Sisters of Mercy @ Trianon, Paris March 05 2011

Sisters Of Mercy @ Trianon
Paris March 05 2011

Post-Punk, Goth-rock, Dark Wave ( or whatever you wanna call them) English band Sisters of Mercy is playing the beautiful and recently re-open Trianon concert hall in the red district of Pigalle, a two minutes walk from the Moulin Rouge, in Paris.

As you can guess most of the audience is in their 30's and ALL dressed in black.
The place is packed though not sold out.
No support band, just a DJ playing some cool tunes ( The Who , The Sparks....) but the poor guy seemed a bit lost on the stage.
The Sisters are taking the stage @ 8:50pm in a huge cloud of dry ice and some back lightning (a nightmare for our photographer, well he wasn't supposed to take any pics tonight but he just can't help).
The sound is perfect and not too loud, no drummer , just a drum machine and some cool "cold" guitar works for some cool cold Goth-rock.
Even if songs tend to sound similar, you get slowly into the music and the beat and by the second part of the show everybody in the stalls is standing up and dancing to their most famous songs.
It was probably Christmas as the singer said a few words and introduced the musicians, they even throw away some baloons in the audience at the end.
Nice David Bowie cover in the middle of the set, "John only Dancin'" on the setlist.

setlist

Even though I'm absolutely not familiar with their catalogue and not really into Goth-rock, that was really enjoyable.
Very good 90 min set.

It was also a pleasure to attend a gig @ Trianon, it's now the most beautiful concert hall in Paris ( the nearby Cigale has always been my favorite) and the bar is just amazing with some confortable sofas & chairs to lie on before or after the gig.
Maybe they should do something for the toilet, beautiful too but not very useful when they are overflowing.

Merchandising & the beautiful bar of the Trianon

"Dominion/Mother Russia" (Courtesy of Madame Mime)

Check our previous review of Sisters of Mercy @ Bataclan on March 7 2009

The Kills @ Fleche d'Or on March 22 2011

The Kills @ Grand Rex in Nov 2005

The Kills will premiere their new album @ Fleche d'Or on March 22 2011.
Tickets on sale shortly in Fnac Stores only.
The show will be broacasted live on the internet by SFR.

Check our (small) review of the Kills @ Bataclan on Oct 28 2008 & @ Arte's One Shot Not on Oct 29 2008.
Check also The Dead Weather @ Bataclan on June 05 2010, @ Cigale on June 29 2009, @ L'Album de la Semaine on June 30 2009 & @ Olympia on Oct 28 2009.
With lots of Pics, setlist & videos

Too bad we just get our tickets for Marianne Faithfull @ Théatre du Chatelet the same day.
We won't miss this one as she told us that Wayne Kramer from the MC5 will play guitar with her for these shows ( Also on March 23rd)

Fran Healy (Travis) @ Maroquinerie, Paris March 04 2011

Fran Healy @ Maroquinerie

Paris, March 04 2011

Fran Healy , lead singer from Travis has just released a solo album and is playing a low key acoustic show to promote it @ Maroquinerie club where Travis played its first gig in Paris many years ago.
Foley Stewart opened the show but sorry we arrived too late to see him.
Even though it's friday night it's not packed, lots of girls all knowing lyrics inside out to every song.

Just to keep the audience interested Fran is playing one new song then one Travis song and so on...
Lots of talking between songs, some people found it boring , I didn't.
Fran told interesting stories about how the songs were written or other funny ones including one telling how he stole the chords from Oasis' "Wonderwall" for one of Travis' song fearing that Noel might discover it and punch him when they opened for them. He only had a "Nice Fookin' chords, man", plus other ones about Paul McCartney recording with Nigel Godrich ( Here on video, missing the first part sorry).
Oh yeah, by the way Paul is playing bass on his album.
For the last half hour he took requests from the audience, ending his two hour set as he started it: playing acoustic guitar and singing without amplification.
Very cool set

SETLIST:
20
Holiday
Writing To Reach You
Anything
As You Are
Fly In The Ointment
Side
As It Comes
Sing
Rocking Chair
Driftwood
Moonshine
Sierra Leone
-Encore-
Love Will Come Through
Closer
Selfish Jean
Humpty Dumpty Love Song
Turn
Slide Show
Buttercups
Flowers In The Window

Fran's gone & Ringo's back

Short story with Paul McCartney + new song:

Serge Gainsbourg "Initiales L G" exhibition @ Sotheby's Paris, March 3 2011

Serge Gainsbourg "Initiales L G" exhibition @ Sotherby's
Paris, March 03 2011 7:00pm

There is a Serge Gainsbourg exhibition @ Sotheby's in Paris from Feb 28 to March 09 just in front of the Elysée, Rue du Fbg St Honoré.
Tonight was the varnishing-day so it's very crowded with Posh people , not very rock'n Roll.
All the pictures are on sale, there are also a few lyrics sheets.
A DJ is playing Serge Gainsbourg's records in the background

Lyrics to "Love on the Beat" / Gainsbourg-Dali

I've spotted french singers Dany and Daniel Darc plus famous rock photographer Claude Gassian & the man responsible for introducing a very young Jane Birkin to a not so young Serge Gainsbourg for the first time ever: Mr Pierre Grimblat, who's a producer and director.

Dj (far left) Pierre Grimblat (center) Serge & topless Girls including Bambou (far right)

Cool party with sexy girls, music, drinks & canapés.

Check our Pics and more from the Serge Gainsbourg's Exhibition @ Cité de la Musique on Oct 20 2008 & our report of the "Melody Nelson" gig @ Cité de la Musique with JC Vannier, Brian Molko from Placebo & other guests on Oct 23 2008

Peter Bjorn & John @ L'International March 2 2011

Peter Bjorn & John @ L'International

Paris March 2 2011

Well... we've changed our plans tonight, instead of going to the other side of Paris @ Casino de Paris to see Maroon 5 we've decided to go to Peter Bjorn & John @ L'International.
In fact we already saw Maroon 5 a couple of times, last time being @ Westin Hotel for a private gig on Sept 14 and we've never seen Peter & Co.

We thought it would be a relax night as it is at the International club.
Wrong ! These Swedish are wellknown so the place is rammed and it's a free gig as usual in this club , we've never seen so many people there.
Hard to get to the front, some arrived at 7:00pm to be front row.
It's hot as hell but the atmosphere is relax, lots, I mean lots of swedish girls.

They started the show at 10:00pm, aren't they playing folk ? Niet
We had a powerful pop-rock set for 60 min, the guitar player is jumping up & down and handbanging as if he was playing in QOTSA. The bass player is more cool asking people to calm down as the pit is getting ugly but we are tough mother-fuckers at ROCKERPARIS and we survived to Metallica @ Boule Noire or Sepultura gigs down the front so we know what it is to fight for our lives on the front row.
Luckily some security guys are here to calm things down.
The band is playing a few new songs from the new record to be out next month including the brand new single "Second Chance" here on video.
Nice 60 min set.
They will be playing the Point Ephémere on April 9

New Single " Second Chance":

Fifi Chachnil + Philippe Katerine @ Carmen, Paris March 1 2011

Fifi Chachnil + Philippe Katerine @ Carmen club
Paris March 1 2011

Band (minus Piano Player) / The Audience feat. French Photographers Pierre & Gilles

French lingerie designer Fifi Chachnil is playing a special gig with French singer Philippe Katerine in a very nice club in the red district of Pigalle in Paris.

The Carmen club is a beautiful hotel particulier from the French Second Empire (XIX Century) classified as "Historic Monument", George Bizet supposed to have wrote his famous opera "Carmen".It is also a former whore house.

We usely don't go to that kind of parties but 1) she's a lingerie designer 2) this is the fashion week 3) it's a concert so... we were expecting lots of girls in underwear, lots of models, lots of free drinks and food.
In fact we had... NOTHING !

"Where are the fuckin' lyrics !"

It was a gig with Fifi singing and Philippe katerine helping out on vocals.
It's a trendy club so lots of sexy girls in the audience even though it's not obvious on the pics.
The music is pre-WW2 french songs style with funny lyrics, this was a bit surreal, well I mean completely surreal, very unrehearsed, they had the lyrics on sheets of paper but completely mixed them so it took them a while to get it back together.
As you can see the singer is a character and acted a lot on stage
Surreal but fun and we had a good time.
French actress Julie Depardieu (who was sitting next to our dear photographer) , she's the wife of singer Philippe Katerine.

Julie Depardieu / Arielle Dombasle / Fifi

French photographers Pierre & Gilles were in the audience with Arielle Dombasle ( a failed french actress and singer but she has a rich and powerfull husband)
Entertaining.

Ringo Starr & his All Starr Band European Tour 2011 ( Palais des Sports, Paris June 26)

Updated March 3: with UK shows

Ringo Starr & his All Starr band @ Palais des Sports in Paris
June 26 2011

Tickets on sale on March 03 at 8:00pm

European Tour as follows so far:
11. June "Norwegian Wood" festival, Frognerbadet, Oslo, Norway
12. June Værket, Randers, Denmark

London Hampton Court Palace (June 17)
Liverpool Empire (18)
Birmingham Symphony Hall (20)
Manchester Opera House (22)
Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (23)

Bournemouth International Centre (24)

26 June Palais des Sports ,Paris, France

july 2: Lyon Amphithéatre Cité Internationale

4. July "July Sounds Good festival", Cavea in the Auditorium, Rome, Italy
7. July Hamburg, Germany
9. July "The Bospop festival", Weert, Holland

Duff McKagan joins Adler's Appetite on stage @ London's Underworld

(c) ? Duff & Steven @ Camden's Underworld

Duff McKagan joined Adler's Appetite yesterday night (Feb 28) @ London's Underworld to perform two GUNS N ROSES songs "My Michelle" & "It's so Easy" from "Appetite for Destruction".

Here's a shaky video from "My Michelle":

Check our review of Adler's Appetite @ Forum de Vauréal in France (with Pics, setlist & videos)

Some GUNS N ROSES for YA with Dozens of Great Pictures, videos & setlist:
Guns N Roses @ Paris Bercy Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Guns N Roses @ L'Arc Club Part 1 Part 2
Guns N Roses @ Zénith Liller

The Duke & The King @ L'Album de la Semaine for Canal+, Paris Feb 28 2011

The Duke & The King @ L'Album de la Semaine TV Show, Canal+

Paris Feb 28 2011

New York state Folk-Soul-Rockers The Duke & The King are playing famous Canal+ TV Show.
We heard briefly their music before going there so we knew what to expect and we were not disappointed at all.
3 guys exchanging theirs instruments for each song and one girl on guitar and violin and all singing lead vocals.
The main singer is having a lot of fun as he's completely waysted on Armagnac (He's mixing it with water ! only americans can do that).
Their music is strongly influenced by Folk rock legends CSN ( Crosby Stills & Nash) & Neil Young (both acoustic & electric) or the early America.
The guys are making you feel confortable as if they were playing in your living room.
Between songs we had a couple of lines from Tina Turner's "We don't need another hero" from the Mad Max movie & Beasty Boys' "Fight for your right". Remember the main singer is a bit... drunk.
They all have perfect voices including the girl with her Rickie lee Jones' high & clear voice.
I thought there would be more soul influences into their music after listening to songs on their myspace but that's allright their were SO GOOD we didn't miss that.

Probably one of the best session we had for a long time @ L'Album de la Semaine.
And a pleasure to discover such a great band.

Jeff Beck to record an album with Rod Stewart

Jeff Beck confirms that he's to write new material with Rod Stewart:
"I saw him today, I've just come straight from a meeting��, he said. "He's dead serious as far as I could gather and therefore I'm serious. Because he's got a reputation and I've got a reputation, who wants to mess up? Nobody. Neither of us. So we're gonna choose material very carefully"
Source: Planet Rock

They did record together with Ronnie Wood & Rod Stewart in the late 60's as The Jeff Beck Group