ROCKERPARIS

vendredi 10 octobre 2008

ELVIS 2008 The TCB Band @ Grand Rex Paris Oct 9th 2008

Elvis 2008 Feat; The TCB Band @ Paris Grand Rex Oct 9th 2008
Elvis' french fan club is doing a lot for his fans there is a shop in the heart of Paris near Place Notre Dame des Victoires and they are doing gigs with former Elvis' musicians.

Terry Mike Jeffrey ( Elvis ) & Jerry Scheff ( right )

Last year the gig took place at the Palais des Congres this time it's at the Beautiful theatre Le Grand Rex .
It's quite full but not Sold out maybe the tickets are a bit expensive ( up to 65 euros ). Anyone under 50 seems to have been banned for the venue , almost !
First we have french band Tony Marlow 's doing a few rock covers they are join later by french Elvis Ricky Norton . They did a decent job maybe they should work a bit their english but they are entertaining and it's always funny so see Frenchies rock.
There's a short intermission , a guy on stage is trying to sell us some shit : a cd of virtual duets with unknown singers and Elvis . In the Lobby there's a lot of merchendising to buy , everything you can dream of if you're an Elvis fan ( dvds, cds , books , tShirts ... )They should have done a special poster for this event , too bad !!!

Glen Hardin ( left ) James Burton ( right ) with singer

Then we have the proper concert with Terry Mike Jeffrey on vocals, impersonating Elvis 70's style ( the guy is perfectly fit maybe he should work his peanut butter belly LoL) , Glen Hardin on piano , Jerry Scheff on bass and James Burton on guitar. Ronnie Tutt is excused and Paul Leim is on drums. This is the TCB Band.
The Imperials ( the boys ) are here too on backing vocals so are the Sweet Inspirations ( the girls ); Let's not forget Joe Guercio and his orchestra .
In all there are more than 25 people on stage .

Jerry & Glen

Show started as usual with famous intro " Also Spacht Zarathustra " ( theme from 2001 : a space oddissey ) first song of course is " see see rider" . Jeeezzzz it's like being back into 1972 at the MSG in New York city . Incredible .
The band is on top form and the singer is perfect , his voice is great and he's not trying to imitate Elvis' stage moves at all . Singers doing it are so ridiculous.
The setlist ? well just have a look at the "MSG 72 " or the " Aloha from Hawaii 73". Halfway through the gig the Imperials are doing a song on their own ( a cappella ) then the Sweet Inspirations are doing a couple of Gospel songs ( including Happy days ) Elvis loved gospel music . Both vocal bands sing one together then back to rock' n roll .
We even have the " Elvis has left the building" at the end.
Just great !!!

Complete Setlist : Courtesy of http://www.elvismyhappiness.com/
C.C Rider/That's All Right Mama
I got a woman
Steamroller blues
You Gave Me A Mountain
Never Been To Spain
Big Boss Man
Marry In The Morning (new song)
What Now My Love
Polk Salad Annie
It's Midnight (new song)
I Can't Stop Loving You (with false start)
You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
Johnny B .Good
Terry présente ses enfants présents dans le public.
Bridge Over Troubled Water
---
The Imperials ( Terry Blackwood, Sherman Andruss, Joe Moscheo )
This Train
Sweet Sweet Spirit
The Imperials & The Sweet Inspirations ( Myrna Smith; Estelle Brown et Portia Griffin.)
Oh Happy Day
Le cast au grand complet
How great thou art
---
A Big Hunk O' Love
Just Pretend
Suspicious Minds
Terry'monologue
American Trilogy
Can't Help Falling In Love
" Closing Vamp "

The Imperials & The Sweet Inspirations ( left ) James Burton A/S ( right )

There is an After Show all musicians and singers are coming back into the venue to sign autographs and sell their Photos ( 10 euros each , are they fuckin' mad ? ).
They are nice and chatty to everyone.
Left the building after midnight and they were still signing stuff .

Joe Guercio A/S

Jerry , James & Glen A/S

Video of " You gave me a mountain "

mercredi 8 octobre 2008

AC / DC Black Ice i' m listening to it right now ...

YEAH BABY ROOOOCCCKK''' NNN RRROOLLLLLLLLL !!!!!

My favorite band has a brand new record , OUT ON OCT 20 th

The 1 st in 8 years and i'm listening to it right now !!!
AND YOU DO NOW FOLKS , WELL...
ONLY 30 SECONDS OF EACH SONG :

Tracklisting :
1. Rock 'n Roll Train,2. Skies On Fire,3. Big Jack,4. Anything Goes,5. War Machine,6. Smash N Grab,7. Spoiling For A Fight,8. Wheels,9. Decibel,10. Stormy May Day,11. She Likes Rock N Roll,12. Money Made,13. Rock N Roll Dream,14. Rocking All The Way15. Black Ice .

ENJOY LADS !!!

Here's the new video for 1st single " Rock 'n Roll Train" :

mardi 7 octobre 2008

METRONOMY @ Espace SFR Paris Oct 8th 2008

NB : Albert Hammond Jr @ Elysée Montmartre on Oct 9th CANCELLED

Metronomy Live @ Espace SFR , Paris Oct 8th 2008
Showcase for 300 people.

I've listened to what they were doing and i thought it was complete crap , a kind of early 80's electronic pop à la Bontempi .
A friend of mine ( mathilde ) wanted to see them , so i took her to this private party .
First the band hasn't played a note that this party sucked , no free drinks nothing to eat , tooo bad .
We didn't bother watching the opening band , french electro pop Minitel Rose as Mathilde told me they were bad . But nothing could have prepare me for the next 40 min
Those 3 guys playing their cheap keyboard , one had also a bass and one had a guitar, the third one played a bit of sax .
One of the biggest piece of crap i have ever heard ( with Bob Sinclar opening for Madonna ) at least Metronomy is funny to watch as they have this weird stage moves like those electro bands for the early 80's .
Sooooooooo BAAAAADDDDD. that it was enjoyable .( well sort of ... )

Joseph Arthur @ "L' Album de la Semaine" Canal+ Oct 7th 2008

I've discovered a true artist tonight .
I knew the name but i never payed attention before.

L' album de la semaine is a TV show where bands are playing live their new cd ( at least 6 songs ) in front of a selected audience of 120 people.
So perfect conditions to see a live gig, it's like they were playing in your living room .

Joseph Arthur is promoting his new cd " temporary people" , he was at La Cigale yesterday.
He's wellknown for being an american folk-rock songwriter but his new songs are really rock' n roll featuring a very sexy bassist ( she looks like a model ) and a very sexy blonde girl playing electric guitar. and believe me ! she knows how to play her LesPaul , she has a very greasy sound and knows how to handle a bottleneck .
Songs are catchy and really rock à la Black Crowes for some of them, the others are more laid back but never too slow .
Joseph is on the acoustic guitar ( beautifully painted ) for the whole show, his voice is very low he's a bit like Adam Green less 'fun' but more rock.

Setlist ( see photo ) + 3 other songs ( 1st one had " walking to the city to survive " in the chorus, 2nd had "show a little faith in me" and 3rd is "Cocaine feet" )

Great gig a great discovery for me .

Sorry no pictures for this one as it's forbidden. review by Patrice Guino ( for once ) LoL

Next shows in Paris ...

Hi There

First THANK YOU to all the people who send me messages for all around the world ( including Japan and australia ) about 1) Patti Smith's white night in Paris 2) Stephen Still's Olympia 3) McCartney in Paris for Stella's show and The Fashion week in Paris ( Chanel and all...) Designers are not really rock'n roll but you like it a lot especially the backstage models.
So thanks again .

Next shows in Paris :
EXCLUSIVE : Bloc Party to play the " Album de la semaine" for Canal+ on Oct 13th ( it hasn't been officially announced yet ) .
Elvis The Original cast @ Grand Rex on Oct 9th
Albert Hammond Jr @ Elysée Montmartre on Oct 9th CANCELLED ???
Herbie Hancock @ salle Pleyel on Oct 10th
Tricky free gig @ 104 on Oct 11th
Jimmy Barnes @ trabendo on Oct 16th
James Hunter @ New Morning on Oct 17th
Suzanne Vega @ Alhambra on Oct 19th DO NOT MISS THIS GIG !!!
Richie Havens @ Alhambra on Oct 20th ( yeah i know i wrote "Valens" )

tonight ( Oct 6th ) Razorlight played the tiny Maroquinerie but none of us went to see them because we just didn't care at all .

Free daily newspaper -20 Minutes- has used one of Patrice's pictures from that night to illustrate Patti Smith's gigs at the Eglise de St Germain des Pres on their website :
http://nuit-blanche.20minutes-blogs.fr/archive/2008/10/04/vos-photos-de-la-nuit-blanche.html

Contact : irockinparis@yahoo.fr

lundi 6 octobre 2008

Stephen Stills Olympia Paris Oct 5th 2008

Stephen Stills Live at the Olympia Paris , once again prices are really silly , up to 85 euros , he's playing in Belgium for only 40 euros ( What's wrong in France, why is it so expensive ? )
So the balcony is half empty ( the pit is full ) and it's an all seated concert.
His fans are getting old ...;-)

First part of the show was a solo acoustic concert with the band only for the first song and ... the last song. Stephen is a great guitar player but he sometimes tends to overplay , his voice isn't as good as it used to be especially when he's pushing it a bit. Some very good songs ( see video ) and others a bit boring.
So mixed emotions for this short acoustic part of only 45 min .
Setlist acoustic set ( tbc ) :Helplessly Hoping( with band ) ,Then solo: Treetop Flyer, Girl from the North Country , Change Partners, 4 + 20( video here ), The Blind Fiddler, Johnny's Garden, Daylight Again/Cost of Freedom, Suite Judy blues eyes ( band joined in for the second part ).

Second part was electric and much better , in fact , it was great .
With an electric guitar in hand he's the boss, reminding me of Neil Young's playing for some parts but only some parts. Nice electric version of Buffalo Springfield 's "Rock ' n Roll woman" with extended guitar solo. ( see video here : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=vDfY_ystklM )
Encore was kicking ass with Christopher Stills on guitar for a great version of " Dark Star" later joined by his mother, french singer Véronique Samson for a smashing rendition of " love the one you're with" full of meaning considering what happened when Stephen was married with Véronique.
Here's a link to the video of "Love the one you're with" on someone else's Youtube channel :
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kSaNY-B2M

father & son

father , son & wife

Goodbye to you .

The Acoustic part " 4 + 20 ":

dimanche 5 octobre 2008

Patti Smith @ Eglise de Saint Germain des Pres "Nuit Blanche" Paris Oct 4th 2008

Patti Smith and her two children ( Jesse & Jackson )played live all night long @ the church of St Germain des Pres over 5 sets ( yes 5 sets ) lasting between 40 and 50 min starting at 9:30 PM ( Oct 4th ) last one 4 AM ( Oct 5th ) . Guest was actor Micheal Pitt playing guitar.
She was supposed to read some poetry from St François d' assise but in fact it wasn't that at all.
It was a proper concert from Patti smith.
So don't believe all the shit you read in the press, even this morning, saying she improvised all night , not true at all she did it on a couple of songs no more .
David Lynch was there for the first show .

We had the free tickets for the first 2 shows ( 9:30 PM and 11PM ) which we had collected a day earlier then it was first come first serve for the 3 other shows .
Going there we just thought of going to the first one ( and maybe the second ) as she was supposed to read poetry , seeing what we saw for the first gig we came back for the second and after meeting a few friends there thinking the same as us , we stayed for the whole fuckin' night .
YEAH BABE a whole night with Patti Smith
And we've been to all FIVE shows !!!

Jackson Smith 's setlist ( right )

I'll post a proper setlist for all 5 shows later but she performed songs from her repertoire , she just changed a couple of songs from gigs to gigs .
The first 2 sets were 50 min long ( 9 songs ) , then the next two were 40 min long and the last one 45 min finishing around 4: 40 AM.
There wasn't a long break between sets ( 30-40 min ) just the time to have a quick drink a walk around the church to get back in line for the next one . I didn't see the night passing through .
Setlists including : Wing , Southern cross , Ghost dance, dancing barefoot, because the night, people have the power , helpless , Are you experienced plus a few others including a couple referring directly to the events in the lyrics .
SETLIST Set n° 1 : 2 songs ( one is "wing" ), "grateful" ," beneath the southern cross", "Ghost dance", "dancing barefoot", "Helpless", "Because the night", "People have the power" ( 9 songs 50 min )
SETLIST Set n° 2 : " ? " , "grateful", "kimberly", " beneath the southern cross", "dancing barefoot", "helpless", "because the night"," people have the power" ( 9 songs 50 min )
SET n° 3: " wing"," beneath ...","ghost dance" with guests Michael Pitt and ? , "dancing barefoot","because the night" , "people have the power" ( 40 min ) maybe 1 other song ?
SET N°4 : "beneath..."," song written for this event ?" ," river ?", "ghost dance", "are you experienced", "dancing barefoot" , "because the night", "people have the power" (40 min)
Set N° 5 : NOT in order: " impro + my blakean year","helpless", " a song about St Francis ?", "are you experienced" and " people have the power" ending the white night. + other songs 50 min set . Michael Pitt as a guest on guitar for a few tunes.
She messed up a few songs along the night but as we were expecting poetry noboby cared .
All Shows were sold out and many people were turned down , inside the church Preacher Patti was listened to religiously , people standing up only for the last song ( people have the power ) .
The american actor Michael Pitt guesting on guitars and contributing vocals for a few numbers on the last 3 sets .

With Micheal Pitt ( or is it Kurt Cobain ??? )

FANTASTIC " nuit blanche " ( "white night" or " sleepless night " ) with Patti Smith.

Can you believe the shit ? 5 SHOWS IN ONE NIGHT in one of the most wellknown church in the world in the heart of the Latin quarter on the left bank of Paris.
FUCKING BRILLIANT !!!

Free daily newspaper -20 Minutes- has used one of Patrice's pictures from that night to illustrate Patti Smith's gigs at the Eglise de St Germain des Pres on their website :
http://nuit-blanche.20minutes-blogs.fr/archive/2008/10/04/vos-photos-de-la-nuit-blanche.html

Video to follow ...here :
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=R06kbFa2UX8