Rock en Seine – 23 August 2013, highlights for me.

Finally, a post.

We went to Rock en Seine last Friday. This is a 3 day festival at Parc Saint-Cloud, Saint Cloud being a lovely little town on the end of the Paris Metro. I thought I’d write a brief report on the first day of the event. This was my third time at Rock en Seine. The first time I loved it, on the bill that year were MGMT (whom I’d just discovered) and the Prodigy. Last time we went, 2011, it was Mike Skinner, Interpol, the Arctic Monkeys and Étienne de Crécy, it was enjoyable and I thought Interpol were awesome but it rained. (Having moved away from the North West of England to France, I appear to have become quite averse to rain when there’s an event on.)  2012 and 2013 so far have been massive gig-going years for us. We were undecided about Rock en Seine as the line up wasn’t totally inspiring us, so we just thought we’d leave it til the weekend before to see what the weather was going to be like. (This is a very middle-aged, first world problem thought, I know, but as per my earlier statement, I’ve spent most of my formative years in the UK and in quite a lot of rain. I’ve also been to enough festivals and outdoor gigs in the UK and in the rain, to be allowed to want good weather.) Friday was the best day for weather and thought that indulging in a bit of nostalgia with Johnny Marr and Franz Ferdinand, as they were on the bill would be fun. I also wanted to check  out Belle and Sebastian, Alt J, Tame Impala and Kendrick Lamar.

Our first disappointment was that we only caught the end of Belle and Sebastian. What we did catch sounded really great so we were a little gutted with that. Our timings on getting there were off with finishing work and the train and tram. What a bummer!

We had to give Tame Impala a miss as they were on a the same time as Johnny Marr. Perhaps we should have watched Tame Impala, I do quite like their stuff but I really did want to see Monsieur Marr.

Johnny Marr: I’d seen him before in Manchester with the Healers a number of years ago. That night, he was fantastic. This was before I’d ever seen Morrissey live. At Rock en Seine Johnny and his band performed a mix of his own stuff, The Smiths and an unexpected cover of The Crickets track, ‘I fought the law’. I had only ever known it by The Clash actually. I’m afraid that although  Johnny Marr is technically a magnificent guitar player, musician, song writer and obviously instrumental to The Smiths’ wonderful catalogue of records, he’s just not got Morrissey’s voice. I just think those songs do miss his incredible voice.  The Smiths’ tracks did work with the crowd, musically they sounded great and the atmosphere was joyous. Elements of the crowd seemed like they were in heaven.  Johnny did have some banter with the crowd which was welcome.  ‘How soon is now?’ (slightly frightening that this is  nearly 30 years old) and ‘There is a light that never goes out’ were standouts for me, quite exquisite.  ‘The Messenger’ and ‘Generate! Generate!’ were also good. He has an excellent band, the set was great.

1. The right thing the right thing
2. Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before
3. Upstarts
4. Sun & Moon
5. The Messenger
6. Generate! Generate!
7. Bigmouth strikes again
8. New town velocity
9. I fought the law
10. How soon is now?
11. There is a light that never goes out

Alt-J: I tried with Alt-J on the evening. I’ve being trying to be swayed by their music since they arrived on the scene. When they won the Mercury music awards I became convinced I was missing something and tried even harder to get it. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to embrace them, as they are by a the majority who were at Rock en Seine. I must be wrong. I think it’s his voice, Joe Newman?  I have the same problem with Radiohead, I don’t always get them and I think it’s because I’m not a fan of Thom Yorke’s voice. Who am I though? They are obviously popular. It wouldn’t do for everyone to like everyone now would it? I did think that the music in the song ‘Fitzpleasure’ sounded awesome.

Franz Ferdinand:  They totally exceeded expectations.  A very excited crowd gathered at the stage, a wide mix of ages. People like me who were there when they started and youngster people. They arrived on stage and were exuding with confidence. Alex Kapranos endeared himself superbly with the crowd addressing us with a few bits of French, it wasn’t bad. I loved his accent! The band don’t appear to have aged at all, they look good and they had lots of energy. They went swiftly from one track to the next, really mixing it up with their accomplished old tracks which were delivered with such vehemence, they were perfect, and their new stuff which was exceptional. The new album had been available a few days before the festival for streaming so we knew some of it. The new single ‘Right action’ was really well received. It is very catchy and that’s in a good way. The younger festival goers knew a lot of the knew stuff and loved it. The band lapped up the crowd. They appear genuinely comfortable and happy together, seem to be enjoying themselves performing and delighted to be back. They were superb! They aren’t edgy, it isn’t difficult music and I sometimes struggle with bands like this and banish them to ‘Indie Landfill’. I actually expected this with them but I was wrong and I’d describe them as the band of the night. We had a great time watching them. The band played with such pleasure, love and energy and there was some playing around with their tunes. We got to hear a bit of Donna Summer  ‘I feel love’ during ‘Can’t stop feeling’ which added to the love for music we were all feeling (or I was feeling anyway) and there were undertones of KLF’s ‘3am Eternal’ also. Rather magical. The end of the set group drum performance was stunning. Franz Ferdinand are still a band to be reckoned with. A sterling performance – wonderful!

Set:

1. No you girls
2. Right action
3. The dark of the matinée
4. Evil eye
5. Do you want to
6. Walk away
7. Stand on the horizon
8. Can’t stop feeling
9. The fallen
10. Bullet
11. Michael
12. This fire
13. Take me out
14. Love illumination
15. Ulysses
16. Outsiders

I  enjoyed Kendrick Lamar – I don’t profess to know a lot of his stuff, I knew ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Backseat Freestyle’. He engaged with the crowd, he was funny. He’s talented, he put on a great show. I liked his style.

So – that’s my view of the first day of Rock en Seine – until next time – ‘RIGHT ACTION’

Franz Ferdinand – RIGHT ACTION

Pet Shop Boys – Le Grand Rex, Paris (11th June 2013)

This was to be our last gig for a while. The tickets were a birthday present from Mr W (my other half). He wasn’t terribly keen on the idea but I knew he liked some of their tunes so it would be ok. What’s not to like about the Pet Shop Boys?

We approached the venue, there were massive queues. Every event I’ve been to at Le Grand Rex involves having to queue up for ages which is a pain but it makes for an orderly entrance to this magnificent 1930s theatre I suppose. The crowd were colourful. Very fabulous!

We were situated on the Mezzanine in the lovely comfortable seats. We had a decent view of the stage (the people on the balconies above my have struggled) and whilst we waited for the performance to start there was some Hacianda-esque music banging out. It is such a pity that the gig was during the week as it really got me in the mood for some dancing / clubbing with the pre-concert tunes.

The Pet Shop Boys show was to be quite a departure from my last few gigs. I do have eclectic music taste. I had seen them in 2011 supporting Take That (hmm hmm, yes, I’ve seen Take That) and they were brilliant. Obviously being the support, it was a short set but they had quite an elaborate stage, dancers and Neil Tennant’s voice was exquisite on that occasion.

I had high expectations for a full night of PSB. There was a semi transparent screen / curtain at the front of the stage with clever projections and Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe entered stage straight into Axis then One More Chance. Opportunities starts, the curtain falls and there’s just the two of them on an empty stage. The atmosphere became They are rather extravagantly dressed in black with black feather jackets. Neil Tennant’s voice was faultless throughout the evening and Chris Lowe as usual just takes his place behind the synth doing his thing.

There were a number of hat / helmet and clothes changes during the evening for the PSBs and also their 2 dancers who were with them for the whole evening. They added a real fun aspect to all the songs with their variety of costumes and guises. The empty stage didn’t seem empty with the 2 dancers, the visuals on the backdrop and lasers. The sound was superb, the atmosphere was of absolute joy. There were lots of happy people about and up on the mezzanine there weren’t too many people sitting. I was eventually able to get up when the guy behind me decided to dance. (Actually, there was a lot of ‘dad dancing’ in the aisles up there.) It looked more like a gig I’m used to down on the ground floor.

I think the atmosphere rose a notch and became almost euphoric on Suburbia. It was outstanding and not the song I was most looking to. Mr W seemed perplexed that this song seemed so big. I loved this song when it was out, I’ve got it on 12 inch, so it was just a big trip of nostalgia for me performed splendidly.

I find Rent a beautiful song and they didn’t disappoint on the night, marvellous.

The Bruce Springsteen cover, Last to die and Somewhere (from West Side Story) were exquisite.

The hits, Domino Dancing, It’s a sin and West End Girls had the crowd dancing as if in a club, it looked to me as if Neil Tennant was thoroughly enjoying himself. They really have got such an extensive and perfect back-catalogue of tunes for an evening such as this. They intelligently interspersed some of their new stuff at the most opportune moments. The gig worked and was made even more enjoyable as a spectacle with the visuals and dancers as mentioned earlier.

Before the first encore, at the end of Always on my mind, orange feathers as confetti was released onto the crowd. How gorgeous!

They did West End Girls (still be their best song) –  sublime. They came back on to perform Vocal, the new tune which which I imagine will be huge in clubland. A great dance-track.

The set-list was as follows (I don’t think I’ve missed anything):

• Axis
• One more chance
• Face like that
• Opportunities
• Memory of the future
• Fugitive
• Integral
• Normally I would not do this kind of thing
• Suburbia
• I’m not scared
• Invisible
• Last to die
• Somewhere
• Leaving
• Thursday
• Love etc
• I get excited (you get excited too)
• Rent
• Miracles
• It’s a sin
• Domino dancing
• Go West
• Always on my mind
• West End Girls
• Vocal

The Pet Shop Boys have been around for a long time and I still find myself enjoying listening to them. I certainly enjoyed this gig. Their songs have a melancholy to them but are optimistic and uplifting at the same time. They have stayed relevant. Their new track Vocal is a real nightclub track, it was an outstanding end to a great evening.

Mr W did enjoy it. I never thought I’d see him on his feet dancing and singing ‘Go West’ – made the evening for me!

Le Grand Rex

My Bloody Valentine – Le Bataclan, Paris (5th June 2013)

We were a little tired post Stone Roses at La Cigale but I was still looking forward to seeing My Bloody Valentine as I’d heard such good reviews. They are more my other half’s taste than mine if I’m honest. I am a late-comer to listening to them and  at first I will admit to just thinking it was ‘noise’ (how very dare I?) when I was first introduced. I soon realised there was more to them than that. Himself had seen them in Bradford whilst at uni many years ago. He’d always maintained that this was one of the best gigs he’d ever been to, so I was keen to experience them. I was a little apprehensive having checked them out on youtube and also heard stories about how deafening they are. I’ve been to a lot of gigs, many of them really loud and am accustomed to the feedback experience of Sonic Boom so I thought I should be ok really.

Le Bataclan was packed, they are obviously popular here in France. You were given earplugs on entering and there were signs in various places telling where you could get them from for free if you required them. You did require them. The atmosphere was of anticipation.

The stage was ready for them. There looked to be about 12 guitars for Kevin Shields and LOTS of amps, it looked like it might be a little loud. They entered stage, a quick Bonsoir and then started with ‘I only said’ then ‘When you sleep’. I knew these tracks, so for me, these were perfect openers and exceptional. A wall of sound, beautiful sound and you could just about hear Bilinda’s soft vocals through the layers of guitar, drums, bass, a quite incredible sound.

Most people wore earplugs, you had to, you could do a few minutes without but the sound really is hard to describe. I was and still am a little dumbstruck as to how to explain how the music makes you feel (I say feel, meaning physically too as my insides felt as if they were trembling), it is so powerful. The visuals and the sound together are quite hypnotising.

They did do a long set, there were lots of people madly dancing looking like they were in a world of their own. The music is for the individual I think. You do become trance-like. It was quite breath-taking. Or perhaps not just for the individual, some of the music is romantic – sexy almost, it works for lovers too. There’s just layers and layers of music, all of which is delivered faultlessly, there’s just audible lyrics underneath or dancing around the music.

It was bloody loud but deliberate and for a reason. The band seemed as if they had arrived or were here to prove something. This music hasn’t dated and the new tracks they did play fitted perfectly within the set I thought. ‘New You’ and ‘Who Sees You’ were excellent. I didn’t get all of the tracks and I’ll admit I did sometimes struggle to recognise some. The wall of sound could sometimes be just that to me, only occasionally. Maybe you need to be a hardcore fan. I do enjoy the beauty of the almost hidden singing but sometimes it frustrates me.

I did recognise ‘Soon’, ‘Feed Me With Your Kiss’ (as well as the others I’ve already mentioned), these were sublime. ‘You made me realise’ – impossible to be without earplugs for this, was stunning as the set finish. The crowd didn’t want this to end. That was the end, no encore.

How were my ears? Well, I was awestruck, dumbstruck a little deaf for a short while and I did get a headache. I think because it was a mental experience. I don’t think there another band quite like My Bloody Valentine, that’s my conclusion. They are such accomplished musicians. They looked to put their heart and soul into the performance. The drummer looked exhaustedly happy. The whole band looked really pleased with the reception.

On another note I think Kevin Shields should really do something with his hair, Bilinda Butcher looks really good.

A crazy experience!

Mental visuals

The Stone Roses – La Cigale, Paris (3rd June 2013)

Where do I start with how I feel about the Stone Roses……..? Well, it’s all so meaningful and quite emotional to me, the music of the Stone Roses and the timing of their reformation gigs at Heaton Park in Manchester last year. I’ll leave my feelings to another post. Lots of people have their stories, there was such an outpouring of love for the band on the news of their reformation and then, what can I say about those Heaton Park gigs last year? It was such a special shared moment in time. It is blatant how much of an impression the band had and still has on people. Let’s just get on with how it was the other night in Paris.

We live near to Paris and have been to the venue La Cigale a number of times. The acoustics are great in there, it’s one of my favourite small venues.  I was excited, in almost a teenage way (as I was for the Heaton Park gigs) to be going to see the Stone Roses at such an intimate venue. I’d only ever seen them at outdoor events previously. Anyway, the sun was shining, it was a beautiful evening in Paris. We made our way over to Montmatre where the atmosphere was decidedly Manchester. Loads of people had made the trip over which was good to see. There was such  excitement and eagerness to see these 4 men from Manchester take to the stage.

We caught the last few tracks of the support band – The Strypes. I believe that they are only 16 years old. They were suited and booted, they looked cool and had a superb air of nonchalance. They were tight and sounded excellent. I can’t imagine how they must have felt supporting the Stone Roses – what a gig! They had good support, the crowd seemed to enjoy them. It was of course all about the Roses though, the atmosphere became electric as we waited for them to enter stage.

‘I Wanna Be Adored’ – the bass kicked in, the hairs stood up on the back of the neck, oh, the joy – the atmosphere in La Cigale was euphoric and it remained that way for the hour and 1/2 ish they were on stage.

Such a happy electric atmosphere, it’s nostalgic and also a perfect in the moment experience.  It was so uplifting. They are almost worshipped and Ian Brown does such a good job of being legend-like. He swaggered around the stage, appearing to be loving it. He engages with the crowd who are happy to take turns taking his maracas, he takes a flag from someone but is really careful to give it back to the right person and at one point takes someone’s camera to take a photo of the group for them – sweet moment! John Squire (hidden behind his hair for most of the gig) really is an accomplished guitar player, it was quite mesmerising being so close to be able to see play, he is all over it and the sound coming out of it was incredible. Technically he is faultless (unlike Ian’s vocals at times). Reni was lost within his drums, I have never seen or heard a drummer like that, he is superb and it all just looks so natural, and it’s such an integral part of the music. Mani is a fabulous bass player and still looks made up to be back in his group.

Anyway, back to the music, ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, perfectly delivered, it builds and builds, it is the most wonderful starter to an incredible night. Here’s the rest of the set-list:

• ‘Elephant Stone’
• ‘Ten Storey Love Song’
• ‘Standing Here’
• ‘Going Down’
• ‘Shoot You Down’
• ‘Fools Gold’
• ‘Something’s Burning’
• ‘Waterfall’
• ‘Don’t Stop’
• ‘She Bangs the Drums’
• ‘Love Spreads’
• ‘This Is the One’
• ‘Made Of Stone’
• ‘Breaking Into Heaven’
• ‘I Am The Resurrection’

‘Elephant Stone’, ‘Going Down’ and ‘Breaking Into Heaven’, were additions to the setlist at Heaton Park. Welcome additions, totally brilliant. ‘Ten Story Love Song’ is a song I adore, such a dark love song – but so beautiful. The sound was enormous. I could go on and on about each track, ‘Waterfall’ was just stunning and perfectly transitioned into ‘Don’t Stop’ with the mental backwards singing, ‘Fools Gold’ was funky, it went on for ages, we didn’t want it it stop, a real jamming session displaying the great musicianship of John Squire, Reni and Mani. ‘This Is The One’, ‘She Bangs The Drum’, ‘Made of Stone’, the crowd were jumping and singing along throughout the whole gig but these have such anthemic elements, they really did create a massive euphoria. They have such meaning too, that can transition you back to thinking of a time of your youth or history when you sing along. (I had a hoarse throat the next day). They finished with ‘I Am The Resurrection’ which was so amazing, the music was perfect. I didn’t want the night to be over, it was an emotional feeling. The band hugged each other and thanked the crowd. They do seem genuinely to be glad to be back together and grateful and pleased at the crowd reaction.  Ian did speak a little French. I always find it nice when bands make a little effort when performing over here. Mani came back on the stage to say ‘à bientôt’ which was funny. I enjoyed the gig immensely and so did my other half and our friend who had made the trip over the channel. We are all 40 (as a lot of the crowd were, along with plenty of younger / older gig-goers) and we, again, like in Manchester last year enjoyed a perfect night of emotional music from a band who mean so much to us.

WHAT A GIG, WHAT A NIGHT! I wish I was going to Finsbury Park.

Just a couple of shots – it wasn’t a night for photos it was a night to embrace the music.

Euphoric crowd

Animal Collective – le Trianon, Paris (29 May 2013)

Le Trianon is another impressive venue in Paris. We’d been lucky enough to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds there earlier in the year. I was very much looking forward to seeing the Animal Collective at the same place.

I had listened to the album a lot in preparation for the gig. I do think you have to tune into the latest album. Your ears need to adapt. I was flying solo here as my other half was at a work thing quaffing champagne. I ordered a pint (classy British lady) and awaited their entrance with the rest of the crowd.  The room was rammed and there was a highly expectant and excited atmosphere. The stage was decorated with inflatables and teeth, rather extraordinary but it adds to the psychedelic madness of the music. (The same as the stage at the Pitchfork Festival last year.)

I don’t think I have seen a French crowd as animated as they were at this gig. There was lots of jumping up and down and a guy crowd surfing. The floor at le Trianon is very springy, it felt like it was going to go through at times. Towards the end I went to the back of the room to get a good look at the stage and images being projected on the teeth. I stood next to the sound-desk, everything was vibrating and moving around all over the place with the sound and crowd movement – it all looked under control though.

Performance – all I could say to my other half afterwards was WOW.

They were totally awesome.

 

They opened with ‘I think I can’ which started quite eerily, as on the album, lots of weird sounds, it then developed after a whirlwind into it’s hypnotic musical beats, stunning keyboard sounds, overlayed with quite beautiful singing. Perfect opener I thought. I may not have got this all in the correct order but they sang ‘Did you see the words’ which is just lovely and was brilliant. ‘Father Time’ was actually stunningly beautiful. ‘Honeycomb’ is one crazy song and was as crazy live. ‘Moonjock’ was suitably loud, crazy and had the crowd bouncing. ‘Wide Eyed’ was very popular, it did sound superb. There was a moment of jingly jangly guitars and then ‘Pulleys’ began, which was quite wonderful. They certainly did deliver, they seemed to be enjoying themselves and they engaged with the crowd. I could go on about every track really. Ok, I’ll talk about ‘What would I want? Sky.’ I was so pleased that they played this, it is my favourite Animal Collective track. It is a gorgeous song and makes me feel emotional. It is a real hair standing on the back of your neck and goosebumps song. Live, even more so. I could have cried, it is just so moving. Anyway, from this they went to ‘Peacebone’. This finished the set before their encore. A totally mental track – shouty, lots of jumping and dancing around the stage. The crowd were totally in the moment with the band. I was too – loved it.

They returned and performed ‘Today’s Supernatural’. This has been in my ear constantly since. A real earworm I can’t get rid of – it is a little crazy to be carrying this round with me. ‘Brother Sport’ had Deakin going mad, jumping around with his guitar and they ended with ‘Purple Bottle’ to which the place errupted (again). We were treated to the ‘I just called to say I love you bit’ – sweet moment.

They did talk to the crowd a few times as I mentioned earlier. I’ve seen them twice before with no talking, it was an unexpected surprise. They appeared to be more relaxed. Avey Tare apologised for not knowing more French. It was ‘Walter’s’ Birthday – a guy who organised everything for them in Paris. They brought a cake on stage for him and he blew out the candles. A nice gesture.

I was actually quite dumbstruck after the AC experience. The visuals (those teeth had lots of mental images projected on them – Caterpillars swirling around for example), the music, just everything was so impressive and delivered with such passion. All in all, a spectacular gig and I’ll continue to succumb to my ‘Today’s Supernatural’ earworm.

Over and out. It’s Friday and I believe it is wine o’clock !

Here’s the most beautiful song of theirs, check it out, it’s sublime:

Sonic Boom / Spectrum at Point Ephémère, Paris (11 May 2013) and Chez Jeannette.

After our psychedelic experience of the Dynamo Exhibition at the Grand Palais we enjoyed the most amazing burger at Chez Jeannette, 47, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis, Paris. The link to their website doesn’t appear to be working. Anyway, I thought I would mention our meal there. There are mixed reviews on Trip Advisor etc which I only read after our visit. We just stumbled across the cafe / bar, we hadn’t planned to go there. It seemed occupied  by young and old trendy Parisiens and also lots of locals who have obviously been going there for years. Frequented by Parisiens, to me, is normally a good sign. We were a little early for dinner, (we were on our way to to the gig and wanted something quick to eat) so there was only one other person eating, but there were plenty of people enjoying an apero. We were welcomed and ate a great ‘Jeannette Burger’. The best burger I’ve had for ages, not that eat a lot of them, but as a pre-gig meal it was perfect. The decor in this bar / cafe has not been updated for years. Apparently this was a promise to the previous owner. It has a really cool atmosphere, the ambiance is warm, it feels like it’s gearing up for a party. It has a fantastic sound system and the music was excellent. As we were leaving, my favourite electronic artist, Matthew Dear was playing. It’s not often you get to hear him in a bar!

Chez Jeannette – interior

rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis – 10e Paris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another burger joint!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now on to the gig at Point Emphérè, another great concert venue. (Apart from the toilet facilities in the room).

Point Ephémère

Spectrum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soft Crayon were the support. I’d not heard their music before, they were excellent and a fitting warm up for Spectrum.  Very talented! Here’s a link to some of their music: https://soundcloud.com/softcrayon

Sonic Boom and Spectrum whom I’ve seen many times have never left me disappointed. The same was true of this gig. It was an amazing trip through some great music and after the psychedelia of the Dynamo Exhibition we felt we were continuing that experience with the backdrop of madness on the screen behind the band.  There was a new bass player in the band (I think he might have been the old Spacemen 3 bass player, not sure), he was a perfect addition, giving even more depth to the music.

My favourite track was the old Spacemen 3 track – When Tomorrow Hits.

Here’s a version I found on youtube:

Sonic Boom (Peter Kember) is a fascinating musician. I don’t think I will ever tire of going to see him live. The music is not new but it feels current, futuristic or even sometimes nostalgic at the same time. It still slightly messes with your head. Blown away again!

This entry was posted in Eating – Great places for food, Gigs, Music, Paris, Places I’ve been to and tagged entertainment, France, Gig Reviews, Paris, Photography, Restaurants Paris on 23/05/2013.Edit

Dynamo Exhibition – Grand Palais, Paris

Just a taster – Op Art :Vasarely

If you are in Paris at all from now until 21 July 2013, I would strongly recommend going along to the Dynamo Exhibition at the Grand Palais. This is an exhibition of ‘a century of light and motion in art, 1913 – 2013’. The exhibition takes over the whole space of the galleries of the quite magnificent Grand Palais. The display is vast and it is a phenomenal experience. I won’t go into detail writing about the pieces, you need to visit. I don’t believe that you can convey the experience of the art in this exhibition through written words. It is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, there’s beauty, distortion, dreamlike, psychedelic, empty, strange…… (I could go on) art and art experiences. It really touches and provokes your senses. I’m sure there are parts of your brain opening up, that perhaps wouldn’t normally be touched through looking at  art by looking at or experiencing some of the crazier pieces. I wouldn’t visit this if you are tired, make sure your head is on! 

Check it out:Dynamo at the Grand Palais, Paris.

Is it Friday again?

Well, I’ve been here in France for a while now and I still haven’t quite adjusted to these Bank Holidays in the middle of the week. We had one last Wednesday and now there are two, tomorrow and Thursday.

Last week was ‘Workers’ Day / Labour Day’. I’m used to it being added to the first weekend in May for a long weekend. Tomorrow it is ‘Victory in Europe Day’ and Thursday it is Pentecost. My husband works with a German company, they are on holiday on Thursday as France is. When asked why France is on holiday tomorrow, it feels a little awkward to  explain what this holiday is about as we ‘don’t mention the war!’ (Fawlty Towers, of course.)

Business can’t be easy with all these mid-week holidays. Last night the news was full of woe as to how many million euros are lost economically due to these, and what can be done about it. There didn’t seem to be many solutions offered, c’est la vie, c’est la france. I’m not complaining, it is life and it is life in France which I love. I do see how difficult it is with my husband running his business to have all these breaks in the work-week and people being less productive. Who wouldn’t be!

• I wonder why France has never moved the holidays and added them to weekends like the UK does? Perhaps it does all balance out, after all there are years where the holidays do fall at weekends and these aren’t shifted to the Monday like they are in the UK.
• Why does the UK not have a holiday for ‘Victory in Europe’ or ‘Remembrance Day’?
• Does everyone get as confused as I do as to what day it is here at this time in May?

Right, I realise that this is dry and boring, they were just small thoughts running through my head as I was waiting for the return of my other half ready to start our mid-week weekend:)

I will have more interesting random ramblings soon.

Surely it’s not nearly Friday Wine O’Clock again already?

Here’s a tune which goes with the wonderful sunshine we are having today, and it’s only 14 days until Daft Punk – Random Access Memories.

Ryes War Cemetery

After our walk along the cliffs above the Normandy Landing Beaches we drove through the countryside in the sun towards Caen. We stopped at a War Cemetery which we saw a sign for, for some reflection.

We happened upon Ryes War Cemetery. Here are buried 630 British, 21 Canadian, 1 Australian, 1 Polish and 326 German Soldiers.

A most tranquil place. It still shocks me to see the young mens’ ages, heartbreaking. It is still hard to imagine that it wasn’t really that long ago. The inscriptions on the headstones are personal and interspersed among them are anonymous – ‘….known unto God’, chilling and so sad. It naturally has a subdued atmosphere, it is a perfect place to reflect.

My own Grandad was part of the Normandy Landings, he survived and then went on to fight in Burma. He died never speaking of the war, only once can I remember him mentioning it to me. I had a German pen pal when I was at school in the 80’s. He just coldly said to me that maybe her Grandfather had fought him in the war and that was that.

My husband’s Grandad is French, he’s still with us and was a little younger during wartime. He’s from Douai in the North of France and was a young teenager through the occupation of France by the Nazis. His parents’ house was bombed (something that was just accepted), he has many, many stories of that time which are just fascinating. He also got up to much mischief during that time too. Once stealing German uniforms and throwing them into a river. Brave or silly – he was reprimanded by his mother and lucky not to have been caught, but he didn’t like the soldiers being in their school. I must get these stories down on paper. It is such a shame that my Grandad and him didn’t get to meet. A regret.

Ryes War Cemetery – Bazenfield
We must never forget.

Benjamin Biolay – Casino de Paris, 29th March 2013

We booked tickets for Benjamin Biolay during a night of listening to French music. I heard some of his work and thought he sounded good. It isn’t really my usual style of music choice but very French, almost Serge Gainsbourg like (who’s music and character I do actually adore), but not quite! After going to see Lescop (a fabulous French singer) I did gain new admiration for French gig goers of English singing bands. It isn’t easy hearing/understanding the words to music in another language. I listened to much French music in the days leading up to the gig in preparation to get in the zone.

The gig was at the Casino de Paris, a magnificent venue, very beautiful, historic and an excellent place, I thought to hear a French crooner. Very cool.

Benjamin entered stage to an enthusiastic crowd and began. I enjoyed the gig, however, as I mentioned before, his music isn’t all to my taste so there were elements of the night where I thought he went on a bit. Sorry, Biolay fans (if anyone is reading this). His well-known tracks where truly wonderful. His lyrics are so poetic, tortured, full of emotion, he is excellent. I thought there could have been a little more interaction with his band. To me they didn’t seem an ensemble, there were a little disjointed but that might have been just me. The crowd seemed to love him and the show, but where we were stood, it was more perfume than sweat. There were a number of pop / almost danceable tracks but the audience did just stand there. There was rapturous applause though, don’t get me wrong, I think it was an appreciative audience. It was just a different experience for me. It may have been different further towards to the stage.

My favourites of the night were ‘Profite’ (unfortunately without Vanessa Paradis, she did appear on one night) and ‘Rendez-vous Que Sait’, he sings excerpts of ‘Heaven knows I’m miserable now’ – (the Smiths) during this song, it works, it was superb.

Benjamin Biolay seems to be a character, he is not without charisma and is obviously adored by French women and men. He did smoke on stage, but with his back to the crowd. Come on, if you are going to be a bad boy, be a bad boy properly and just smoke. That’s all I’d say about that behaviour. It’s trying to be rock n’ roll but not quite pulling it off?

Overall this gig was very enjoyable, a great experience, Benjamin Biolay is an excellent singer songwriter. Très bien!

I did well with the French during the gig – one mistake, during ‘La Superbe’ he talks a lot about ‘Quelle aventure’ – me: *turns round to husband – “why is he saying ‘what a car’?”* I heard ‘Quelle Voiture’! Still a long way to go with this French language business!

A few shots:

The bar before the gig.

Casino de Paris

Benjamin Biolay

Benjamin Biolay

Benjamin Biolay

Now, it’s Friday again. I’m off to a dinner party tomorrow evening, I’m sure there will be some tales of French experiences to tell afterwards, there always is.

Bon weekend à tous!