
So three albums in (I’d never checked the first one, but they played what seems to be a classic from it, Taxi), what’s this strange new band about? Amy (lead vocals, occasionally guitar) and Georgia (bass, occasionally backing vocals) are the ‘twins’, backed by another powerful drummer at the very back. So a ‘similar’ configuration to HotWax, but an entirely different proposition altogether. And they start with, unusually, the…..final song from the new album, not a favourite of mine, really, but as (very relatively) sedate scene-setting introduction, it will do. The set itself is in fact mostly focused on the new album, most of it is played, and just a few songs from the second one), and I won’t go into a blow-by-blow of the set, just focus on a few highlights and impressions. By the time the very recognisable Soprano from the new album rings (dedicated to all the women in here), you’ve already been through a variety of impressions, it’s not really a mix of hip-hop and rock’n’roll, it is both at different times, but it is neither, in a way they are pretty unique. At some point, I think they are like a modern, black, female Beastie Boys (with less members) despite being English, but then I’ve never seen the Beastie Boys live, just my idea of them. But you can see the appeal to so many different types of people. Sometimes it’s even closer to rap or something at some points within a song(Cleopatra from the previous album?). When I see that Amy has long ditched the guitar for most of the set, I pay more attention to Georgia’s play and that’s where my mind is totally blown. There may be the occasional beat on tape on top of the drumming, but there is actually no doubt that the whole of the music/notes come from that bass. She must use various effects and switch, hell sometimes it seems like when she’s playing higher on the next she uses a different sound, she wields her bass around, playing high notes, low notes, saturation, while moving around and it is actually incredible to hear the sounds that come out of that instrument. She truly is an impressive performer. To the extent that whenever Amy gets one or the other of her guitars on some tracks, I can’t even distinctly identify what it adds. N.O.V.A leads to a sort of call and response from the crowd, at some point using the old left side/right side now routine, and another impressive moment comes on the previous album’s Choose Your Fighter when both Georgia (while still playing that bass) and Amy (still singing, she managed to affix the mix to her chest inside her top before launching herself into the pit) go for a little crowd-surfing, to the delight of the crowds. They do quite a round there in fact, before finishing the song on-stage. Can’t remember which songs leads to a ‘circle pit’ (on demand though, but is that a new thing? I’d never heard of/truly noticed circle pits before DITZ at Levitation, maybe it’s the new-ish thing, like Acoustic mini-sets in the middle of sets – I’ve seen less od these this year). It’s all rather relentless anyway, until the final song of the main set, when suddenly you notice the huge white flowers on the set and Hummingbird, by far the quietest/slowest song on the set is played. Maybe the only one in fact, there are some kind of mid-tempo ish, but this is different. And it helps emphasise how amazing Georgia’s voice actually is. She really sings there, no fast rapping/hip-hopping, and she hits the high notes very impressively. It’s been an hour and it’s been hugely impressive. I expect we’ll at least get Monsters in the encore, maybe as the first song, but in fact we get a highlight of the second album, Antagonistic to begin the encore, before Monsters impressively appears. And the final song? The anthemic Glory that actually opens the new album. Yep, last song played first and first song played last, a very special gig from a very unusual band really. I sure wouldn’t listen to their music all day, I’m not even sure I’d run immediately to see them again very soon (though in the future perhaps), and I expect them to fill bigger venues (especially in Paris? At some point they mentioned France was one of the first countries to really take them in), but the performance was impressive, and I am very glad the factors combined for me to attend. If you get the chance, yeah, go.
Post-gig: as everything was reasonable and it was still only 10.30pm and the pressure at work was mostly off after a bigger start, we decided to go for a beer near the metro stop we were just going to. Reasonable price, so we just had a good chat before heading home, out on the terrasse was still warm-ish enough, so a pleasant way to wind-out, and in my case, just a second beer of the night post-gig was very reasonable this time, I got lucky with my RER connection too, so home before midnight as a very enjoyable evening came to an end.
NewDad, La Maroquinerie 11/10/2025
Context: I jumped on this one long before the album was released, and in fact, it was also sold out long before that. The new album itself (their second) was rather good, probably better than the first in terms of number of good tracks, so while maybe not expecting wonders, I was looking forward to hear what they sounded like live. I’d forsaken a gig at Supersonic the night before for various reasons so I was actually in good form and spirit going into that one. Well, apart from some pain in the heel that came back rather heavily many hours after another short run.
External review: benzine got it just two days later. I suspect there will be a SOV one soon, but we’ll see
Photos: SOV has the photos, so you can see the red and tortoiseshell bass colour schemen, and that A4 sign mentioned in my review too, though you still can’t read it from there.
YouTube: a lot harder to find, weirdly, but managed to get this, which is the whole encore, so good though limited view as the filmer is using portrait mode. And I still can’t work out what Julie says at the very end, but you can see for yourself how thrilled she is! Edit 18/10 : fuck knows why, the video has been removed by the user, so now you can’t see. Hope I can’t find another one…
Company: Benoît and his mate Romain.
Pre-gig: well I was going to go to this one on my own, it being a Saturday after a decent rest, no pressure, but on checking the support I thought I didn’t need to be in early. Maybe 8.30pm. But then, I was ready to go, and despite again not really meaning to drink, I thought I could just have the one pint upstairs if I was early before going down to the venue. I still sent a message to the music group asking if no-one was around for it, and it turned out Benoît managed to snag a couple of tickets from a resell site just two days earlier. And so I caught him and Romain upstairs at Maroquinerie just after 8pm, before they were about to go downstairs. Knowing the support (more below), and them still having beer left, on a fairly pleasant if not warm evening, I just ordered a pint and we had a nice chat and finished our drinks there before heading down at the ideal time of just after support had finished. So the room was very busy as expected, but not crammed due to the interval and we just picked a nice enough spot with a decent view.
Support: LaFrange. I don’t mind her stuff, it’s very quiet and nice music. But having seen her twice supporting other bands (the last time in this very same venue, possibly the last time I was here – can’t remember if Camera Obscura or Deadletter were my previous gig at Maroquinerie), I really had no problem deliberately missing that set.
Crowds: back to mostly white rock’n’roll crowds, but more homogeneous also young adults/students types. Not so many older people like us. But not the youngest like I’ve seen at other gigs either. In fact, as Romain nicely put it later, pretty much people the same age as the band!
Standing location: on the left when looking at the stage, on the edge of the last step to the pit by the pillar there, so pretty much an excellent view, close to ideal.
Setlist: It is already present and correct. 9pm, after some rather unremarkable/unrecognisable pre-gig tunes (I noticed Turnstile’s Never Enough), lights dim, sounds start and the band comes on stage, led by Julie Dawson sporting very short pigtails and a white dress. Back to standard starts here, with the first song being the opening track from the new album, a fairly gentle number before the serious stuff starts with one of the best tracks from that album (one that was part of the EP released earlier in the year already), Entertainer. Truly excellent. At the end of it, Julie says ‘Bonjour Paris’, claims it is their first headline show in Paris (so maybe they didn’t have one for the first album? couldn’t remember if I’d missed it or it hadn’t happened), and just shakes her head incredulously as if she can’t believe how lucky she is to be here. She looks genuinely overwhelmed and excited to be on this stage tonight before introducing the next track, the popular Sickly Sweet, from the previous album. The next tune, Pretty, is dedicated to their home town of Galway, with a little giggle and add on mentioning that ‘Paris is as lovely as Galway…it’s a compliment!’, to hilarious applause. The good tunes follow one another after that, the audience is well into it (some girl near the edge of the stage on the other side displays one of these silly A4s I can’t read it, but you probably can from the stage, no idea if it asks for a song, a pick, or their T-shirt), and they sound absolutely great and better than I thought. Julie plays guitar on most of the songs, the lead guitarist is having a blast, the drummer is perfect, and once more, though in a completely different way from Wednesday, the bass shines. Marie, who is not actually an official part of the band, but a usual touring member, playing a nicely coloured Jazz Bass (now I wish I had the same colour-scheme rather than the black one I just got), is truly leading the tunes, adding some very nice flourishes underpinning all the melodies. All throughout, the band looks happy, Julie in particular beaming from ear to ear. I honestly can’t remember ever seeing someone looking so happy on stage. She does at some point mention the crowds being amazing and states that she doesn’t say that to all the audiences (I’ll never check, some people behind me say ‘yeah, yeah, ‘on ne me la fait pas celle -là’, but whatever else, she really made it look convincing).
But then, as they seem to be playing heavier sounds, rocking hard but less melodically, we hit two of the weaker tracks from the new album (in my mind), that I can’t even recognise (mostly because they didn’t even register when I listened to the album), even the bass seems to disappear or be drowned in the maelstrom of noise, and for the first time I am, actually, starting to get bored and lose attention. It’s strange, because especially the last one is rather soft on record, though after a relisten, I can confirm it is also very boring there… And then they leave the stage, and so this turned out to have been the anticlimactic end of the main set. After just over 45 minutes, disappointingly. But you know they have a few tunes in reserve (they haven’t played Angel yet) so the encore should be good. After not even two minutes, as the guitar sound from the end of the last song is still lingering there in fact, they come back and restart with….Angel indeed, to a raucous reception. I never know what’s a ‘hit’ or not, but it’s probably the tune that made them better known, a classic. How many songs will be in the encore? Three? Well no, as Julie announces the next one as being the last. And so we get the big tune from the new album ‘Rooboosh’, which I didn’t immediately take to on first listen, but is indeed, brilliant and fun, especially live, with all the ‘hate’ shrieks reprised by the crowd together, and at some point Julie saying she’ll just let the audience sing as she walks away from the microphone for a few seconds (the video above as I see it now suggests this bit may have been during another song). It ends in cacophony in the room, Julie says quite a few words, presumably of thanks and wonders and maybe see you soons, but there is absolutely no way can anybody hear what she says under the torrent of applause and hollering. And it doesn’t matter, because she’s still giggling and happy and all that happiness is contagious and so the crowds are delirious too. It’s all over before 10pm but….everyone shouts on long after they’ve left the stage, asking for more. The lights seem to threaten to come back on, one spot is lit but then is turned off again….could they come back? For a few long minutes (probably at least 5), we are left in hope. No music is being played, the lights are not coming on, and after, all, it’s not like they’ve got no tunes left. So maybe, I don’t know, in my case, a little cover would do? (live or in the studio, they have covered artists as various as The Cure, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX). ILY2 would be a massive bonus. But no, a couple more minutes, no sign of anything, people start to leave the room (I can’t remember having seen such a post-gig ovation like that, not as long without a band coming back anyway, and people staying in, meaning the hope for more, from the crowd at least, was genuine, probably also fuelled by the brevity of the set), and hopes are crushed. Oh well, never mind, and they DID finish with two stunners, so maybe were wary of spoiling things. It’s been a good, enjoyable gig, just too short, and looking back at the selection of tunes, they left out some good ones, while, on top of the last two of the main set, playing quite a few not on my ‘likes’ list. Even when they played a song from the Waves EP, it was one of the couple of underwhelming ones. Yet, I have to admit again, I barely noticed any dud in live version, bar the two that lost me. And the sound was good, the music was good, and most of all, the simple joy and happiness of Julie Dawson endured through the evening.
Post-gig: well, as it was early, we decided on going back for another (overpriced) beer or two upstairs. Benoît was feeling peckish, thought the kitchen might be closed, but they said they were still serving until 10.30pm (the joy of early finishes, even though odd on a Saturday night), so we settled at a table. I had had food beforehand so focused on the beer bar a small helping at B and R’s insistence. We had some more nice chat about gigs, London, football rivalries and holidays, while the evening was still nice. I could see from where I was sitting that the band (and their giant accompanying photographer) were coming back up but not quite leaving as their entourage lingered. They didn’t come in the vicinity of the bar, apart from Marie who Romain noticed under a very warm hat and just standing there. So I gave her two big thumps up and bowed down, telling her that was a great gig and her bass playing was fantastic. And as we eventually finished our beers and upped sticks, the band were still loading their big van (no huge tour bus like Nova Twins, obviously they aren’t and never will be as big I suspect) and we walked past, Julie was there, now with a nice coat over her dress and also wearing some warm type of hat/chapka, so I was lucky I had the chance to tell her how great it was to see someone look so happy on stage, and she grinned some more and repeated that the crowds were truly excellent tonight, and so I could walk happily away with Benoît and Romain. Sure, I could have asked for a selfie, but I would have felt like an awkward twat. It doesn’t come naturally to me (even with Robbie and Kingsley, I felt I was forcing myself, just to be able to send the photo to Jez, I even felt I had to justify that to them, but I wanted it out of the way as quickly as possible — I mean remember even with Sam Herlihy last year, I refrained), and it all felt a lot more real and perfect without the photo. If someone else takes a photo, it’s fine, and often looks better. If I ask for a selfie, nah, I feel guilty. Anyway, that’s an aside, I got home safely at about half past midnight after a happy gig. I was also in a lot less pain than earlier, whether it’s the beer or the ibuprofen from before the gig, or natural healing, I’ll never know.
London next. Craig can’t make it, I’ll ask Tom if he’s around, otherwise, another solo one there, but in a familiar environment.
Hope of The States, Islington Assembly Hall, London 15/10/2025
Context: well, unexpectedly, Hope Of The States announced a few dates earlier this year. A very limited three nights tour, after having released a couple more songs. So I rushed to got these too, though astonishingly they didn’t sell out quick this time. In fact, the gig still wasn’t sold out on the day. Beats me, that.
External review: not found any yet, we shall see.
Photos: doubt I will find.
YouTube: more annoyingly given the number of phones, nothing yet, maybe there will be a great full show one like for Cranes?
Company: just me during the gig. Craig couldn’t make it, and Tom had to be a little late, so we only got to speak briefly after the gig.
Pre-gig: I headed in the direction of H&I early enough (my hotel was only two stops away with one easy connexion at Finsbury Park), thinking I’ll just text Tom and grab a bite on the way. When Tom replied he could make it only for the actual HotS advertised starting time (8.45pm), I decided I’d just have a pint in the Famous Cock then head to the venue. So a quiet Guinness was had (this being a busier area than last time, while I tried to figure if there were any potential gig-goers, it was a lot more unlikely, and also it was not ‘the big gig back’ in the unknown, so I wasn’t going to talk to random strangers on the vague hope they’d be going to the gig. So just feeling good, I headed to the Assembly Hall a little after 7.30pm, got in while it was still nearly empty and had a Red Stripe. I was still planning to have a fairly quiet one, and thinking at best I’d have a pint with Tom post-gig, and this time, despite the support being late (they turned up just after 8pm instead of 7.45pm, so I knew the main band wouldn’t be on before 9pm either, better for catching up with Tom hopefully), I stuck to the plan, so once my beer was finished, I just put the (plastic) glass back on the bar, went to the loo, and back to my exact same spot without trouble (the place was hardly busier by then) long before the support actually started.
Support: lotusbliss. From Canterbury. I’d had a very quick listen beforehand and thought they sounded nice. Brothers (one on guitar, the other on keys, third one on drums, the two non-lead also doing backing vocals) and their friend Charlie (sporting a nice afro and a Wu-Tang-Clan T-shirt). They set up their instruments and then….music started. Seemingly featuring guitars, keyboards and drums, but before any of them actually played on their instruments. And for me that confused a lot of the performance. There were a couple of songs that had a sort of fade-out that also wasn’t totally being played live (again the drums showed it blatantly, possibly not helped by the singer later saying that the drummer was just recovering from illness), there was also a moment when the voice seemed at normal level despite the singer having moved quite some distance from the microphone. So unlike with Nova Twins where you could clearly see and identify that everything coming out of that bass was live, however unlikely, here was quite the opposite. I couldn’t even be sure that ANYTHING was live. I’m guessing most of it was, but because of the doubt cast at the starts, it didn’t ‘feel’ live. So what else? The songs were OK, it was nice enough if inoffensive, but I came out of this thinking there was a band that actually sounds better on record than live.
Crowds: mostly oldies really, interestingly, as this wasn’t sold out (maybe because it was midweek, whereas last year was a Friday night, so most of the potential goers would have been people working and not being able to go easily if not local), it sounded like quite a few people where the ones who missed out last year, while the ones who went maybe were not a big proportion. I’m not sure. Don’t think the venue was bigger (possibly the opposite), though it is certainly nicer. Either way, it did get more crowded so must have been near-capacity, but there wasn’t the same excitement/communal feel as last year maybe for various reasons. See below for ONE thing that was missing, but that probably in my too sober (and in foot pain) state I might have struggled to join or enjoy as much as last year anyway.
Standing location: at the front. Not at the fence, just one step back so not on the metal surface. I probably could have but, you know me. So just one slightly annoying thing was the very tall bloke in the middle a few centimetres to my left, meaning my view on the left side was hampered a slight bit, but really it’s just needless filming that would be more problematic than watching or enjoying the gig. So yeah, pretty much perfect this time!
Setlist: I may not find reviews or youtubes, but at least the setlist is here. And even if it wasn’t, I was able to take a photo of it, so wouldn’t be a problem.
So, just after 9pm, lights off, I still can’t spot Tom (I regularly look behind, having described him my position, though I probably undersold how close to the stage I was, I looked several times between songs, but no luck, he explained why later), and the music starts, with text appearing on the background, usual hope of the states doom/humour, starting with mentioning that London is kind of their home gig as the nearest to Chichester, and other stuff. And then, hmmm? No Black Amnesias? That’s a change. What we get instead, with a long instrumental intro before Sam -sporting a more trimmed haircut, and a simple T-shirt, no military jacket this time – takes to the stage (the band is unchanged from last year, obviously a settled line-up) is Angels Over Kilburn, so a B-side (or part of EP, etc, non-album track anyway, but available like all of them now on that compilation released at the end of last year), not one that I had earmarked as very good from first listen, but that actually works very well live, especially as an intro, so fair play for changing things up this way. And then it really moves up a gear with the powerful Black Amnesia/Crack-up at the race riots combo. Incredibly (well we should be used to it now) good start, the sound is excellent (none of the trouble that plagued the very low frequencies for Cranes this time), and what strikes me overall (though the less-excitable/less-imbibed state compared ot last year might help in that respect) is how absolutely sharp they all are in their playing. It’s breathless. Sam starts speaking then, thanking everyone again and saying how amazing it is to be here before introducing one of the so many classics from The Lost Riots, ‘Nehemiah’, with the first opportunity for the crowd to sing along and bellow back the ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ s. George Washington follows (dedicated to George, heh), before we get introduced to the first new song: ‘Ghost Story’. Well, they did play it last year (along with another two to come later), but somehow I had forgotten about that. The thing is, from the three played last year, I remember they were good, not always how good, but this time, again helped by more sobriety, it’s not so much that they sound more familiar, but this one in particular sounds superb. At this stage, though this was noticed from te first song, whether it’s again a different memory from last year or not, I am struck by the background projections, not remembering them from last year, though I suspect they were already there if not identical. ‘Footage’ gets announced next, one of the very new tracks released this year, in fact as a double song ‘Footage/Steamtrain’, but here he only announced ‘Footage’, which is rather good, especially the Steamtrain second part, despite a brief hiccup at the transition meaning that bit had to be very quickly restarted. Black Dollar Bills is the next rousing classic, followed by another one ‘about colour schemes’, heh, The Red/White/Black/Blue. James and Sam sometimes move between keys and guitar seamlessly during songs. Next on the list is the very new song released this week: ‘Billboard Mountain’. I’d not had much time to listen to it/take it in, but have to admit it’s the one that doesn’t sound exciting either live or on record. It baffles me that they released it, as I think it is by far the least enjoyable of the new tunes released or not, a point of view that Tom also expressed later. Minor gripe though, as the next new sound that is played just after raises the bar again. After a difficult start. Sam says ‘I normally don’t do this, but….fuck it, this is dedicated to my wife’, and he starts some intro on the guitar, before the rest of the band joins in, but it sounds completely off-key, Mike’s guitar in particular sounding wrong… So they stop and Sam says ‘well, I love my wife, but my band doesn’t….’, they confer and check and he gets back to the microphone, saying he was the one who was one tone too high and adding ‘and here I was, shouting my mouth off….’. Heh; so yeah, his fault, so they’re ready to restart (cutting some of that intro), ‘this is still dedicated to my wife’, and play a song that develops very nicely after its quiet start. So yeah, Concerned Relative Blues, played last year too, but somehow I am paying more attention to the music itself this year, and I’m liking what I’m hearing. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea if the sound is better, if they are playing better together now (which would make sense one year on, having had more time to practice together), but it all feels absolutely perfect, Mike Siddell and his violin doing an incredible job again, all perfectly tight, I am truly enjoying the sound of that gig. Sing It Out is next, the only song from Left that is played tonight (I’m still surprised they play so little from it, though obviously with the new songs, there is less room for old songs, so gems like My Ves Y Sufres from The Lost Riots are missing too), so we’ll still get no Blood Meridian, not sure why, it was the first track off it and still a truly fabulous song, before the last of the new songs already played last year, more identifiabled as named both years: Ambient Violence. No distribution of Glow Sticks this time, and maybe it’s a little below Ghost Story and Concerned Relative Blues, but still a decent song. The moment/song everyone was kind of waiting for is next to conclude the show: Enemies/Friends, with everyone reprising the chorus at the very least, and then they walk off the stage.
At that moment, I’m in expectation of what happens with the crowds, timidly vaguely amost try to start it, as I think someone near-ish me may be, but no, no linking arms no chanting ‘come on people, keep your friends close, your enemies won’t matter in the end’ together, none of that. Whether it’s because it’s a more sober midweek, not the ‘big comeback’ gig, or ‘people who couldn’t get to the gig last year mostly’, it doesn’t happen. Kind of understandable, sort of a pity, but last year that was so organic and spontaneous, and in a way, too sober, I think I would not have enjoyed it as much anyway. So never mind.
Time for the encore, this year again we get treated with a B-side for starters, this time The Last Picture Show, again maybe not the best, but good enough, so I’ll have that. Next comes what sounds like a more gentle tune I’ve never heard (a new song I think, called Houses on the Hill, short (but then it’s a shortened version, even the Setlist -photographed, not just on the link- says ‘Edit’) and, without a break in sound, leading into one of my all-time favourites, 66 Sleepers To Summer. Superb again. It’s nearly time to say goodbye, so after another little speech thanking everyone and saying how amazing it is to be back, while leaving everything in doubt again (‘maybe it won’t happen again, maybe it will’), ‘this is the last song, this is called Long Waits in A&E’. Seems this could be the closer for times to come, that 10min-plus epic released as a comeback last year, a song in three or four acts that sounds excellent again. No mixing in bits of ‘The Good Fight’ at the end this time (something Tom regretted, which I can understand, it’s not one of my favourites, but there’s undeniably an anthemic quality that would have come with everyone singing the lyrics to that). It’s nearly 11pm (the music curfew time), so there wouldn’t have been time for more than a short other song anway.
Post-gig: I don’t move immediately, hoping I can catch up with Tom, and he spots me just as I’m about to take a photo of the setlist that some girl gets, not without having to scale over the barrier to fetch it as it felt into that gap while one of the roadies was trying to hand it to her. Her companion tells me there are other setlists left, but really, having done that before, I’m not interested in memorabilia as such, it just clutters the place and is never displayed, so I’m happy enough taking photos of setlist if I can, especially when I’m not certain they will be available on the usual website. Anway, yes, Tom joins, very kindly making the effort to stay. He explains that because they were late in arriving, they had to remain on the left side and a little further back. Unfortunately he’s working early the next morning, so no time for a post-gig drink, so just a quick chat as we make our way to the exit (no stop at the merch stand, to be honest, the only thing I’d have bought is another can of beer to complete my ‘collection’ of HoTS branded cans, as I noticed it was a different design), talking about how good this sounded, the new songs, what does the future hold, injuries, and etc. Tom’s doing a marathon next year, for charity too, and has to battle with some amount of tendon pain too right now. We part ways as he has to take a bus while I wander back to Highbury and Islington, so happy to have seen one of my favourite bands again, sounding absolutely fantastic and with some excellent new songs to boot. So what does their future hold? It’s a worry that tonight wasn’t sold out (or at least didn’t sell out before the day of the concert itself, it certainly looked full when they played), but they do deserve more success and a bigger audience (although as Tom also puts it ‘selfishly, I’m quite happy they’re not playing bigger venues), so I hope they can play again, release more music, etc. Whether they will ever have a chance to play in Paris is a different question, but I’ll be happy to travel again to London just for them any time.
The good thing about not drinking (two pints pre-gig is kind of perfect, though in a way, three might have been more optimal) is I had no problem getting up to do my little run in Finsbury Park the next morning. Still some pain mostly after wards, but a good and happy trip all-around.
22/10/2025 Johnny Marr, Elysée Montmartre
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24/10/2025 Basht. , Popup!
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29/10/2025 The Boo Radleys, La Maroquinerie
12/11/2025 Jadu Heart, La Bellevilloise
16/11/2025 Jade Bird, Les Etoiles
20/11/2025 Pip Blom, Petit Bain
8/12/2025 The Raveonettes, O2 Academy Islington, London
9/12/2025 Mew, Roundhouse, London
15/12/2025 Gurriers, Petit Bain
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26/2/2026 Coach Party, Supersonic Club
5/3/2026 Sorry, Trabendo
26/6/2025 The Cure, Marlay Park, Dublin
30/8/2026 The Cure, Rock en Seine, Saint-Cloud