MADONNA @ Stade de France Sept 20th 2008

MADONNA for her first show @ Stade de France

All pictures by PATRICE GUINO ( Thanks mate ) .

As you can see the stage set up is absolutely great ...

But the music is reaally crap ...

Most of the time she's miming over tapes for the vocals

I don't know if she even play the guitar for real...

Nevertheless the show is STUNNING !!!

It's something to see even if you think that her music sucks ...

The end

Enjoyable gig !

I won't mention Bob Sinclair opening , it was the biggest piece of shit i have ever heard.
This french DJ is supposed to be one of the best , Complete crap to me .

Madonna SDF tonight ....

Hi
i may go to Madonna tonight , i know it's not really rock n' roll but it might be funny ...
No Babyshambles on Monday in Paris ( scroll down a bit to know more about it ... )
Look at this , isn't that great :

Chambord castle on the Loire ( only this weekend )

JIMMY BARNES to play in Paris on Oct 16th @the Trabendo .
he's the most well-known australian rocker ( with AC/DC ) He's an Icon down under.
He never plays in France so it's now or never .
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=187348170

TV ON THE RADIO is playing @ " L' album de la semaine" on Sept 29th ( private TV show ) and the Nouveau Casino in Paris on sept 30th.

TRICKY is playing a free show in Paris @ Le 104 on Oct 11th .

James Hunter @ New Moning club on Oct 17th

--SUZANNE VEGA @ L' Alhambra in Paris on Oct 19th--
she's also playing a festival In MEAUX ( 50 Km outside Paris on Sept 26th. )
http://www.myspace.com/suzannevega
Don't miss her she's great live and her last album is fantastic
She's also very nice with her audience as she's always meeting her fans after the show !

The Lemonheads + The Futureheads + Tahiti Boy @ La Maroquinerie Paris Sept 18th 2008

Breaking News :
UPDATED SUNDAY 20TH : THE BABYSHAMBLES -WON'T - be in Paris on monday ( for "le grand journal" ) as Adam is doing a DJset in england that day. A friend of mine contacted him today and he said there was nothing planned in france. Another bullshit coming from Claponline ( they're booking the audience for tv shows in france ) . It's not the first time these Bastards are lying like this. Last year the Babyshambles were supposed to play a tv show and they cancelled it 2 days before but in order to make sure the audience turn up for the show they fucking lie to everybody telling that they were still on, even when people were queuing to get into the recording studio "the babyshambles were still on". Bastards.

Razorlight will Play La Maroquinerie on Oct 6th , tickets on sale only at the venue.


Indie Rock Party @ La Maroquinerie with the return of Evan Dando and his Lemonheads, the english power punk of The Futureheads and French pop band Tahiti Boy & The Palm Tree family ( that's their full name ).

Tahiti Boy & ...

First on are The Tahiti Boys , very nice pop band 70's influenced ( a flute player à la Jethro tull ).
they've done a very good job indeed opening for a punk band.
Their pop was well received among the half empty club.
The Lemonheads might be back but it's far from being sold out .

The Futureheads

Then we had The Futureheads , they were in Paris a few months ago to play a Black Session , i wasn't convinced at the time .Tonight they really succeeded . Their power ( post ) punk is lively.
They are enjoying themselves and so we are. they've played many songs as they're very short ( 2 min max ).

Evan Dando ( Lemonheads )

Last was the headliner The Lemonheads , Evan dando the leader was the media darling 15 years ago and all the girls were crazy about him. I hardly recognised him when he came on stage i though it was a roadie: iron Maiden t-shirt , torn up jeans and dirty sneakers with holes . HuuGGHH !!!
He started playing and it was hard to believe : his guitar playing is approximative , he's struggling with his voice as soon as he starts pushing it a bit and he's always looking up at the ceiling. even stage disposition is quite strange : the bass player is in the far right , drummer as usual in the back and Evan his on the far left . The setlist is in the middle in front of the drums ( what for ? ).
He was most of the show in the dark ( ? ).
He played a few songs on his own but the poor chap is just a shadow of what he used to be.
So sad... people were leaving before the end.
It was like watching a rehearsal before the tour ...

Here's a video :



contact :
irockinparis@yahoo.fr

KEZIAH JONES + Mina Agossi & Ji-Mob @ "Le pont des artistes " France Inter Sept 17th

The Interviews

"Le Pont des Artistes " on France Inter.
2 hour long radio show featuring : Keziah Jones - Mina Agossi - Ji-Mob
Needless to say that we came only to see Keziah Jones ( it's my 5th show for this artist this month ) but it's always interesting to discover other artists .

Check the other Keziah jones reviews ( and videos ) here :
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/keziah-jones-metro-auber-paris-sept-6th.html
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/keziah-jones-beaubourg-center-paris.html
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/keziah-jones-metro-montparnasse.html
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/keziah-jones-rene-miller-metro.html

Keziah started by playing " nigerian wood" then he was interviewed, then we had Mina Agossi who's a Jazz female singer. Her band consist of just a double bass and a drummer , she's doing the rest on vocals and she's quite impressive.
There are interviews between each number.
Last artist to come onstage was Ji-Mob ( a french soul/jazz/electro band ) with as a leader a flute player . The female black singer's georgous ( see picture ).
So, one song ( or two ) followed by a interview and so on for the next two hours .
Each band playing after one another. See full setlist below.

Mina Agossi did a fantastic version of Hendrix ' "third stone from the sun". Remember she has to do all the melodies with her voice Stunning !
Keziah ended the show with several songs but
1st ) he didn't play all the songs what were planned on the setlist and his set was plagued by technicals problems
2nd ) he cut short a couple of songs .

Anyway good show even if there were too much talking between songs ( technicians had to set everything back for each band ).
Nice to see Keziah Jones in such good conditions . This is the same studio as for the Black session.
Nice to discover 2 artists Mina Agossi ( She's playing the New Morning in october ) & Ji-Mob .

Mina Agossi ( left ) Ji-Mob ( right )

setlists

"le pont des artistes" link :
http://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/pontdesartistes/
The podcast will be available after the broadcast ( on saturday ) for a week.

Keziah Jones video here :


contact :
irockinparis@yahoo.fr

James Hunter @ " L' album de la semaine " Canal+ Paris Sept 16th 2008

Back to La plaine St Denis just outside Paris this week to see James Hunter performing for Canal+ tv show " L' album de la semaine" in front of 120 people.
I've been listening to his songs on his Myspace page ( link below , scroll down the page ) and i really like what he's doing .
I 'm quite excited to see him live , seeing a band on stage is always the ultimate test.
Some are failing ( like The Virgins ) and many others are successfull.
He has 5 musicians with him on organ , double bass , drums and two saxophones ( one tenor & one baritone ).
James is singing and playing the guitar .
His songs are different from one to another, some songs sound like 60's northen soul, others are more Jazz : à la Georgie fame and others are a bit Ska but there's always a common point : Quality.
Hard to believe he's an english whitey when you listen to the music , the chap could (should ? ) be black with his soulfull voice . Oh my god Garnett Mimms is still alive !!!
His music is totally american and the way that bloke speaks between songs is totally english so the mix of both is quite funny to hear
And he has a sens of humour.
Very good gig indeed.
It is so nice to hear something different than the usual 3 chords Rock' n Roll .

This the setlist : he re-did "Carina" ( after "Believe me Baby" ) and played an extra song " No smoke without fire " . So 10 songs for tonight.

Don't miss him He's playing Paris' Jazz Club the New Morning on October 17th

Sorry no pictures or video for this one ( it's verboten ).

Richard Wright ( Pink Floyd )dead at 65 from cancer

SEPT 16TH : BREAKING NEWS AND VERY SAD NEWS :

IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT WE BRING YOU THE NEWS THAT

RICHARD WRIGHT

KEYBOARD PLAYER FROM PINK FLOYD DIED A FEW HOURS AGO IN LONDON.
HE WAS 65

Our deepest condolences to his family and friends

Richard rehearsing with the Floyd for Live 8 in London , the day before the show.

July 1st 2005

Reformed PINK FLOYD with Richard @ Live 8

July 2nd 2005

Richard with David Gilmour @ Olympia in Paris
March 16th 2006

A big thank you to Patrice Guino for digging up in his archives so quickly and so early in the morning. i know he's very sad he's a big Pink Floyd fan and he met Richard a few times.

MERCURY REV Black Session " C'est Lenoir " Paris Sept 15th 2008

MERCURY REV a playing a late night promotional radio show for France Inter.
It's a Black session : live gig in front of 250 people in a studio which looks live a small movie theatre with very confortable seats.
We arrived just in time at the radio( 10 pm ) but we missed a couple of minutes from the first song.
They are here to promote their, soon to be released ( sept 30th ), new album "Snow flake midnight " .
This show is broadcasted live for an hour so we have a little surprise for you here.
The music is a bit like Janes Addiction meets Pink Floyd .
Some songs are really psyche and others are really heavy.
I don't know if i'm getting old but it's quite loud .
No breaks between songs as they're playing them one after another . So if you are not familiar with them it's as if they were playing one song for 75 min.

The singer is leaving his lyrics to the max and is sometimes funny to watch with his leg in the air ( a bit like that chap from Jethro tull )he also has some funny grins on his face .
Nice show but you really have to be into it to fully appreciate .
We were lucky to get 3 songs after the broadcast was over ( 11 pm ).[ not on the setlist ]
Those 3 songs are : ( from http://defgav.com/rev/)
Tonight it shows
Tides of the moon
Senses on fire

They will be back in Paris on NOV 25th @ the Elysée Montmartre.

Handwritten setlist ( left ) & mixing desk setlist ( right )

Here is a live video of MERCURY REV performing "tides of the moon" not broadcasted on the Black session:

The Virgins @ " L' Album de la semaine " Canal+ Paris sept 15th 2008

setlist

Promotional gig for french TV show "l 'album de la semaine " Canal+.
The Virgins are promoting their new cd ( released in June )with this gig in front of 120 people in live conditions.
They're from NYC and are an indie band playing a mix of New wave /r'n'b/soul ( that's what they say on their myspace page )
I saw them already a couple of years ago at the Olympia theatre in Paris for a private concert organised by designer Agnes B ( Patti Smith , Sonic Youth , Placebo and others were playing that night ).
The show was OK, nothing special , just another band ...
But they should pay more attention to the way they look , they're really dressed like shit with dodgy t-shirts, sneakers and torn up jeans .
Sorry no pictures or videos for this one ( verbotten )
They just play for 40 min , no encore ; good point so we rush to MERCURY REV which are playing at the other side of Paris for a Black session on "C'est Lenoir".

ROGER HODGSON fete de l' Humanité Sept 13th 2008 Paris

BREAKING NEWS : ROGER HODGSON will play The OLYMPIA in PARIS France on March 24th 2009
check Roger's site for more details : http://www.rogerhodgson.com/
or the Olympia 's site : http://www.olympiahall.com/

Roger Hodgson , the Voice of Supertramp , as it's been advertised.
One thing is for sure the voice is intact and crystal clear as 20 years ago.
Absolutely Brilliant show , the setlist speaks for itself , many Supertramp hits and a couple of solo songs thrown in ( they're great too ). 75 min show . Setlist below.
Roger wrote the best Supertramp songs , sad they're not playing together anymore as Supertramp was VERY popular in France.
Nice ending for the festival of " la fete de l' Humanité ", 50 000 people cheering and singing together on Supertramp songs.
Great
Afterwards we went backstage to meet him , there were lots of competition winners from the french site ( rogerhodgson.fr ) , most of them saw the gig from the wings of the stage.
Roger's a nice bloke he knows how to treat his fans .

Video " Don't leave me now " ( cut before the end sorry ! ) Here :
http://fr.youtube.com/user/rockingparis

Hi I've been asked if i can upload more videos from Roger on YouTube , the problem is that roger's songs are quite long so the file is too important to be uploaded on Youtube . Sorry .
I wish i could .

AYO played yesterday ( sunday 14th ) @ casino de Paris , i was too tired to go , last time i saw her at the Olympia ( she was recording her live dvd )it was very average , so i didn't mind ...

MERCURY REV is playing a Black Session tonight ( Monday 15th ).
THE VIRGINS are playing tonight ( monday 15th ) for Canal+ tv show " l' album de la semaine".

Tomorrow ( tuesday 16th ) it's JAMES HUNTER playing " l' album de la semaine" , there might be tickets left call bertrand on the 01 55 93 40 48.
Check his myspace he's a cool cat, if you love Soul-blues like in the 60's it's for ya :
http://www.myspace.com/jameshuntermusic

If you want to contact me :
irockinparis@yahoo.fr

BABYSHAMBLES @ Fete de l' Humanité Sept 13th 2008 Paris

UPDATED Sept 14th with new video " FUCK FOREVER" :
check my Youtube ( link below )

The show hasn't started yet that all the girls in the front rows are screaming their lungs out damaging our poor ears.
Lots of people in the VIP area to have a look at Pete Doherty's band : The Babyshambles .
They started smoothly and seem to be very relax tonight, maybe a bit too much. There's a kind of " nonchalance " or maybe is it the huge stage that gives me this feeling; The Babyshambles are fully appreciated in a hot & sweaty club ( or theatre ).
From the latest report i had it was complete chaos down the front ( i guess nothing could match what happened when the Stooges played here last year ) .
I'm a bit disappointed even though the show is good.
Maybe i was expecting something more 'rock ', don't get me wrong it was good but ...

Setlist: ( not sure if it's the right order so TBC... )
La Belle et la Bête
Carry On Up The Morning
Delivery
Beg Steal or Borrow
Baddies Boogie
Back From The Dead
UnbiloTitled
The Blinding
Killamangiro
Sedative
I Wish
Pipedown
Albion
Fuck Forever

No encore and we walked them to their dressing rooms , so that was really cool .
video is here :
http://fr.youtube.com/user/rockingparis
setlist to come shortly
Thanks to Patrice Guino for his beautiful live pictures and for getting us onstage to see the show ( with his friend Mathilde ).

Check my review with pictures and videos of Pete Doherty's secret gig in a pub in Paris in June :
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/06/pete-doherty-shambles-grand-rex-paris.html
Here's a video of Pete in June @ Truskel pub in Paris:
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=JhV_gdLyIqc

More videos from "La Fete de l' Huma" here :
http://fr.youtube.com/user/rockingparis

Plus video : Pipedown

BASHUNG @ Fete de l' Humanité Sept 13th 2008

First time i'm seeing this french singer live . he's popular in france and unlike many other french singer he has a credibility ( a bit like Gainsbourg ).
It's really crowdy , it's saturday, lots of youngsters ( for the Babyshambles ) and old geezers too ; Belgium singer ARNO played just before, but we arrived just in time ( 7 pm ) to see Bashung .
Nice bluesy pop rock set , the poor chap has lung cancer and is being treated so he's seating for most of the gig.
He may be a bit frail but the voice is perfect .
Nice show but i'm still wondering why he's inviting his wife to sing.

With his wife Chloé Mons

OASIS @ Bataclan Paris Sept 13th 2008 ( for the show of the 30th )

Fans waiting for tickets ...

Hi there
Tickets for OASIS' next show were on sale this morning Sept 13th @ the Bataclan for their concert in this venue at the end of the month ( sept 30th ). Price is 39 euros .
1000 tickets were on sale at noon ( 1200 capacity ), the queue was impressive going around the block.