Anna Calvi + Le Prince Miiaou + Dum Dum Girls @ Olympia, Paris Nov 07 2011 Inrocks festival

Anna Calvi + Le Prince Miiaou + Dum Dum Girls + Theodore Paul & Gabriel
@ Olympia, Paris Nov 07 2011 Les Inrocks festival

setlist Dum Dum Girls

Dum Dum Girls were already playing when we made our way into the Olympia, first surprise the balcony is quite empty and the pit downstairs is far from being full.
The audience is very different from the one @ La Cigale for the other shows of Les Inrocks festival, much more male orientated and not a lot of teenagers , people are more in their late twenties early thirties.

Dum Dum Girls & Merchandising

We already saw Dum Dum Girls for a Black Session a few months ago and we haven't change our mind, the girls are beautiful and have sexy clothes for this gig but the music (60's influenced psyche-pop-rock) is very average.

Le Prince Miiaou

Then we have French band Le Prince Miiaou, we saw them a few days ago @ Fnac Montparnasse for a showcase. There are songs in French and others in English for this experimental indie rock band.
Cool set even though the female singer seems petrified of playing live.

Theodore Paul & Gabriel

The Olympia is now full for the headlining act but before Anna Calvi we have a French quartet with 3 girls in their early twenties, They've just played 3 songs in front of the curtain during the intermission. They may be playing for only 10 min but you can see (& hear) these chicks have talented skills for writing very good folk-rock songs ( Johnny Cash are you there ?) and we love the tiny hoarse voice of the blonde singer.

Anna Calvi & Friends

Last but not least is Anna Calvi, we've seen her many many times playing gigs in Paris since our first time when she opened for Nick Cave's Grinderman @ Cité de la Musique in Oct 2010.
She's playing always the same set but it's still very hypnotic, the guitar playing is perfect so is her voice
65 min show with an encore with two songs (see setlist for details) and perfect set as usual.

setlist & Merchandising

Check her lastest shows in Paris @ C'est Lenoir in January, @ L'Album de la Semaine a couple of days later, @ Nouveau casino in Feb, @ Cité de la Musique opening for Grinderman in Oct 2010 + Le Trianon on April 22 2011 + Black session in Jan 2011 + Fnac Montparnasse in June 2011 + Rock en Seine August 2011

Daniel Darc @ Fnac Ternes, Paris Nov 07 2011

Interesting meeting with Daniel Darc, he's promoting the release of his new album, it started 20 min late but we were late either so for once we won't complain.
He talked about his new album and the things he like music , cinema...
Very cool 40 min interview.

Kasabian live video from showcase @ Bus Palladium, Paris Oct 20 2011

Kasabian played a showcase @ Bus Palladium club in Paris on Oct 20 2011, we didn't go as we had to attend the vernissage of "Punk Attitude" exhibition @ Galerie Renoma and then went to see Peter Murphy @ Fleche d'Or but here's the video, enjoy ! :

Konny Steding exhibition @ Galerie Moretti & Moretti, Paris

Konny Steding exhibition @ Galerie Moretti & Moretti, Paris
6 Cour Bérard 75004 near Bastille
Until Nov 19 2011

You've already seen some of her street art gracing the pages of ROCKERPARIS as we already spotted her work on the streets (walls) of Paris before.

We went to her exhibition in Bastille, the Galerie is huge with lots of stencil paintings on vinyl, trash cans, paper or canvas.
There are prints either.

Many with the famous face of the girl crying blood, you can spot her in Paris @ Carrefour Bucci (75006), in Le Marais quarter (there is one huge on the wall of the swimming pool Rue du Renard 75004) and probably some other places.
Very cool art even though some of the prices are a bit silly.
Prices are ranging from 150 euros (for a simple print) to 19 000 Euros for the biggest painting (1,50 m X 6m)

details of some the paintings

Friendly Fires + Miles Kane + Foster the People @ Cigale for Les Inrocks festival, Paris Nov 04 2011

Friendly Fires + Miles Kane + Foster the People @ Cigale for
Les Inrocks festival, Paris Nov 04 2011

Foster The People /setlist

We arrived just in time for Foster the People, The Cigale is rammed most of them female teenagers. This show is one of the few that is sold-out and it was sold-out a long time ago.
This band is welcomed by those kids like the new messiah, hard to get into the music at first as it's another band playing some dance-rock music and we hate that shit but I have to admit that they have some cool up-tempo songs and the floor of the theatre is like a trampoline as the pit is jumping up and down.
Not really our cup of tea but entertaining set.

After an intermission, the artist we came here for: Miles Kane (former The Rascals & Last Shadow Puppets).
Third time we're seeing him as a solo artist, first time was at l'Album de la Semaine for Canal+ and last time was @ Rock en Seine Festival, each time he did a very good set.

Miles Kane

Don't know what happened to him tonight but he probably took some uppers before the show or maybe he just watched the show of Foster the People thinking he had to do a better performance.
Usually he's always cool and smiling but tonight Miles was completely enraged for the whole gig. I've never seen him like this before.
No need to tell you it was rocking like never before.
We had two treats : first a cover of Jacques Dutronc in English ("Le responsable" click for original version) and second a new song "Woman' s Touch" here on video
Great gig.

Check our reviews of The Rascals @ Maroquinerie on Dec 1 2008
& The Last Shadow Puppets @ Olympia on August 26 2008 & @ Album de la Semaine for Canal+ the day after

Friendly Fires

Another of those Dance-rock band is closing tonight well in fact it's more disco-funk -rock with brass and a crazy singer dancing like a idiot for the whole set and making the show.
He sung a whole song crossing the pit from the stage to the back.
They also have a very funny drummer who really looks like a young Brian Wilson ( Navy sweater included) banging his drums like a maniac for the whole gig as if he was at the Rio de Janeiro carnival. Hard to believe he could drum like this as ALL the songs have a very fast beat.
Once again not our drug of choice for the music but entertaining.

Pass sheet & Audience

Le Prince Miiaou @ Fnac Montparnasse, Paris Nov 04 2011

showcase of Le Prince Miiaou @ Fnac Montparnasse, Paris Nov 04 2011
4:00pm

Patti Smith @ Eglise St Eustache, Paris Nov 04 2011

Patti Smith @ Eglise St Eustache, Paris Nov 04 2011

Long queue on the pavement of Les Halles quarter in front of the Church St Eustache to attend Patti Smith's acoustic show.
All the VIPs got in by a side entrance and before normal punters so they had the best seat down the front, but everybody is seating on the very uncomfortable little chairs of the church.
I've spotted lots of journalists and people from the musical business in the audience.
No need to tell you that this special gig was sold-out ages ago.
It's not the first time that we're seeing Patti Smith playing in a church as she did 5 sets from 9:30 pm to 4:40 am on the "Nuit Blanche" ( White night or sleepless night) of 2008 @ Eglise de St Germain des Pres (click for review) and we went to ALL of them.

The Priest in charge of the church introduced her ( He's English ?!?) but we had to wait another 15 min before she appeared on the tiny stage with her daughter Jesse on piano and Lenny Kaye on acoustic guitar.

She started the concert by reading a poem "Tiger" and then the show started with "Wild Leaves".
The audience listened religiously, you could hear a pin drop. The Sound wasn't too loud, you can't play loud in a church because of the echo and the lightning was ... not very bright so... sorry for the lousy Pics and video.
Before each song she took the time to introduced it or dedicate it to the ones who left us too early ( Robert M, Fred Sonic Smith) or talked about french poets and writters like Rimbaud or Genet.
Lenny Kaye played a song on his own, while Patti was seating on the side of the stage, for his uncle who died recently.
She played some of her well-known songs (see setlist for details) but also did some songs that she's rarely playing like "Cash" or Bob Dylan's "Spanish Boots".

She had to re-start "cash" four times as she messed up the beginning of the song, she was reading the lyrics on a paper, but she took it with a laugh AND a good word :"Robert Mapplethorpe was the perfect artist, Frederick was the perfect man, an un-perfect woman stands before you celebrating them" (Laughs).

She kept her more famous songs for the end with "Because the Night" (Here on video) and first and only Encore "People have the Power".
Great short set (75 min).

Handwritten lyrics to song "Cash" (left) & William Blake Poem (right) / Setlist (far right)

"Because the night":

More Patti Smith @ L'Arbre à Lettres on Oct 21 2010 for an acoustic performance to promote her book & @ Virgin Megastore on Oct 20 2010.
Patti Smith "Unplugged dreams" @ Cité de la Musique Paris Jan 20 2011
Patti Smith @ Cité de la Musique "Picturing Robert": Poetry & Music Paris Jan 18 2011
Patti @ Fondation Cartier in 2008 & in June 2009