Gainsbourg Exhibition @ Cité de la Musique & Lou Reed reading @ 104 Paris Oct 20th 2008

First we went to the Varnishing-day of the Gainsbourg Exhibition @ Cité de la Musique.
Lots of hangers-on as always, awfully crowdy it was hard to see anything,
We spotted Jane Birkin & daughter Charlotte surrounded by so many cameras and security that it was ridiculous, Poor girls they were so scared by all this mess that they made a quick exit by a side door.

Jane ( left ) Self-portrait ( right )

Lots of hand-written lyrics and memorabilia, so that's very cool unfortunately this exhibition is a little bit of a mess, with screens everywhere playing TV shows , movies and images with no explanations at all, the sound of these tv-sets is also coming from everywhere so after half an hour you have a headache.
Lots of very small pictures on the walls so you need a magnifying glass to see them.
When they did this were they on fucking drugs or what ?
Maybe the conditions were not at their best for this exhibition. I'll give it a second chance and maybe some of us were a bit angry after dealing with this vermine PR.
Can't believe the attitude of this bitches.
Nevertheless we had a nice time at the aftershow cocktail but we made a quick exit to the new hype place in Paris : Ze 104 ( a french modern " Factory" )

Sculpture of " L' Homme à la tète de chou" ( left )

Alternate picture for the cover of Melody Nelson ( right )

Lou Reed 's reading at the 104.
It started very late ( 9:20 instead of 8:30 PM ) so we didn't miss that much , glad we didn't see the whole thing as hearing someone reading texts even if it's Lou reed's , it's a bit boring.
The 400 capacity hall was sold-out and listened religiously.
Thanx he answered a few questions .

We went backstage to meet him , French superstar designer Philip Stark was there , french singer Christophe too. we all stayed there for 30 min , had a chat , he signed a few things too. Then everybody went to the aftershow cocktail , a 100 people were already there drinking Champagne. Lou Reed talk to a few, signed a couple of programs and left .

First time I was going to an event there, it's beautiful and huge.

Lou Reed backstage with French singer Christophe

That's it for tonight,many things to come next week including many TV Shows ( with Kaiser Chiefs , the Killers , Franz Ferdinand , Beck , Santogold... ) Private gig ( Jacques Higelin ) and so on ... So stay Tuned

Suzanne Vega @ Alhambra Paris Oct 19th 2008

Richie Havens ( left ) Suzanne on stage ( right )

Suzanne Vega is back in Paris , this time @ the tiny Alhambra.
Needless to say that the show is SOLD-OUT.
As we arrived around 5 PM we spotted Richie Havens going out of the venue ( he's playing here tomorrow ).
This club is brand new , first time i'm going there. around 600 capacity with a small balcony.
Suzanne played in Paris last year ( June 27th 2007 ) to promote her then new cd " Beauty & Beast", i've been listening to her whole catalogue these last few days and this album is really her best so far ...
i don't know if it is because it's sunday , show starts at 6:30 Pm
Still very good looking with her hat ( and without ... ) , this is one of the last show on the tour, no full band tonight just Gerry Leonard on guitars , loops , some kind'O Bass and weird noises.
I love her music and when you have the right songs you don't need 20 musicians to enhance them.
I remember a show at la Cigale a few years ago she came with only a bass player and when i saw that i thought "What the Fuck ?!? It's gonna be boring" No way it was one of the best gig i've been to that year .
With a guitar or just on vocals (with the help of Gerry) that's enough don't need no more as she has some very good songs , she picks up some of her best plus a few from the last cd ( did i tell you that it is very good ? )
See Setlist for details... NB : Song n° 12 was " Maggie May" & She added "world before Columbus" before "Anniversary" ( here on video ) & last song was " Cracking".
Very good songs, a few jokes, a smile and you've got yourself a GREAT gig !!! Isn't that simple ?
After the show, as she always does , she came to sign a few cds in the lobby.

Setlist ( incomplete ... ) + Promotionnal cd signed

"Anniversary":

Yesterday Sony Music France organized a "hunt" in Paris to promote the new AC/DC record " Black Ice" . Hostesses were giving you clues in different part of the capital , to find cds with in one of them a ticket to go and see AC/DC in the US for the first show of the world tour .
Didn't get ANYTHING .

A beautiful hostess in front of 1 of the 6 "Black Ice", here in Montmartre.

Julien Doré @ "Pont des Artistes" Oct 15th 2008

After the sound, the broadcast was tonight on France Inter, here are the images with a video from the show recorded a few days ago on Oct 15th :

Listen to the full show ( podcast ) on their website this week :
http://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/pontdesartistes/

James Hunter @ New Morning Paris Oct 17th 2008

JVC Jazz festival in Paris with James Hunter @ the New Morning in Paris Oct 17th.

One of the last concert for this Jazz festival in Paris , haven't been to a lot of these as there were many other gigs this month.
But what a nice way to ( almost ) end this Fest with James Hunter.
It's not really Jazz even if you can hear this musical influence into his Soul/ R&B , even a bit of the very early rock in a time when it wasn't called Rock and was played mainly ( shoul i say ONLY ) by blacks .
If you close your eyes, this lad ( yes mate he's one of us ) sounds like a black man from the 50's-60's even tough he's as white as ... M Jackson well , a bit more !
Hard to believe that his music was made in the 21st century,
I don' t want to repeat myself so have a look at the review i wrote when he played Canal+ TV Show " L' album de la semaine" in September.
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/james-hunter-l-album-de-la-semaine.html

He is just FUCKIN' GREAT !!!
His new record " Hard way" is getting rave reviews everywhere and he fucking deserves it.

Just listen to a few songs for free on his website : http://www.jameshuntermusic.com/
And this chap is funny too ...

NOW , Watch our video below you won't be disappointed.

Setlist signed with Pass

-Pictures AND review by Patrice Guino-
Here's the title track of his new cd " Hard Way" :

Thanks to Yazid

see ya folks tomorrow afternoon for AC/DC 's "Black Ice" hunt down the streets of Paris.
and don't forget Suzanne Vega on sunday at the Alhambra in Paris.

Jimmy Barnes Paris Trabendo Oct 16th 2008

Jimmy Barnes @ Paris' Trabendo Oct 16th 2008

Jimmy's sexy "little" daughter Elly- May

First we have Jimmy' s 19 year old young daughter Elly-May who 's doing a few covers including Lou Reed's " Satellite of love", Dolly Parton's " I will always love you" ( covered by Whitney Houston too ) and some others .
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=jfW2zVpK_DE
Older sister E.J sing one on her own on guitar she speaks perfect French . Both have stunning voices, and are doing backing vocals in Jimmy ' s Band tonight .
It's a family affair as the drummer is their brother Jackie.

Jimmy' s second daughter E.J

Last time Jimmy Barnes played in Paris was 14 years ago so we're glad that he's back , he's a legend down under but not really here in France .
The Trabendo isn't sold out, where are all the Australian living in Paris ?
We watch a bit of the soundcheck so we know it's gonna be rock.
And yes... IT IS ROCK !
Many people on stage 5 musicians plus Jimmy's daughters on backing vocals and Jimmy on vocals.
We are treated to a Best of ... some Cold Chisel , Jimmy's first band and many songs from his solo career ( see setlist below ). So lots of rock tunes , the 80's were fatal for many rock bands so we also have some AOR songs and a couple of ballads.So a nice balance with heavy stuff and more relax songs . He's playing a duet with his daughter Elly-May .
Jimmy Barnes still have his voice intact , he would have been the perfect singer for AC DC .
On stage He's giving it all for more than 2 hours .
He mentioned several times a fan who is following them around Europe and who's been to every show and they rehearsed a couple of songs specially for him as he asked them to play different songs . How cool is that ?
Another great gig .
After the show Jimmy went straight to the merchendising to sign cds and take pictures with fans
Cool !

One beer please !

Resurrection Shuffle :

See ya tonight ( Oct 17th ) @ New Morning Jazz club for JAMES HUNTER
http://www.myspace.com/jameshuntermusic

Christophe , Julien Doré & Phoebe Killdeer @ Pont des Artistes Paris Oct 15th 2008

" Le Pont des Artistes " on France Inter radio
with Phoebe Kiildeer , Julien Doré and Christophe.

Radio recording of the show that will be broadcast on saturday the 18th at 8 PM
http://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/pontdesartistes/

Each artist performing after one another ( 1 or 2 songs ) followed by interviews.
Phoebe and Julien played 5 songs each , Christophe played 8 songs

Phoebe Kiildeer

Check her myspace page here :
http://www.myspace.com/phoebekilldeer

Julien Doré

He is a french singer winner of French Pop Idol and he's trying to get a credibility.

Christophe

He started in the mid-60's and is a bit of an icon over here in France.

Aftershow with Phoebe & Christophe

Full setlist signed by Christophe to our fellow photographer Patrice

Nice 2 hour recording in this lovely studio, each artist performed nice sets including Pop Idol winner Julien Doré, Christophe and Phoebe Kiilldeer were good too. Recording started late as they were late doing soundchecks , it seemed that Christophe was, in fact late and hard to work with but the most interesting parts were the interviews between songs, Phoebe seemed a little bit lost here , even though her french is perfect ( she's australian ). There was tension in the air at the beginning and with what Christophe and Julien said, it was like being in the Twilight zone.
After the show , we met the singers , they were nice and chatty to everybody.

I'll post videos of each artist after the broadcast on saturday so stay tuned ...

Check the review of another "Pont des Artistes" with Keziah jones.
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/keziah-jones-le-pont-des-artistes.html

Nice day, as i spent, just before going to France Inter, 90 min with American actor Dennis Hopper ( Easy Rider , Appocalypse Now , Blue Velvet ... ) , here in Paris to promote his Exhibition at the French Cinémathèque .
www.cinematheque.fr

TRUST Paris Zénith 14 Oct 2008

French Rock band Trust is playing at the Zénith to promote their recent cd " 13 à table ".
It's a small zénith ( 3000 capacity) and it's far from being sold out , the pit is very small and very close to the stalls which is perfect as we have 2nd row seats so the view is perfect .
Opener "Marche ou creve" ( see video ) is quite good , it's gonna be a hot one tonight ! They followed with a couple of classics unfortunately the new mid -tempo songs are lame and they've played lots of it .
They also have a DJ on stage who is completely useless and outdated it's OK on a couple of songs but on most of it it's boring.
I felt like sleeping for a good part of the gig, the singer Bernie tried to make the audience ( mostly male in their 40s ) sing a couple of times with no great effects . His voice is powerfull but he only sing half of the lyrics when the song is getting a bit fast, shame ...
Even the classics couldn't wake me up at the end of the show including their N° 1 hit " Antisocial" .
I grew up with this band , they were so popular in France in the early 80's but now ...
One of the most boring show I have been to this year .

Video of the first song :

Joan Baez @ Palais des Congres Paris Oct 13th 2008

Joan Baez @ Paris Palais des Congres Oct 13th 2008

It' s SOLD OUT , good news, can't believe she's so popular after all these years and she has a new album to promote :" Day after Tomorrow" released last month .
Of course she's playing the old songs and some new ones ( "god is god" written by Steve Earl, " Rose of Sharon", " scarlet tide" )

This show wouldn't be complete without a political statement , oh ! by the way... she's supporting Obama ( what a surprise ! ) to rousing applause.
she sings with or without a guitar and with or without her band.
She plays a couple of french songs ( can't remember the name of the first one ) and recites one ( with the lyrics sheet ) " Le déserteur" which is a very famous poem in france ( by Boris Vian ) about a guy who doesn't want to go to the war and is writing a letter to the President to tell about his desertion.
Show ended with her classics
Very good show .

Here's the setlist , but i think she played more songs.

Here's a video of the last song played :

LED ZEPPELIN to tour WITHOUT Robert Plant ?

Last news coming from Led Zeppelin .
Jimmy Page , John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham ready to tour WITHOUT Robert Plant and WITH Alter Bridge' s singer Myles Kennedy ???
News is coming from Dee Snider who shares the same management as Robert Plant.
Is that a fucking JOKE ???
Watch the video of Dee Snider's interview :
http://blog.muchmusic.com/archives/2008/10/exclusive_led_z.php

AC/DC First European Tour dates & Bercy

Posters near the "Arc de Triomphe" in Paris Oct 14th

AC / DC First European Tour Dates 2009 :
Olympia in Paris Feb 26th TBC ( ? )

Don't forget that another Australian JIMMY BARNES is playing a club show in Paris on Oct 16th @ trabendo

BLACK ICE European tour 2009 :
Feb. 18 - Oslo, NOR - Telenor Arena Coming
Feb. 20 - Stockholm, SWE - The Globe
Feb 25 -Paris Bercy
Feb 26 -- Olympia Paris ( TBC )
Feb 27 - Paris Bercy
Mar. 05 - Leipzig, GER - Halle 1
Mar. 07 - Dusseldorf, GER - ISS Dome
Mar. 09 - Oberhausen, GER - König Pilsener Arena
Mar. 11 - Bremen, GER - AWD Dome
Mar. 15 - Dortmund, GER - Westfallenhalle
Mar. 17 - Prague, CZR - O2 Arena
Mar. 19 - Milan, ITA - Datch Forum
Mar. 23 - Budapest, HUN - Papp László Budapest Sportarena
Mar. 25 - Frankfurt, GER - Festhalle
Mar. 27 - Munich, GER - Olympiahalle
Mar. 31 - Barcelona Palau st Jordi
April 02 - Madrid Palacio de Deportes
London 02 Arena (April 14)
Manchester MEN Arena (21)
Birmingham LG Arena (23)

All shows are sold out except Zurich, Antwerp, Budapest & Prague ( on sale Oct 15th or 16th ) English shows on sale soon ...

I think i get it right this time ( Only 1 show in London ??? )

Reminder :
James Hunter @ New Morning on Oct 17th
Suzanne Vega @ Alhambra on Oct 19th DO NOT MISS THIS GIG !!!
Richie Havens @ Alhambra on Oct 20th

Herbie Hancock @ Salle Pleyel Oct 10th 2008

Herbie Hancock @ Salle Pleyel Oct 10th 2008
Second show in Paris this year for Herbie Hancock , last time was @ La Défense on June 29th
Here's the review :
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/06/pura-fe-herbie-hancock-la-dfense-jazz.html

The first time he ever played in Paris was in this very same place with Miles Davis when he was young so he's glad to come back here even tough he doesn't recognize it . Nobody would it's been completely redesigned .
He wants to celebrate peace with this concert as the wife of decapitated american journalist David Pearl is in the audience .
Tonight he's playing with a different band ( guitar , drums , bass , trumpet and harmonica ) from June so the show is different and more jazz.
After one hour he has only played 4 songs including a cover of Wayne Shorter ( "V" for Visitors ).
Not really my cup of tea for most of the show, it's hard to say that about Herbie but a couple of songs were quite annoying. He did one written by his guitar player called "17teens" because it has 17 beats . So it was a real challenge to play it ( so he says ).
He introduces his musicians many times and speaks easily between songs . Each one of them had soli including the guitar player that was complete crap.
Anyway... great Finale with Chameleon. for a performance of 180 min .
Could have been better ...

Elvis 2008 @ Grand Rex Paris TCB Band More Pictures ...

More pictures from that great gig with Elvis ' musicians : James burton, Jerry Scheff , Glen Hardin , The Imperials , the Sweet Inspirations + Terry Mike Jeffrey on vocals

All pictures © Guino Patrice

Elvis 2008 TCB Band Paris Grand Rex Oct 9th 2008

Everything you want to know about ELVIS PRESLEY.
Check this French fan Club , the second largest in the world :
http://www.elvismyhappiness.com/
sorry it's all in french ...