Michael Lee RIP 1969 - 2008

It's with great sadness that we've been told that drummer Mickael Lee has been found dead in his home on Nov 25th . He apparently died of a seizure .

Michael Lee started playing drums with english hard rock band Little Angels before joining The Cult , Echo & the Bunnymen, The Quireboys and more recently Thin Lizzy.
He will be remembered best for his work with Robert Plant on the " Fate of nations " tour and the Page & Plant reunion tours and cds " Unledded " and " Walking into Clarcksdale " between 1993 and 1999 .

Funeral services were held at the Darlington Crematorium in Darlington UK on Dec 3rd , Jimmy Page attended the funeral.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/3948610.Guitar_legend_at_funeral_of_drummer/

He was only 39 .

Here' s Michael Lee playing with Page & Plant + Birthday present :

Next ... and last shows for 2008

Carbon / Silicon ( with Mick jones ex-Clash & Tony James ex-Generation X )@ Trabendo Dec 17th

Tracy Chapman @ Palais des Congres Dec 19th ( without Joseph Arthur opening as he gave up after Lyon Dec 5th , I guess he was fed up being treated like shit by Tracy & her entourage )

Keziah jones , Duffy , Yael Naim , Jamie Lidell @ Bataclan Dec 19th ( radio Show )

Jean-Louis Aubert : Private radio show for RTL2 on a Boat on the river Seine in Paris.Dec 19th

That's it for 2008

Elton John Paris bercy Dec 9th 2008

Red Piano tour stops in Paris Bercy tonight .
Tickets once again are VERY expensive going up to 190 Euros .
It may not be sold -out but it's hard to find an empty seat even though there are huge gaps between blocks in the pit.. Around 12000 people here as it's an all seated concert .

In case no one remembers his name

Stage set is absolutely georgous, see all those beautiful " Tableaux "created by David La Chapelle.

Show started smoothly with a VERY slow version of " Bernie & the jets " and then i though well , this is gonna boring, Elton on piano , not much guitar , lots of keyboards. Sound is perfect.
A couple of mid-tempo songs. i'm about to sleep.
But then slowly you start getting into it, i may have only one of his records but going to an Elton John gig is like going to see Queen , Supertramp, or U2 . You don't have any cd at home but you know all the songs as tonight Elton is playing all his big hits mainly oldies.
For each song there's something going on on the stage , some inflatable or films on the HUGE screen in the back ( one of the biggest i've ever seen in Bercy ). Justin timberlake is impersonating Elton on " Rocket man " . Lots of dancers on the movies which are all very GAY , even the cops are played by Village People type guys .
Musicians are funny with their silly haicut and ridiculous stage clothes.

The Who's " Pinball Wizard"

Most of the movies are NOT politically correct with lots of tits and some are very suggestives which is a good thing. FUCK censorship .
By the time he's playing The Who' s " Pinball wizard " everybody's standing up rocking.
Elton makes the effort to speak french between songs and thanks the crowd many times.

Pamela Anderson's dancing on " the Bich's back "

" I' m still standing " with huge dicks ... sorry Bananas

Nice ending with 50 people getting on the stage around the red piano for " saturday night ... "

" Saturday night 's all right for fighting " with stage invasion

SETLIST :
Bennie & the jets , Philadelphia freedom , Believe , Daniel , Rocket Man , I guess that's why they call it the Blues , someone saved my life tonight , Goodbye yellow brick road , Sorry seems to be the hardest word , Tiny dancer + musician intro , Don't let the sun go down on me, Candle in the wind , - Break- pinball wizard, bitch' s back , i'm still standing , saturday's night... Encore : song for you . ( "Philadelphia freedom" was played so it is 2) or 6) )

Never thought i would say that but, after a difficult start, the show was just great.
This gig was broadcasted live around France and Europe in cinemas.

The Dandy Warhols @ Bataclan Dec 7th 2008

the title says it all

The Bataclan is SOLD-OUT for the return of The Dandy Warhols in Paris , France.
They're here to promote new cd " " . They're not on a Major anymore but who cares as long as they're still playing music.
First i have to admit , i didn't hear the new cd but with The dandy Warhols LIVE you know that they're gonna play many songs from the whole catalogue , as last time in the very same place they've played for more than 3 hours .
I arrived too late to watch support band The Sheep , well in fact i was talking to a couple of mates outside.
To fully appreciate the Dandy Warhols , you really have to be IN it and know the songs before seeing them in concert otherwise you'll get the impression that they're playing the same song over and over again ( well sort of ... ).
Of course , they're playing in the dark with some psychedelic lights behind them for the atmosphere .
Lots of mid-tempo songs to get you in the mood a few Hits to headbang or at least jump in rythm ( for the people down the front ) with a few stage-divers.
We even get a song for Christmas and an almost disco song ( sung partially in French : " 3rd world" ) and a couple of requests from the audience , so the initial setlist ( here pictured ) isn't accurate , Sorry .
With The Dandy you're never disappointed ( i can hear some people screaming to me : untrue ,when they opened for David Bowie a few years ago ), but they never played Fantastic gig either.
So i guess this one was a good one but could have been better.

Setlist ( incomplete ? )

Judge yourself :

Kool & The Gang @ Olympia Dec 4th 2008

Kool & the Gang are Fresh again with a campaign organised by american washing powder maker Procter & Gamble.
You could find the brand new cd of Kool & the Gang " Still cool " when buying a pack of washing powder ( that i won't name )
As you can see on the picture of the Olympia marquee the name of the Washing Powder brand is written BIGGER than the name of this 70's Funk band.
WHAT A FUCKING SHAME !!!

Anyway it was a real success commercially.
Now enough of business bullshit and let's talk about music, they're still making music , aren't they ?
Well first i have to say that it was a nightmare to get in , as they've decided to let a couple of hundred people in every 10 min , just to make it look so cool on tv : " Look at all the massive crowd in front of the Olympia ! Yeah man ! They 're BACK ! "
Nice lesson of how to make an event out of NOTHING .
They're doing exactely the same in trendy club , so don't be fooled next time you're walking in front of a club with a massive queue. You think WOW there's so many people outside , this club must be so cool . NOT

Nice opening with " fresh ", very groovy. Many people on stage a dozen all dressed in white ( It's better when you take pictures ) . I won't be able to tell you who are the original members , not the singers they're too young , maybe the horn section and bass player . The audience is dancing along the music as long as Kool & the Gang is playing old hits . New songs are welcomed by an embarrassing silence , i can understand that the new cd is complete crap.

Platinum ceremony

Of course the show is interrupted in the middle , just for P&G to remind you who is the boss here tonight , Hoops sorry they were given a platinum award for sales of more than 100 000 records , Hoops sorry again ! not records : Packs of washing powder ...
Can't fucking believe it !

one of the two singers working the audience

Show went on without any problem in a cool atmosphere a bit of Jazz , a tribute to godfather James Brown some singalong ... and their hits at the end .
A few thank (fuck ) you's to Procter & Strangle from the band...
Very groovy show as long as they're playing the hits but too many average songs in the middle section. And of course too much pollution by sponsors .

Kool & the Gang loosing completely their credibility ( if they still had one )
to a fucking washing powder

Didn't bother to go at the aftershow cocktail party at the upstairs bar as there's too many people queueing for it .
Nice to be home before midnight.

"Ladies night" :

From what i've been told today , the organisation of the show was so bad that people , after waiting for 2 hours to get in , couln't see the concert as P&G printed too many tickets for the capacity of the Olympia. So many were left out .
Too bad , i was at the mezzanine and when the show started there were many empty seats on both sides.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan + Marie - Flore @ Trabendo Paris Dec 3rd 2008

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan are bak at the Trabendo club in Paris a few months after playing La Cigale in June .

First there is a cute French young girl ( ? ) who played a few songs on her own.
The girl is so shy it's hard to believe . She's almost sorry to play in front of us.
She did a very nice set reminding me of the early Cat Power, she's singing with a very soft voice, when she's pushing it a bit she has a high clear voice.
She's the Mistery girl tonight as no one could gave me her name ( i'll try to find out ).
YES I CAN : She's Marie-Flore , i don't know why but i guess it was her , it's funny a friend of mine ( the famous Oliver Peel ) talk to me about her a few days ago and here she is in front of me in flesh & blood . So Marie - Flore if ever you're reading this , hope you'll do an Oliver Peel session soon.
Check her myspace : http://fr.myspace.com/mariefloresmusic

Here's a link to a video i've recorded at the Trabendo : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ5kbttO_Mw

Opening artist : Marie - Flore

Same kind of music with headliners Isobel & Mark , that's their 3rd show in Paris since they started working together. They're still promoting their latest studio record " Sunday at devil dirt" but their were selling a live double CD at the merchendise .
Nothing has change with the happy couple (LoL) Mark has still the same very low voice , closed eyes , mic in hand all dressed in black and Isobel is still doing so nice soft vocals , playing a bit of Cello eyes wide open .

People are listening religiously. Not really the type of music to headbang to .
Sometimes you need to hear some laid back music and just relax , that's what we did tonight :
Relax and enjoy this fine gig.

Setlist

Their most heavy song for tonight :

Show ended early 10:30 pm so then we went to the Truskel hoping to catch the end of Adam Ficek ( Babyshambles ) but we were too late as the show had started at 9 pm instead of 10 pm. So we went home. Just called a friend past midnight and Adam was back @ The Bergerac bar to play , from what i've been told , a better show than the one the previous night.

Adam Ficek ( Babyshambles ) @ Café Bergerac Paris Dec 2nd 2008

UPDATED DEC 3rd WITH VIDEO

Adam Ficek drummer for The Babyshambles is playing in this tiny bar next to the hotel France Albion where Pete Doherty used to come .

Very relax atmosphere , a bit like going into a bar to hear one of your mate playing the guitar for fun. Arrived there around 10 PM , he was already playing. Can't really tell you every song he played while i was there ( a couple of hours ) but he definitely did some of his songs ( he's got a solo record out ) and some Babyshambles ' .
A couple of guys ( and a girl : see picture ) played guitar with him with singalong from the 20+ crowd that gathered to hear him play.
Nice way to end the night with Adam who's one of the nicest lad i have ever met.
And he's got class : have a look at the way he put his scarf around his neck on the right picture above .
He should be French ;-)


He's playing tomorrow at 10pm at the Truskel ( M° Bourse ).

Check his Myspace to hear some of his songs :
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=281053977

It was a special gig for me as it was my 200th for 2008. ROCK 'N ROLL

Everlast @ Album de la semaine Canal+ Paris Dec 2nd 2008

Setlist

First time i was seeing Everlast live or even hear anything about them, well i check their Myspace before going...to know how they sounded like .
And I liked it very much .
4 musicians : one singer playing guitar, one monster drummer , a bass and guitar player and a keyboard player .
In Canal+ studios ( 150 capacity ) they 've done a great set of , well it's hard to describe they have some groovy tunes à la Stevie Wonder , some others are more folk-rock ( they did z cover of Johnny Cash ) but always with some samples for the beat that could make you think of Rap without beeing rap . A bit like what Junkie XL did with the Elvis Presly song . The singer has a low voice with a flow . So it's a mix of different influences that is sounding close to Pharrel williams ' NERD but different.
Do you get me ?
The thing i'm sure is that it was VERY GOOD .

The Faces for 2009 Tour

Ronnie Wood confirmed that The Faces will tour in 2009 after rehearsals last month that went very well .

First shows will be in Ireland in July 2009: July 4th in Limerick ; July 5th in Dublin ; July 7th in Cork.

The Rascals + Music is not Fun @ Maroquinerie Dec 1st 2008

French support band : Music is Not Fun

Second show in Paris this year for The rascals , this time they're playing the Maroquinerie .
Nice to be back here in this tiny club just a couple of days after Pete Doherty's solo gig .
French band Music is not Fun is opening , decent set and they're singing in English, Nice !

The Rascals Live

Last time at the Fleche D'Or in September , The Rascals did a killer set , at the time i haven't heard their first album Rascalize.
Check our review + photos and Videos from the September gig here :
http://rockerparis.blogspot.com/2008/09/rascals-fleche-d-or-paris-sept-5th-2008.html
Opening with " out of dreams " i knew straight from the opening song that they would do another killer set, Rascalize is a great record and the songs are working even better live. Miles is a funny lad looking a bit like a young John lennon and has to be very focus on his pedals using numerous effects on his guitar.
Watching The Rascals play live, you can see the HUGE gap between young french rock bands and young english bands. Technically they are perfect and their songs much more difficult to play and attractive than ALL french bands put together.
This Baby Rocker French scene is so laughable compere to this ( very ) good English young band.
They've played a new song " Chills and fever" .
The audience loved them , once again many girls tonight and the place is packed ( but not Sold-out ).
They did a cover of Echo & the Bunnymen ( " all that Jazz" ) and ended their very short set (only 65 min ) with John Lennon's " Instant Karma " ( see video below ) .
Sad they've played most of their set in the dark.
One of my TOP 10 Gig for 2008 ( it's my 198 th this year so far ... )

Miles Kane surrounded by girls + Setlist ( may be in different order )

Joe Edwards + Miles Kane signing autographs

Video of " I'll give you sympathy" : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=nrekhu4gv6E

Video of last song John Lennon 's " Instant Karma " :

Razorlight + Housse de Racket @ Bataclan Nov 30th 2008

French beauties from the first row & Johnny " Pete Townshend " Borrell

It looks like Razorlight are no more media darling or even the audience's darling as the promoter was trying desperately to fill up the Bataclan offering 2 tickets for the price of one on some websites selling tickets.
There's more people ( around 1000 ) than for Dirty Pretty Things a few days ago but the balcony is closed ( reserved for 20 VIPs in fact ).
French band Housse de Racket opened, they are a novelty act but are doing pretty good in France with a hit single so they are a bit more serious now. Only 2 guys : one on drums and one on guitar ( a fly V )and vintage keyboard , all dressed in white.
Nice set with their 80's sounding music ( especially the keyboard ).

After playing the tiny Maroquinerie ( capacity 500 ) a couple of months ago , Razorlight is back in Paris @ the Bataclan , they've already played here on their last tour and the place was packed. What Happened ?
All dressed in black now Johnny's rocking the girls down the front without doing too much , he doesn't strip anymore and now has nice clothes ( see picture ) , it's an improvement from last tour when he was dressed like shit with his ridiculous INXS white tee-shirt and white trouser -white sneakers .

They are a bit more rock on stage with a couple of blues orientated songs ( one of their songs sounds like "Gloria " ) and others with a WHO feeling . But they're still pop.
See picture for complete SETLIST .

The music is awright , not fantastic but entertaining.
They've added a guy on piano and a girl on keyboard and backing vocals to nice effect.
Good show but a bit too light for me.
NB : The whole show was recorded on video by a cameraman working for Razorlight from the balcony.

Razorlight 's setlist & stage plan

Last song of the show " Somewhere else " :

Here's another video from the Bataclan : " Burberry Blue Eyes"
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=yi91xU3D7Fw

Tomorrow night, hard to make a choice between The Bellrays @ Trabendo and The Rascals @ Maroquinerie : both bands are really good.

contact : irockinparis@yahoo.fr

HEAVEN & HELL @ Hellfest 2009

Heaven & Hell Feat . Tony Iommi , Ronnie James Dio , Geezer Butler & Vinny appice have been confirmed for next year's HELLFEST near Nantes in France .
Other bands are Manowar , Anthrax + numerous other metal bands.
Hellfest Clisson June 19 -20 - 21st 2009
http://www.hellfest.fr/web08/

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan are playing the Trabendo in Paris on Dec 3rd , get 2 tickets for the price of 1 here :
http://concertandco.francebillet.com/ficheManifestation.do?codman=TB312

Tonight it's Razorlight @ Bataclan

PETE DOHERTY @ Maroquinerie Nov 28th 2008

UPDATED Saturday 29th with 2 NEW VIDEOS

Breaking News:
Roses Kings Castles will play the Truskel in Paris on Dec 3rd

Pete Doherty solo @ Paris' tiny Maroquinerie ( 500 capacity ) , it's been announced a couple of days ago and was Sold-Out in a few hours.
Pete arrived at the venue around 8 pm for a quick soundcheck.

He was on stage and played one song ( Love's cover " Alone agian or " ) before introducing a french young guitar player ( Miggles ) who did 3 songs on his own . ( very average )

Pete came back on stage to do one more song ( " Beg , steal or borrow " ) before introducing the next support slot : A french trio ( The Nellingtons ) that was complete crap ( they even slaughtered " Mr Tambourine man " ). They were sooo bad that the audience started throwing shit at them .

Pete was welcome back for his concert straight after that shitty french "band" .

A few new songs , some oldies and a cover by the LA's ' there she goes ".
Nice atmosphere here , people requested songs he did them. He invited one of his friend to sing , WOLFMAN for a couple of songs, the poor guy was so out of it that he barely could open his eyes.
SETLIST from http://meinzuhausemeinblog.blogspot.com/
( Setlist corrected Saturday 29th 3:30 pm )

01: Alone again or ( Love cover )
-------
02: Beg, Steal Or Borrow
-------
Proper Set :
03: New Love Grows On Trees
04: East Of Eden
05: Down In Albion
06: Bucket shop
07: Palace of Bone
08: What A Waster (Libertines)
09: My Darling Clementine
10: Dilly Boys
11: Good Old Days (Libertines)
12: Don't Look Back Into The Sun (Libertines)
13: Fuck Forever (Babyshambles) [ video here ]
14: Death On The Stairs (Libertines)
15: Last Post On The Bugle
16: Unbilo Titled (Babyshambles)
17: For Lovers ( + Wolfman)
18: La Belle et La Bête (Babyshambles)
19: Back From The Dead (Babyshambles)
20: Time For Heroes (Libertines)
21: Can't Stand Me Now (Libertines) [ video here ]
22: Wolfman (with Wolfman) [ video here ]
23: There She Goes (The La's Cover) [ video here ]

The set was very short he only played for 75 min, so that was a let down, well... i mean he could have played a longer set. But Pete was as cool as ever talking to people, reading stuff they were throwing at him , he put a cartoon of him on his mic ( see picture ).

All pictures and video recordings © Guino Patrice

Another video from Pete Doherty & Wolfman : "Can't stand me now " + "wolfman " + " There she goes" cover from The LA's :
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmy11NCTp4E

Don't forget to watch our video of Carl's Dirty Pretty Things live @ Bataclan a few days ago :
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=prOi98ex3eY