The killers @ Nouveau casino Paris Oct 28th 2008

Difficult choice tonight : the Kills and the Killers are both playing in Paris on the same night.
We chose the Killers simply because we saw The Kills twice already this year.

The Killers are in Paris for a private gig at the Nouveau Casino to promote their new cd " day & age" . They did french tv show Taratata yesterday .
I've heard some funny review of their new cd , hope it's better than their second album that was very disappointing to me.

The best way to judge a band is on stage and the Killers are doing fine. Brandon is funny with one of his band always in the air, the bass player still doesn't smile at all...
They've played 5 new songs that seem to be quite good ( except for one with a disco beat ),
for a little bit more than an hour ( 15 songs ) and did a good show.
The audience was quiet , the nouveau casino was far from being full as there were lots of space including down the front.
Enjoyable evening but nothing to wake the dead and as we were out by 9:45 we rush to the nearby Bataclan to see the end of The Kills.

Sorry NO picture for this event as Patrice didn't really bother taking any, we recorded a couple of videos but the sound is so bad ( we were in front of the bass player so there's too much bass on it ) that we honestly can't upload anything.

Kaiser Chiefs @ " L' Album de la Semaine " Paris Oct 27th 2008

After playing a couple of songs on Taratata on saturday and sightseeing at the Trocadero on sunday.
Kaiser Chiefs are starting this week by a gig in front of 120 people at " L' Album de la semaine " for Canal+.
As usual for this show bands are playing some songs from their new cd plus a couple of hits .
KC are always stunning on stage in front of a wild audience , when they're playing radio or tv shows it's different Ricky has to concentrate more on his vocals and is not fooling around as much as on a real stage.
Anyway this is a special treat as we are hearing the new songs for the first time live and they seem to be as good as the old ones , with some easy to remember melodies and sing-along choruses.
They did the first song twice as Ricky messed up the lyrics ( he wrote them on the setlist to get'em right , see below ) and they added " I predict a riot " at the end.
Very nice set.
Afterwards they went to Taratata to see The Killers ( they're playing a showcase tomorrow at the Nouveau Casino.

Led Zeppelin... without Robert Plant ( 2 )

A couple of weeks rumours that ZEP was ready to go on tour without Plant AND with unknown american singer Myles Kennedy was all over the news . I mentionned it :
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/10/led-zeppelin-to-tour-without-robert.html

A friend from England sent me this :
"Rumours that Led Zeppelin are threatning to go on tour without Robert Plant are increasing with Roberts refusal to get involved.Rehearsals with various singers in Putney now appear to include Aerosmiths Steven Tyler.Hard to believe that one but todays Sunday Mail say he spent a week in London with the band and struggled a bit. "

And here too :
http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/tyler%20takes%20over%20from%20plant_1084706

Just hope all this, is a fuckin' JOKE .

Jean- Claude Vannier @ Cité de la Musique Paris Oct 26th 2008

Jean-Claude Vannier ( left )

Jean-Claude Vannier is the composer and the arranger behind masterpiece " Melody Nelson" for which Serge Gainsbourg wrote the story and the lyrics .

As part of a Serge Gainsbourg week-end the Cité de la Musique is playing movies and documentaries and is inviting Jean -Claude Vannier for a conference.
A journalist is asking him a few things about his work as a composer and arranger for different french artists and for soundtracks.

He's introduced as an introvert but he's funny and chatty, it's a very good way to know him better and his work but " Melody Nelson" is not really mention here ( it's only two months of his life and he worked with Serge for only a couple of years ) .

We met him afterwards even though a bitch from the Cité de la musique tried to kick us out.
The guy is really nice and the funny thing is that he watched my video feat. Brian Molko on YouTube from the concert.
The show took a long time to prepare and a LOT of money but no one made any cash on it and the artists did it for free.
The weirdest thing he told me was that Big Jim Sullivan who played hundreds of sessions in the 60's ( he was as well known as Jimmy Page on the circuit ) and who's playing on " Melody Nelson" played soli for the Rolling Stones ( it's highly possible as they've always used sessionmen on their records throughout their career ) and THE BEATLES at the beginning .
Big Jim Sullivan playing guitars on Beatles records without anyone noticing it for 40 years, I just CAN'T BELIEVE IT !!!
So Jean-Claude if you're reading this , tell me where you get that from ?

Contact : irockinparis@yahoo.fr

Kaiser Chiefs , Franz Ferdinand , Keziah Jones... @ TARATATA Oct 25th 2008

French tv show TARATATA @ Plaine St Denis just outside Paris with many good bands tonight :
1st recording : Keziah Jones, Franz Ferdinand , Katerine , Sporto Kantes , Miliana
2nd recording : Kaiser Chiefs , Amadou & Mariam , Grace , Alister .

Katerine + Franz ferdinand ( left ) Setlist but not in the right order.

Taratata is a french Jools Holland, there is only one set , a band is playing a song or two and while technicians are changing the set up there are interviews.
First on is Keziah Jones playing his new single and then he's playing a couple of minutes of a few songs on his own ( see setlist above ).
I talk to the bass player and he told me that they were going on tour straight after this tv show, the bus is park outside. Hugghhh !!!
Then Franz Ferdinand with " Hulysees", Katerine is doing a duet with them on Blondie's "Call me", Katerine's english is crap but he's a funny bloke so that's ok; The interview with them is also very funny.
French band Sporto kantes are playing their hit song then we have unsigned band Miliana.

There is a 5 min break and they are recording the second show.
Went backstage to meet my friends , Franz Ferdinand & Kaiser Chiefs dressing rooms are next to each other. We don't see FF but the guys from KC are fooling around and playing football, these guys are really nice and you can see that they are really enjoying themselves, and they FUCKING ROCK .

Saw the second recording with the technicians and a few VIPs , big mistake , we are far from the stage with cameras in front of us and the sound is low and shitty. the best seats are with the audience in the stalls.
Kaiser Chiefs are really good with their single but the second song , a cover of MGMT is crap. Grace is a gorgeous woman but her music is really average nevertheless she did a good version of Stevie Wonder's " I wish " with Amadou & Mariam. There is also a stunning black girl doing backing vocals with her.
Last artist to perform is french singer Alister with his latest single ( a good pop rock song ) he then plays a very good cover of " A whiter shade of Pale" on piano with a clarinet (? ) player.

Back to the backstage area for a drink ( or two ) it's past midnight and it's time to go home.
Once again , very nice evening.

More TV shows ( and proper gigs )are coming this week :
Oct 26th Bashung @ Elysée Montmartre .
Oct 27th Kaiser Chiefs @ Album de la semaine
Oct 27th The Killers , Vampire Weekend + others @ Taratata
Oct 28th The Kills @ Bataclan , the Killers @ Nouveau Casino ( Private show ), Beck , Katie Melua + others @ One shot not tv show; The Virgins, Snow Patrol , James Morrison + others @ Taratata .
Oct 29th : Franz Ferdinand , Santogold , Alena Diane + others @ One Shot Not ; Razorlight , James Hunter + others @ Taratata.
Busy week see ya there ...