Two Door Cinema Club @ Fnac Montparnasse Paris March 22nd 2010, 3:00 PM
Another free gig, just the time to take the tube from La Défense, where we saw Noah & The Whale + Fink ( scoll down for review), to Montparnasse to see Irish youngsters Two Door Cinema Club. Lots of young girls for this one, around 60-70 people., The band is one time and you could'nt be late for this (very) short gig as they've only played 4 songs for a mere 12 minutes.
Hard to judge when you've never heard a band before and when it is acoustic , it's even more difficult as on cd they're a bit electro-pop à laVampire weekend. Listening to the album afterwards it's really not my cup of tea but the set was good. The guys stayed after their "gig" to meet the girls and take Pics with them.
It was their first showcase in Paris ever and they are opening for French band Phoenix in a sold out Olympia tonight.
Noah & the Whale + Fink @ Chorus Festival Parvis de la Défense, Paris March 22nd 2010 Noon
First on stage in this beautifull circular tent @ La Défense just outside Paris is indie folk band from Twickenham England : Noah & The Whale. Very unusual time for a rock concert it's noon. So lot's of people here for their lunchbreak. We're in the middle of huge buildings, in the financial district of Paris. They are a bit more than just Folk , much more Rock, a bit like a folkier version of Counting Crows with violin but they do really rock, they even have electric guitar soli. A very good surprise, if you like what is called " Americana" this band is for you. Oh Yes it was a free gig , first come first serve.
After a short break we have Fink from bristol, England. Fink aka as Fin Greenhall , is playing on acoustic guitar with a drummer and bass player. It's much more roots, more bluesy with bits of Reggae(dub) à la Keziah Jones or early Ben Harper but more funky. I'm not really a fan of this kind of music.
That was ok for me but people seemed to like him a lot, he added 3 songs to the original setlist, 11 songs in all.
Who has sold more records in the US ? Metallica or Guns'N Roses?
Interesting article in Billboard: "According to the Recording Industry of America (RIAA), whose data encompasses the bands' entire careers, Metallica leads Guns N' Roses, 59 to 43.5 million. Among all artists, Metallica ranks 18th, Guns N' Roses 30th."
"Metallica"(black album) sold 15,525,00 "Appetite for destruction" sold 18,000,000
Read our reviews ( with LOTS of PICS + setlist...) of Metallica in April 2009: Paris Bercy 1 Part 1 & Part 2 Paris Bercy 2 Part 1 & Part 2
For legal reasons ( unknown to us ) Slash collaboration with Black Eyed Peas' Fergie & also feat. Cypress Hill is withdrawn from the Limited deluxe edition of SLASH 's debut album. A new track, "Back From Cali" (feat. Myles Kennedy) has now been added.
Watch SLASH recording his album with all guests by clicking HERE, several videos from the recording process are available on this official Slash's Youtube channel.
Listen to "Paradise City" Feat. Fergie & Cypress Hill below:
La Fiancée + Lisa Papineau @ Fnac Ternes, Paris March 18th 2010 Promo forLes Femmes s'en melent Festival
La Fiancée
It's almost a day off @ ROCKERPARIS, just a small showcase to promote the Les Femmes s'en melent Festival in Paris starting on Mars 23rd ( to April 4th ) @ La Maroquinerie, La Boule Noire, L' Alhambra & Le Théatre de la Cité Internationale. Tickets are very cheap between 10 & 19 Euros.
For this showcase we are lucky to get this cute French singer La Fiancée. Nice to see her on the bill of this festival as I discover her a few months ago via her Myspace page, I thought she was great even tough she's singing in French. Nice lyrics anyway. We had a 5-6 songs set after a long interview with the big boss of the festival. It may be only her 10th show but she's doing really great, her soft voice conquers you straight away, the music is between Folk-Pop and "Chanson française". Glad to see that she's as great Live than on "cd" ( not really a cd as she's only releasing Eps ).
Lisa Papineau
Then we have American girl, currently living in Paris Lisa Papineau. Different music and vocal style , it's more indie pop-rock. She's working on numerous different projects ( including recording vocals on an album by French band AIR ). She can sing like German Punk doll Nina Hagen over a new wave music or wispering in your hear over a very "ambient" song. Hard to put a label, each song is different Here's one song NOT representative of what she's doing:
Pat McManus with guest Andy Powell from Wishbone Ash
@ Trabendo, Paris March 17th 2010
Pat McManus
Pat McManus is headlining this blues rock night @ Trabendo, Eric Bell Trio and Taste have just played before ( scroll down for review). Different style for Pat, the blues is left aside for a moment and the beginning of the set is more Hard-rock, 80's style with lots of guitar demonstration. Remember his surname is The Professor. Pat is probably a great fan of Gary Moore , he's doing the same funny faces when he's playing. Fortunately things calm down a bit ( it was getting annoying after a few songs) when Pat is playing the fiddle or the acoustic guitar.
Andy Powell from Wishbone Ash
It's an Irish night so we had a few covers : Thin Lizzy's "Black Rose", Rory Gallagher's "Out on the western plain" and... NO U2 cover.
Andy Powell from Wishbone Ash is introduced , then things are getting reaaaalllly serious, Wishbone Ash songs were played ( see setlist fro songs) , very cool attitude from Andy Powell with his sunglasses and hat. Unfortunately as the show was runny very late we couldn't get any encore. The musicians came straight to the merchandising table to sign stuff for fans. And once again as Patrice Guino told me after the gig the light engineer should be dismembered alive and the pieces thrown to feed some pigs as Pat McManus played the whole gig almost in complete darkness.
Eric Bell trio @ Trabendo, Paris March 17th 2010 St Patrick's day
Today is St Patrick's day, blues-rock extravaganza @ Trabendo in Paris. Eric Bell ( former Thin Lizzy ), Pat McManus ( ex-Mama's Boys), Taste & Andy Powell (Wishbone Ash) are in town.
Eric Bell the first guitar player of Irish legend rock band Thin Lizzy and one of Patrice's favorite band is opening this festival of blues-rock. 45 Min set of classic blues rock with songs talking about squeezing someone's lemon... you know what I mean ! Lots of bluesy licks like the way we like them, a perfect starter for this long evening. The show couldn't be complete without the song that made Thin Lizzy famous at the beginning of their career "Whiskey in a jar" here on video
" Whiskey in a Jar":
Irish Band TASTE is next , yes that the Taste in which legendary Irish guitar player Rory Gallagher played in at the beginning of his career in 1967. I don't know why they call themselves Taste as there's only the drummer left from this trio: Mr John Wilson.
Blues-rock once again with a tribute to the late Rory Gallagher, they're playing original songs by Taste and Rory ( "Messing with the Kid"... ) John Wilson is a great drummer but he's overplaying on all the songs, would be great for Jazz-rock but not the best for a blues rock combo. The bass player really sounds like Rory on vocals. Good hour set for this "cover" band.
Next is Pat McManus with guest Andy Powell from Wishbone Ash. review online now.
Mohna + Jeanne + St Petersburg @ Scopitone , Paris March 16th 2010
St Petersburg
Mohna played an Oliver Peel session a couple of days ago tonight she's headlining @ Scopitone club situated in the heart of Paris between the Opéra and the Louvre. Lots of known faces from the folk movement.
St Petersburg is opening, between Nick Drake and Neil Young ( That's what THEY say), short set of laid back acoustic songs in front of a very quiet audience , it will be the same for the other artists. When the lights go out no one is speaking, a good point for this "trendy" club.
Then we have a last minute addition with Jeanne , playing her accordeon over a homemade projection recorded on Super 8mm film. Very experimental, you could hear a pin drop during her 10 min "performance", here in its entirety:
Last is German girl Mohna. She has a very soft childish voice, she's on her own playing the piano. Call it indie, ambient. It's very special.
Johnny Winter + A L'Ouest Le band @ Bobino Paris March 15th 2010
A L'Ouest Le Band
Sold-out show for veteran blues man Johnny Winter in this beautiful théatre in the heart of Montparnasse , Bobino ( 900 capacity). The opening band, French blues rocker A L'Ouest Le Band is a very cool introduction to the main attraction of tonight's blues rock gig. Lots of guitar licks on a red Gibson SG, too bad they're singing in French.
8:50 PM , famous french guitar players Paul Personne & Louis Bertignac ( From Téléphone) are introduced to the stage (???!!??? ) to say how much they love Johnny Winter and then the band comes on stage to play a song before JohnnyWinter takes his seat in front. First time that I'm seeing him LIVE. What to expect ? I've read so many VERY bad reviews from all the people who came to see him in concert a few years ago, at this time he wasn't playing (almost) at all and was barely touching his guitar.
From the first song that he's playing, you can see and hear that Johnny Winter is back from the dead , of course he's very fragile and someone is walking him to his seat but he plays the guitar... and very well.
He's is not as fluid and fast as it used to be in the seventies but Johnny Winter proved us tonight that he's still a killer on the guitar considering his age and what he's been going through all these years.
Classic songs are played " Good morning little school girl", "Red House" , "Highway 61" ... he left the venue straight after the gig to do some interviews in a huge camping car ( no tour bus) parked in front of the venue and he signed cds to everyone inside the bus. Great night , much more better than we all expected !!!
I 've just found 3 other great videos from the gig HERE.
