11 November 2009

Minneapolis, MN

I had the dumb luck to see the Dirty Projectors in concert before I’d ever heard of them, when they played an opening set for the band I had come to see, Grizzly Bear, about three years ago. It was a nice little revelation.

Frontman David Longstreth did his funky-pigeon neck dance, tickling African chords out of a lefty Fender. Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian — new additions to the band as I recall – plucked and noodled and cooed like a pair of doe-eyed robots fused together with various musical parts from inside Longstreth’s Brooklyn laboratory.

It was all very syncopated and dancey, very Talking Heads. My friend Tom and I knocked back tallboy Sierra Nevadas and wiggled our midsections. There was a song about Longstreth losing his bike or getting pulled over on his bike or something. The songs didn’t really matter. I was having a great time, and I distinctly remember remarking (as I would many times thereafter) that Longstreth, a rising indie star who was knocking me on my ass to watch perform, was about my same age, and even looked like some of the people I went to school with. They were the quiet, awkward kids… the artistic kids. Silly me, I put most of my energy into sports back then, with little foresight as to how my opportunities and interests would soon shift. Surprise: the goofballs won out. I mean, I’m the one standing here, paying to watch Longstreth’s bewildering, completely unique art.

Well now it’s 2009 and the stakes are far higher. The band has played Letterman and toured Europe. Blanket praise has come from all directions, including David Byrne himself, who commissioned Dirty Projectors to write a song around a set of his lyrics. The venue is still tiny — the Cedar is basically a church basement with Surly on tap — but personally, as a listener, I’ve spent a lot more time in the intervening years reading reviews, watching videos. Basically, I won’t be bowled over again by sound alone. Songs – however you want to define the term… musical ideas with a beginning, middle, and end… a canvas with a frame around it – will have to shine through. Otherwise I’m out.

Luckily, Dirty Projectors released an album this year, Bitte Orca, that has plenty of accessible jams on it. The band’s set at the Cedar thankfully relied on these, kicking off with the thumping album opener, “Cannibal Resource”. In addition to Coffman and Deradoorian, Longstreth has now brought in a full-time bass player and a third female vocalist (who looks like Winona Rider), so the coast is clear to reproduce those tricky vocal passages from “Remade Horizon”. Deradoorian seemed in a particularly dour mood, which actually was beneficial to the Nico-inspired “Two Doves”. Perhaps she’s just jealous that Coffman gets to sing lead on “Stillness Is the Move”, which features some fun Mariah Carey freestyle toward the end.

Going forward, I’d hope Longstreth can knock out more dance songs on par with “Stillness”, since they work so well live. Without sacrificing the DP’s patented weirdness, that track actually has a rhythm that doesn’t change up after fifteen seconds, which may be why everyone – band and audience – appears to be having the most fun while it’s being played.

But what do I know? I’m just a dumb jock!

Just in from Andrea Shea King:

November 24, 2009
SARAH PALIN’S COMIN’ TO TOWN!

Photo by Central Florida News 13
Kristinn Taylor is standing in line at the Barnes & Noble Bookseller store in Orlando along with some 1,000 others who are hoping to get a wristband. Why?
Because Sarah Palin is coming to town.

Photo by CFN 13
Kristinn, Free Republic media spokesman, says he arrived at the site at 7:45 a.m. to find that there were already 600 people snaked around the front, side and back of the building.  Also across a street between two buildings and back up the block, around the front of another set of stores, down that street, and in front of the local …  well, you get the idea.  It’s a line that snakes a total of seven blocks long.
“After they opened the doors at 9 a.m. we finally turned the corner to the front of the building, and have half a block to go,” Kristinn said.

Photo by CFN 13
“The people in line are roughly 50-50 male-female. Chris Matthews will be disappointed to learn that there are minorities in line also waiting to meet Sarah Palin.  The crowd is in a good mood and of course, we’re not leaving piles of trash, and in all other ways are well mannered.  And as usual with a gathering of conservatives, law enforcement presence is at a minimum. The women in line for this book signing are much more attractive than the women I saw at the Hillary Clinton booksigning some years ago that the Freepers protested at.”
Mercifully the late autumn Florida weather is cooperating.
“It’s in the 70’s and cloudy with a light breeze, so we’re not getting baked,” said the fair haired, fair skinned Freeper.
Earlier this morning Kristinn says “There was a real good Sarah Palin impersonator here .  A dead ringer.”
He says they’ve not been told by book store personnel how many wrist bracelets will be distributed.
“The assistant manager said that yesterday Palin’s tour staff authorized the Orlando store to issue “stand-by” bracelets which means that after those with the  lettered bracelets are done, if Palin is up to it she’ll start signing books for those in the stand-by line. But no guarantees. Yesterday, according to a Ft. Bragg Public Affairs Officer, Palin took care of 4,000 people. Another 500 disappointed fans were turned away.
“They were told that Palin has gotten into a good rythym and been able to pick up her pace signing books.  The bookstore manager said that in a meeting last week about the stop, stand by bracelets weren’t even an option.”
Earlier today at a Jacksonville book signing, Kristinn says it was reported that 500 bracelets were issued for that book signing.
Palin’s next stop today is at The Villages (site of Glenn Beck’s visit last Saturday), and then it will be on to Orlando with an estimated time of arrival at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Orlando is the last stop of the first portion of her book tour before Sarah takes a break for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Kristinn says media coverage has been good.  “All the Orlando TV stations have been here, and Central Florida News 13 is still on site, conducting interviews.”
So as I leave him, Kristinn is in line. Still…
–
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6 November 2009

Minneapolis, MN

This is a show I went to after hearing just one song by J. Tillman, called “Though I Have Wronged You”. It’s got spare acoustic strumming, hushed vocals,  three-part harmony… these kinds of things usually find their way to my ears, and then I don’t rest until I’ve seen the artist live.

Funny, then, that I still have yet to see Josh Tillman’s other gig — the Fleet Foxes — for whom he is drummer. Their album was certainly a nice surprise last year, and I had at least one chance to see them in San Diego that came and went (don’t ask me how many times that happened in grad school!).

As a consequence, my interest in the Foxes is unfortunately waning. Until I see the live show and witness the passion Robin Pecknold puts behind those pastoral-ass lyrics, I have no other point of reference besides the performances on the album (which, after many listens, are sounding WAY to reverb-y)

Anyway, even if I never get to see Fleet Foxes live, it was a treat to see J. Tillman, whose performance brings an earthiness and beauty I expect accompanies a typical Foxes’ set. Also, since few fans of the buzz band have likely ever heard of Tillman, I got to see him at an extremely intimate venue, the Music Box Theatre. A proper playhouse with a balcony, the crowd only took up the seats right in front of the stage, so it felt like a private staging.  The sound was just right… can’t really use the word “warm” enough to describe it. It was like we were wearing long johns and snuggies but were all still sharing a big blanket and lounging by a fire. (Good enough?)

I suffered a bit from not knowing more of J. Tillman’s songs, and the slow, drony melodies tended to make all the tunes sound the same (the inverse of the “all album, no show” dilemma?). But I was delighted toward the end of the set when he broke into “Though I Have Wronged You”, the one song I knew, and gave it an unexpected, rocking coda, courtesy of his 4-piece touring band. Also, after I got home and downloaded his most recent album, Year in the Kingdom (a steal on emusic), I was delighted to discover that same warmth on record.

Check out the super-weird video for “Though I Have Wronged You”

So this is our first live report, and Kowezhi and Aoliwa are doing it together! From start to finish we’ll jam pack as many details as we can remember.

Aoliwa: On Monday, November 16, 2009, Kowezhi and I set off for Chicago. This was our second Dir en grey show and we had a lot of high expectations. It would be a three hour drive to the Metro, the venue of the show.

KWZ: Yup, I drove the whole three hours. We ended up arriving there with another three hours of waiting ahead of us. We pulled into a public parking lot (the very one next to that hotdog place) across from the Metro, and walked across the street to see that some crazy people had camped outside and there was already a decently long line. It wasn’t too cold at first, but with wind chill it was freezing! I eventually walked over to a nearby McDonald’s and bought some warm things to consume.

ALW: Ok! So we met up with our friend Kelly, and it was finally time to enter the Metro. It took a little bit to get through security, but eventually we made it in. Willis and I found our way to the concert hall and meandered our way through the mosh pit. Through various pushing and shoving (not by us though… by people in the waaay back), we ended up being in the second or third row of people in the mosh pit. Yay for us!

KWZ: Yeah!! It was great that we were that close. Anyway, the opening act was this weird band called “Digital Mindy”. I will give them this, they were better than last year’s opener, “The Human Abstract”. They had a sort of dark school uniform theme going on and they were all kind of on the fat side, but at least they did something…. Last year, all you could hear of the opening act was the bass drums. Absolutely NOTHING else. This time you could hear everything pretty decently balanced except for the bass guitar, which was inaudible. Oh right…. This being an all ages concert makes this funny: they had strippers come out and do some dancing for a couple of their songs. Aoliwa laughed about how when they came out, all the guys in the room would turn to watch them lol. They were really nothing special to look at… On with the music: I had no idea what the vocalist was saying in almost any of the songs, except i did manage to pick out some of their lyrics. I won’t bother mentioning what they were because they were just repetitive and bad. Overall, the opening act was… meh. All their songs sounded pretty much the same. Don’t bother checking them out. Please. We were at the Metro for DIR EN GREY!

ALW: Ok so now it’s time for Diru!!! As soon as they came on the entire mosh pit lurched forward (this was how we got so close to the front!) As to be expected they entered the stage with Sa Bir in the background. The first official song they played was Vinushka. Not the short version either… the full 9+ minutes of epicness. I couldn’t believe the intensity of the song… Vinushka was flawless.

Next up? Red Soil. We all know this is the third track from Uroboros. Kowezhi and I were right in between Kyo and Die, so we got to see a lot of Die’s technique here. He played with such great accuracy.

Now we have REPETITION OF HATRED, the first track from their previous album, Marrow of the Bone. This song is a personal favorite of mine. This track is one of their heavier tracks and it’s great for lives. I couldn’t help but scream “dead passion!” along with everyone else.

KWZ: Ahh yes, continuing on with the epicness…. Stuck Man was next on the set list. I have to say, I love the bass lines in this song. Being much more complicated, they also show Toshiya’s skill. And as Aoliwa mentioned we were close to Die. It was really cool to see his technique up close! He makes it all look so easy…

A favorite of both the crowd and Dir en grey, Agitated Screams of Maggots definitely had every one riled up. It got pretty crazy once this song started. I love hearing this song live because you can see that Diru really gets into it.

Obscure, another of their well known songs was played after. Nice heavy song. It’s amazing to watch Kyo putting so much effort into screaming and just pushing himself to the limit. Damn good performance! I really wish I could see them more..

ALW: What I loved about this concert was the variety in both the members’ behavior and the setlist. We had songs from Uroboros all the way back to Vulgar. The members also did some unique things as well. Kaoru and Die shifted between 5 different guitars each; it just shows how specific they are about their sound.

Along with water and towels, the stage crew also provided the band with beer. Toshiya opened his about two songs in xD.  The crowd got excited and he waved back in acknowledgment.

Alright, back to the show! The next few songs are all from Uroboros. Bugaboo has an interesting title… but it is one kickass song. You could tell Kyo was really in control of his vocals here.

Now we have Toguro, one of my favorite songs from Uroboros. I love the guitar harmonies especially. Before the song, Die and Kaoru switched guitars again. On the album this song opens with some of Kyo’s soft vocals layered over one another in a very spiritual way. Throughout the show Kyo had been doing these Buddhist-like chants (recall the live version of Agitated Screams of Maggots on the Dozing Green single). That’s how Kyo lead into this song; it created an almost ethereal atmosphere.

Yay now we have Glass Skin, the last single before Uroboros was released. Glass Skin is definitely on the softer side, as it opens up with a simple piano melody. This song moved the audience, and things slowed down for a bit.

Glass Skin was the perfect lead in to the best ballad on Uroboros, Inconvenient Ideal. I was sooooo excited when they performed this song. Almost instantly everyone had their eyes on Kyo.. he began with very soothing vocals before he completely opened up with his raw and passionate vocals. Listening to this song was simply amazing. I almost cried here ._.

KWZ: Dozing Green was next on the set list. This has been one of my favorite songs since I first heard it. Kyo’s vocals were perfect. And I watched Die’s guitar technique again. It was actually really nice to be on his side because you get to hear all of the harmonies their songs. Whenever I listen to this song I am always anxious for near the ending where Kyo does a series of piercing screams. Best part of the song! However… Rather than hearing Kyo, I heard a bunch of fan girls -_-

Another song from an earlier era, Merciless Cult came right after. I love this song and I guess part of that is because Diru pretty much has their own cult haha…. Anyway, it was perfect! They are so consistent and keep together so well, it’s amazing. This is a really catchy song too… I couldn’t help but sing the chorus with the crowd. If I remember correctly… it sounded a lot like the album recording tone wise. They must have used the same guitars/effects…

Their last song before the encores, Reiketsu Nariseba, was awesome. I really think that Kyo is a pro at chanting. During the middle of the song there is a section that he does so before bringing back the rest of the band. Pure sexiness. And it was a perfect choice because it left everyone asking for more Dir en grey! (Of course they would anyway… but really, it was great)

ALW: Yay encore time! We only got 3 encores, but I think that was due to the fact that we got some really long songs in the setlist (props to Kaoru). The crowd was ecstatic when they started playing The Final, one of their best known songs. This song made me cry… again. It’s a very emotional song for both Kyo and the fans.

Also… I thought I’d like to point this out. At one point during the show while most people were looking at Kyo I’m pretty sure Die and I made eye contact. Just saying xD

KWZ: Their second encore was Kodou. This song is overall a bit softer than the other songs. It was great to hear Kyo singing for a bit. Also, it was a sort of break for the audience too. No need to jump around and scream lots. Towards the end though, when Kyo started the screams, the crowd followed suit. Gah, I swear that the fan girls hurt my ears more than their sound system!

“Last song!!  LAST SONG!” shouted Kyo. Dir en grey ended this concert with Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro. This fast-paced song was a great way to bring the show to a close. After our break with Kodou, we got to use up more energy with this. Frickin’ awesome! All of the band was going wild with this one.

On a side note: At some point during the concert, Toshiya came over to our side and did his crowd provoking. We got to see him up pretty close too!

ALW: So here we have it, the glorious end to an amazing show. Afterward Kowezhi and I waited in line forever to get merchandise. We finally made it and got a shirt and DVD. Shinya and Die signed our DVD. They eventually came downstairs into the store to sign stuff and Kowezhi and I turned around and right there was Die *___* We said “arigatou” and bowed… they smile=]

Yaaay for Dir en grey!!

Setlist:

Sa Bir

Vinushka

Red Soil

Repetition of Hatred

Stuck Man

Agitated Screams of Maggots

Obscure

Syoukubeni

Bugaboo

Toguro

Glass Skin

Inconvenient Ideal

Dozing Green

Merciless Cult

Reiketsu Nariseba

Encore:

The Final

Kodou

Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro

Chanhassen, MN

24 October 2004

My sister and I heard about this show on our way back to our parents’ suburban home, when we drove by Paisley Park (Prince’s personal recording studio-slash-mansion complex in Chanhassen, MN) and noticed a crowd of people gathering outside. We had just been to Culver’s for dinner. That’s right: Butterburger, Concrete Shake, sit-yr-lardass-in-a-blue-booth Culver’s. A terrible dietary choice, and I’m not proud of it.

But what unfolded from that bloated ride home is the stuff of freaky-deeky concert going legend.  “Yeah, Prince is throwin’ some kinda party,” said the cop out front, diverting traffic to designated parking areas. In three and a half years of driving past, this was the first time we had seen anything of any sort happening outside the mysterious Paisley Park. A nondescript, lavender-striped monolith set against an uninspiring suburban backdrop, Prince has been recording there for more than 20 years — albums of jarring stylistic complexity — though you would never know to drive by it. Basically a Willy Wonka-type scenario, if Wonka’s had dealt exclusively in androgynous, super-sexxy candy.

Another question for the cop. Yes, the ‘party’ was open to the public. A charity one-off, actually. $40, cash only. We parked hastily, apologized for forgetting our non-perishable food item, and joined the gathered throng in the courtyard. Waiting anxiously in the brisk evening, we assessed the crowd to consist principally of (1) Lotus Flow3r fanclub members, dressed in New Power Generation-emblazoned parkas, who had received an email announcement of the show, and (2) ordinary Minnesotans who read every square inch of the newspaper, where a smallish announcement had run that same morning, bottom of page A2. And us. We were there too: a couple of twentysomethings who go to rock shows fairly often and think we know bloody everything… How far out of school would we be with Prince?

Doors finally opened around ten, and we quickly learned that we would not be given an all-access pass to the entire complex (a shame… check out the slideshow), but whisked directly to a large performance area. But wait… just before we broke for the stage… what was that in the lobby? It’s the Purple Rain motorcycle! No shit! Just sitting there in the corner! Is it the real one from the movie? The impish, fanboy security guard manning the velvet rope gave me a slight nod to say “you bet your ass it’s the one”. Daaamn! What an iconic 80’s artifact! I instantly made the first of many unfortunate Michael Jackson comparisons when I thought back to my visit to the Experience Music Project in Seattle this summer, where I saw MJ’s ‘Billy Jean’ jacket + glove encased in museum glass. And here’s THE Purple Rain bike! Just sitting here in a private studio in the southwest suburbs!

It also got me thinking about how the Prince from “Purple Rain” was really the only one I knew. I’m sure I’m not alone in this assessment. He’s the one who’s on DVD. The one with Appolonia, on the purple motorcycle, headed for Lake Minnetonka. Intensely weird, yes. But a track like “When Doves Cry”… it’s at least comprehensible… (even categorizable?)

After about an hour Prince took the stage with his band and summarily smoked my neophyte ass. “I got too many hits y’all” he pronounced more than once, laying into yet another funkified jam. The falsetto vocals, the liquid synths, the belting, buxom backup singers… it was all in full effect. And yo, I’ve seen some guitar wanking in my day (John Frusciante, Jack White), but this guy was off the grid entirely. “Can your boyfriend do THIS?” Rockstar swagger, distilled to its essence.

Most of the tunes I never knew existed. He seemed to draw from everything except “Purple Rain”: mostly early-early 80’s (as I researched later), plus some new material. Tons of covers peppered the setlist, ranging from “I Want You Back” to Sarah McLaughlin’s “Angel” (no shit!).

He played for three hours, and I was surprisingly happy to stand/dance for the duration.  A definite high point was Larry Graham, original bass player for Sly and the Family Stone, who took the stage and guested on a handful of funk classics, including “Everyday People”, “I Want to Take You Higher”, and other joints he and Sly once pulled out at Woodstock. (I learned later that Graham has been in the Prince fold for a while now, and is actually the one responsible for Prince’s becoming a Jehovah’s Witness. Eeew!)

A blistering encore of “Kiss” gave way to a tender ballad (“Sometime It Snows in April”) that I was embarrassed I didn’t know. But that Prince, he lets you down easy: “Purple Rain” for the closer. Nice and slow, building to that gospel-infused chorus. Into extended guitar + falsetto solos… all was right in the world.

A serendipitous hankerin’ for pancakes suddenly o’ertook me, but no. It’s late, and we’ve overstayed our welcome. Come along, sis. Like what you’ve done with the place, Mr. Prince. We should do this again sometime.

Ce qu’il y a de bien avec un concert de trentenaires… c’est qu’on a de l’espace dans la fosse aha

Alors que dire de ce concert?… Bizarrement pas grand chose tellement c’était génial! James Morrison est arrivé le sourire aux lèvres, nous a gratifié d’un “bonsoir français” et il m’avait déjà dans la poche…

J’y suis allée surtout pour écouter cette voix rocailleuse et par la meme occasion découvrir le 2eme album que je ne connaissais pas très bien. J’ai découvert un véritable artiste.

La salle n’a commencé a se réchauffer seulement à partir de Broken Strings, où une des choristes à pris la place de Nelly Furtado.

Pendant près de 2h on est bercés entre balades et titres un peu plus pop. Quand on ressort de là, on reste encore dans cette atmosphère ouatée où tout à l’air joli :p

Après ces 2h c’est un Olympia debout qui applaudit cet artiste. Je suis prete à parier qu’il reviendra dans notre capitale. Et bien évidemment j’y serai aussi Je vous conseille vivement de le voir sur scène, c’est un régal.

Photos

Setlist :

1. The Only Night 
2. Save Yourself 
3. This Boy
4. Please Don’t Stop the Rain
5. On The Same Side
6. Get To You
7. Love Is Hard
8. You Make It Real
9. Broken Strings
10. If You Don’t Wanna Love Me
11. Under the Influence
12. Call The Police / Use Me (Bill Withers cover)
13. Precious Love
14. Nothing Ever Hurt Like You / Uptight (Stevie Wonder cover)
15. You Give Me Something

Encore:

1. Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson cover)
2. Fix Up The World For You
3. Wonderful World

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

4 Novembre 2009
B72 – Vienna

Era pure ora che scrivessi su questo blog, non trovate? E che cazzo. Ho deciso di farlo proprio adesso, in un freddo e macabro novembre mitteleuropeo, lontano dalla controversa Roma.

Distrutto dalla mia vita dissoluta, ero piuttosto indeciso riguardo al recarmi o meno allo show: il mercoledì sera è impegnativo, come sapete, e i miei amici locali hanno tutti agilmente dribblato la mia amichevole proposta.
Ma dopo una zuppa gulash in scatola scaldata al microonde, ecco che ho ricevuto l’ispirazione: andare! Sono saltato in modo littorio su una bicicletta gentilmente offerta dal  socialdemocratico comune di Vienna e, appena prima dell’ibernazione,  sono arrivato al B72, un pittoresco ambiente situato proprio sotto all’U-bahn (dove ogni treno fa tremare tutto), giusto in tempo per gustare alcuni brani degli Slaraffenland.
Un Jameson costa 7 euro, e la dose elargita potrebbe essere contenuta in un Mon Cheri ferrero: per questo ho accompagnato la serata con cascate di birra Goesser (una pils low-cost locale).

Gli Slaraffenland sono cinque ragazzi danesi di dimensioni abbastanza ridotte: indossano magliette aderenti con sopra delle ossa e jeans a calzamaglia, zompettano come saltimbanchi, hanno dei baffi ironici, cantano spesso in coro come dei marinai ubriachi (appunto) danesi, e indugiano volentieri sull’utilizzo di tromba e trombone. Fortunatamente gli Slaraffenland sanno scrivere un pezzo prog e sono degli ottimi musicisti: questo rende ciò che potrebbe essere archiviato come una ingenua versione nordeuropea dei Man Man piuttosto godibile. Aggiungo che, e qui so bene che alcuni colleghi dissentiranno, il fatto che le loro voci mi ricordino in qualche modo gli Xtc non è del tutto negativo.

A questo punto sono alla terza Goesser, e quei maledetti hippie rilassati degli Akron/Family iniziano a montare un palco pieno di panni peruviani, ammenicoli tra cui annoveriamo Kazu, corni, flauti dolci, nonché una specie di interno di tenda apache dietro alla batteria. Il chitarrista, appena prima di togliersi un maglione con fantasia di Lama ed indossare una fascetta da Björn Borg mi chiede, con voce da training autogeno buddista, come sto.
“Meravigliosamente, e tu?”"
“Meravigliosamente”.
è un buon inizio.

Quest’estate all’Init me li sono persi (fortunatamente però ho potuto leggere la recensione su Nerds Attack, che è sempre sempre un po’ come essere lì di persona), ma li avevo visti un numero imprecisato di anni fa alla Locanda Atlantide, quando Devendra Banhart era “strano” e a Roma impazzivano ancora  tutti per i Killers: internet era sensibilmente meno diffuso, e i tempi impiegati dalla nostra stampa musicale nel tradurre e copiaincollare pitchfork media erano allora un po’ più lunghi.
Ebbene, quell’anno gli Akron/Family erano in quattro, e mi avevano sedotto con un ritorno al folk (ai tempi ancora non trito e ritrito) che mischiava melodie tradizionali e rumorismi pazzi (se non sbaglio ai tempi hanno addirittura eseguito una toccante “silent night” a cappella, senza microfono). Quanti ricordi!
Oggi gli Akron Family sono in tre. Presumo che qualche altro anno a Williamsburg li abbia temprati nello spirito: la lieta notizia è che in questi anni gli Akron Family, pur non abbandonando le bizzarrie elettroniche e qualche occasionale ritorno alla pastoralità,  sono approdati all’elettricità e alla psichedelia, suonando superbamente, e senza farsi troppi problemi: il comune denominatore rimane il “viaggio” verso un mondo fatto di barbe, droga, sofà morbidi, assoli giganteschi, fumo colorato, fiori e lane esotiche.
L’impressione, peraltro, a è che si tratti di gente a cui non frega un cazzo di niente. Il prodigioso bassista-percussionista-cantante è ad esempio un ometto panciuto con mullet, barba e scarpe da trekking. Non fanno il soundcheck, e quando un fan glielo fa notare rispondono “fattelo tu il soundcheck”. Gli Akron/Family non hanno niente da dimostrare.

Buoni quindici minuti consecutivi di concerto, dopo un’introduzione variegata (quando suonano piano sono a brevi tratti praticamente Crosby Stills & Nash, ma poi subentrano subito drumbeat assassini e voci distorte),  sono stati dedicati al riffaggio selvaggio. Avendo finito la quarta birra e le sigarette, non mi resta che dimenarmi selvaggiamente in prima fila insieme a tre austriaci pazzi (una di loro in effetti è di sesso femminile e in mise discinta). Ad un certo punto, per spirito di emulazione ho gridato “su le mani”, e dubito che qualcuno abbia recepito il mio messaggio di amore e fratellanza in lingua Romanza. Hanno chiuso di nuovo in modo quieto, infischiandosene del bis (che in effetti è sempre un tantino fuori luogo dopo concerti omogenei e intensi come questo).

A fine concerto ho disquisito di vini pregiati col batterista ed alcuni altri austriaci pazzi, dei quali nessuno ha condiviso la mia teoria sulla supremazia assoluta del vino Italiano. E non so bene cosa mi abbia spinto ad acquistare una fascetta per capelli degli Akron/Family (forse il signor Goesser?), fatto sta che verso l’una di notte ero fuori dal locale ed avevo freddo e mi è tornata utile. Ho chiesto un Bratwurst in un chiosco turco, e mi è stato dato un Frankfurter. La frustrazione si è estinta nella ghiottoneria e, concluso il pasto con un sonoro rutto, oplà! Un agile balzo sulla mia bicicletta pubblica e ho preso la via di casa con la mia ridicola fascetta degli Akron Family. Sono caduto un paio di volte, e nonostante il dolore acuto che provo in svariate congiunture sono tuttora soddisfatto della dose di psichedelia assunta.

Attenzione: il 19 novembre verranno anche a Roma (nuovamente alla locanda atlantide), e secondo me non dovreste perderveli. Se il vostro cervello non provvede da se alla produzione di endorfine il mio consiglio è di drogarvi almeno un po’.

Viele grüße,

Il Vento.

Enfin!! Enfin je peut creer un dossier photo intitulé Muse! Le pied, je vous racconte pas! Bref… pour ceux qui souhaitent juste voir les photos, c’est par là : Flickr

L’album est en cours d’update.

Pour les curieux qui n’ont pas peur des spoilers, c’est parti…

La journée avait comme un petit air de déjà vu, puisque nous sommes arrivées a 7h30 devant le stade. Déjà, une bonne trentaine de personnes est sur place. On s’occupe comme on peut, on fait connaissance malgré le froid, bref dans l’ensemble tout ce passe bien. Quand tout à coup j’apprends que Bliss ne figure pas au programme… KEUAH?! mais s’il n’y a pas Bliss, il n’y a pas de ballons, et pas de ballons… bah pas de ballons… J’espère tout de meme qu’ils la chanteront juste pour moi… oui je sais…

Lorsqu’arrive le moment tant attendu où l’on arrive devant les portes pour la vérification des billets, on se rend vite compte que le staff sécurité va très vite etre dépassé. On découvrira plus tard qu’il n’était habitué qu’au manifestations sportives… c’est sur, un concert de Muse, ça les change un peu.

La première partie se nomme The Horrors… et très franchement ils portent très bien leur nom! Je crois qu’ils ont foutu le cafard à toute la salle, franchement ils ne m’ont pas mis dans l’ambiance du tout.

Après une courte pause, on aperçoit la clope de Chris sous une des tours en tissu… et voilà ça commence! Les lumières s’éteignent, on entre aperçoit Dom et Matthew se mettrent en place à leur tour et les tours en tissus tombent à terre. Elles laissent place a 3 tours lumineuses qui affichent plusieurs personnages gravissant un escalier, le tout sur une musique apocalyptico-electro.

Les premières notes d’Uprising retentissent et la fosse s’anime. Matthew comme à son habitude crâne un peu et “joue” avec le public. J’ai par contre été suprise de voir qu’ils ne portaient pas déguisements… C’est Halloween m*****! Mais on pouvait considérer la veste en poils de chien argenté de Bellamy comme un costume…

Je ne vous referais pas toute la setlist, je crois qu’elle a été donné par le groupe sur Facebook. Le concert n’offre pas de surprise, la setlist est la meme que lors des précédentes dates, mais tant pis, on apprécie tout de meme.

Avant je ne prétais pas une grande attention à Chris, mais étant pile poil devant, j’y étais bien obligée cette fois-ci et boudiou quelle énergie!! Il y a une espèce de classe qui se dégage du bonhomme, malgré son joli bidon d’amateur de bière :p

Dom avait pratiquement toujours le sourire et Matt… bah malheureusement je n’ai pas pu le voir correctement le Maffiou. Et oui car la scène ronde, présente d’énormes projecteurs sur les bords… à moins d’etre au milieu, vous serez genés :/

Mais grâce au tours, tout le monde a une chance de bien les voir. Ils remontent en effet quelques fois dedans et s’élèvent à 3 ou 4 mètres du sol. Autre particularité de cette scène, la place de Dom tourne… enfin pas tout le temps, seulement quand Chris et Dom nous proposent une “impro” basse/batterie. C’était réellement superbe à voir, et le sourire de Dom… ça n’a pas de prix (pour tout le reste il y a… bref)

La fosse était vraiment excellente, un peu trop vers le milieu car on a vu pas mal d’évacuations et les filles étaient dans un sale état :/

Quand arrive Plug in Baby, une floppée de ballons arrivent dans la fosse. Je me disais bien aussi… La fosse est déchainée, tout le monde chante et Matthew grand seigneur nous laisse le refrain.

Mais plus je regardais la scène et plus je me disais qu’elle était peut être un peu trop grande. Je pense qu’ils voulaient faire leur propre 360° tour, car des micros et baffles étaient disposés tout autour de la scène, mais c’était un coup pour rien. Matt n’a fait le tour de la scène qu’une seule fois et Chris ne s’est pas retourné… donc je ne vois pas l’intérêt d’avoir une scène ronde s’ils ne vont pas jeter un oeil au public qui est derrière eux.

Lorsque arrive le rappel, les 3 musiciens se présentent costumés. Aaahhh enfin! Nous avons donc eu droit au retour de SpiderDom, à Chris-Batman et Matt-Dracula. D’ailleurs c’était plutot drôle de le voir a genoux, la tete penchée totalement recouverte par son col immense.

Exogenesis Part.1 aurait eu beaucoup plus de cachet avec un orchestre sur scène… mais on ne peut pas tout avoir. Après quelques titres, ils quittent la scène, Dom nous gratifie d’un petit speech (auquel je n’ai rien compris à par le “Cheers”) et voilà c’est fini… faut retourner au métro boulot dodo…

D’après ce que j’ai lu ici et là, les gradins étaient assez endormis… j’espère qu’a Bercy ça ne sera pas la cas. J’espère aussi qu’ils finiront par jouer I Belong To You, sur au moins une date française… m’enfin le pauvre doit croire qu’on se moque de lui, dommage.

Rendez-vous donc a Bercy

Samedi, début d’après midi… il pleut…

Après la pause McDo/mal bouffe/fast food obligatoire, direction le Zénith. Il pleut, il y a un peu de vent et presque personne devant les grilles… A part d’irréductibles fans abrités sous des baches de sacs poubelles. Mais l’attente se passe très bien grâce aux gens rencontrés sur place. Petit bonjour donc à Jade, et aux 3 autres personnes qui nous ont tenus compagnie! J’apprend pendant ce temps que B. Molko avait peté son câble lors des dates précédentes contre certaines personnes du public le prenant en photo… dans ce cas il vaudrait mieux fermer le groupe Placebo world sur Flickr… joli paradoxe. Faites gaffe les 1er rangs *sliflotte*

Nous nous sommes placées vers le milieu de scène, au 4e rang, on étaient plutot bien loties… du moins pour le moment. Pour nous faire attendre, plusieurs courts métrage ont été projettés sur le fond de scène blanc. Ces courts métrage étaient plutot tristes et morbides… bref pas de quoi nous mettre dans une ambiance de fête, à part l’avant dernier, le français, le seul applaudi. Un vote sera organisé pour élire le meilleur court métrage, les instructions sont à venir sur le site officiel.

Entre les projections de films, se présentent les 2 premières parties. Je ne connais pas le nom du 1er groupe, celui où tous les membres étaient habillés en blanc, mais leur musique était plutot sympa! Le chanteur avait la meme gestuelle que B. Molko et pratiquement la meme voix, on était donc pas trop dépaysés :p

Le 2e groupe se nomme Expatriate. Groupe australien expatrié en Allemagne. Tout comme pour le groupe précédent, les chansons passe très bien et le groupe est bien accueilli par le public.

3e salves de courts métrage, mise en place du matériel de Placebo… et je me rend compte que je suis pile poil devant le micro de Molko… Je me prépare psychologiquement a recevoir des coups…

Le groupe entre en scène et commence par For What it Worth et si vous vous posez la question, Brian n’a plus les cheveux aussi long…

Le groupe prend son pied sur scène. Brian et Stefan (tout d’argent vêtu) s’échange des sourires et s’amusent à venir au bord de la scène pour constater que la foule se presse bien devant eux. Steve est énergique derrière sa batterie et n’en lève pratiquement jamais le nez d’ailleurs.

La fosse est balottée dans tout les sens, je m’efforce de pouvoir respirer et chanter. Je me rends compte que je manque de mourir asphyxiée à cause d’une seule et meme personne qui prend un malin plaisir a nous compresser de toutes ses forces… Ok une fosse c’est fait pour bouger mais lorsque ça nous met en danger non merci… il aurait d’ailleurs mieux fait de se préoccuper de sa copine qui était au bord de l’évanouissement… ce qui a d’ailleurs causé un début de bagarre… évidemment il fallait que ça tombe sur moi. D’ailleurs aux 3… cons (appellons un chat un chat), sachez que je vous maudit vous et votre déscendance sur 10 générations… (ça c’est fait)

Molko arretera d’ailleurs le concert un petit moment, ayant vu ce qu’il se passait. Je n’ai pas trop écouté ce qu’il raccontait, étant plus occupée à “sauver la vie” d’une de mes amies.

On décide donc de s’éloigner et de profiter du concert un peu plus au calme. Dommage, car nous devons quitter celles que nous avons rencontré dans la fosse :/

Ce qui m’a permis de remarquer que Brian ne communiquait pas vraiment avec le public. J’avais pourtant été prévenue lorsque j’avais acheté mes places : “tu verras il aime bien papoter sur scène, un peu trop meme”. Les titres continuent donc de s’enchainer et le Zénith entier est debout. L’ambiance est excellente.

A la fin, ce n’est pas un mais deux rappels que nous offre le groupe. Les applaudissements augmentent en intensité entre le 1er et le 2e. Si la 1ere partie était principalement consacrée aux titre du nouvel album, les rappels nous servent les “anciens” tubes tels que Special K ou encore Taste in Men, dernière chanson du set. Les lumières se rallument et nous sommes forcés de quitter le Placebo World… Je ressors de ce concert complètement vidée, mais c’est gage d’un show réussi!

Si vous voulez gouter au monde Placebo, il reste des places pour le show de mardi…

Photos à venir

Setlist :

1. For What It’s Worth
2. Ashtray Heart 
3. Battle For The Sun
4. Soulmates 
5. Speak In Tongues
6. Follow The Cops Back Home
7. Every You Every Me
8. Special Needs
9. Breathe Underwater
10. Because I Want You
11. Twenty Years
12. Julien
13. The Never-Ending Why
14. Blind
15. Devil In The Details
16. Meds 
17. Song To Say Goodbye

Encore:

1. Bright Lights
2. Special K
3. The Bitter End

Encore 2:

1. Trigger Happy 
2. Infra-red
3. Taste In Men

Edit : le 1er groupe se nomme United

J’attendais ce Bercy avec impatience après le Trabendo, en me demandant ce que donnait le groupe dans une salle beaucoup plus grande mais aussi avec un public plus large…

L’aventure commence a 16h, il y a déjà du monde sur les marches de Bercy pour les gradins… je croise les doigts pour qu’il y ai moins de monde pour la fosse… en voyant la queue, j’aurai préféré passer par les gradins finalement!

Je n’ai jamais vu autant de monde à cette heure de l’après midi attendre pour un concert. En cherchant la fin de la file je me demandais à quelle heure avaient bien pu arriver les 1er… j’ai ma réponse lorsque je franchi les portes de la salle et vois couvertures de survie, vestes abandonnées et autres petites chaises pliantes. Malgré la foule qui nous précédait, on a pu trouver une place convenable, pas très loin de la scène.

La première partie entre en scène sur O Fortuna ( ce qui est très perturbant lorsque l’on est fan de 30 seconds to mars…) et là plus rien. Mon cerveau à fait un énorme rejet, je n’attendai qu’une chose, c’est qu’ils entament leur dernière chanson. Mais ceci n’engage que moi, pour les curieux, allez faire un tour sur leur myspace.

Lorsque Prima Donna se retire de scène, je profite que les lumières se rallument pour jeter un oeil aux gradins qui se sont rapidement remplis. Et bien je ne savais pas que Green Day avait un public aussi jeune! Les trentenaires sont relégués au fin fond de Bercy, pendant que les prépubères s’agitent sur leurs sièges , batons fluorescent en main, le tout sous la surveillance de leurs parents.

Après quelques minutes d’attente, pendant lesquelles on nous a passé du Village People, les lumières s’éteignent et les premiers mots de Song of the Century retentissent dans Bercy. L’hystérie collective commence et tout le monde se rapproche de la scène.

C’est parti pour 2h30 de show! Les premiers titres sont tirés du dernier album, exepté Holiday, qui finit de vous reveiller au cas ou.

Le groupe reprendra les memes ficelles qu’au Trabendo, privilégiant les eho eho à une véritable communication avec le public. Et oui, n’en déplaise à certains, j’ai trouvé le groupe assez distant malgré l’ambiance survoltée qui régnait ce soir là à Bercy. Certes un concert de Green Day c’est festif et les fans sont au taquet, mais je n’ai pas réussi à me mettre dedans… Peut être parce que finalement ce n’était pas improvisé, que tout ça avait préalablement été répété et déjà vu sur les dates précédentes(?!) Aller savoir…

Il y a quand meme beaucoup de moments forts lors de ce show, comme par exemple le jet massif de papier toilette sur la public ou bien l’envoi de tshirts via un canon, permettant meme aux personnes en gradin d’avoir une chance d’en attraper un. Il y a aussi le moment où Billie Joe à fait monter ce petit garçon de 11 ans sur scène pour cloturer East Jesus Nowhere et la salle entière scandant son prénom à la fin de la chanson.

Au milieu du concert je décide de chercher un peu d’air et me dirige vers le fond. C’est en allant chercher à boire que je me rends compte que le concert est filmé… Peut être avez-vous une idée de ce que va devenir la vidéo?!

C’est donc comme une vieille vingtenaire (sic) que je fini le concert. Je suis toujours autant surprise par les nombreuses détonnations dues aux feux d’artifice et rate plusieurs fois le petit cul blanc de Billie Joe. Au final, il ne me reste que la musique et oublie ce qui se passe sur scène. J’écoute les dernières notes de guitare acoustique de Billie Joe et voilà que le concert se termine. La fin est un peu brutale, mais on ne va pas chipoter après 2h30.

Photos

Setlist complète

En cette soirée de mars, alors qu’il fait assez froid dehors, l’ambiance à l’intérieur du Double Six semble plus chaleureuse pour la venue de Protest the Hero, originaire du Canada…

Protest The Hero

4 Oktober 2009

Hari minggu, enaknya tuh jalan-jalan. Baru mikir enaknya pergi kemana, eh sahabat tercintaku muncul dengan tiba-tiba *ga tau harus merasa senang atau merasa bete!* dan dia tiba-tiba turun dengan derasnya dan disusul dengan hilangnya signal wifi di rumah plus AC mati, yep! good!! ini berarti ga ada arus listrik. PLN tercinta, kita kan dah bayar kewajiban, kok hak-nya tidak dipenuhi?

Tapi baguslah, dengan matinya wifi dirumah, berarti saya dipaksa untuk mengerjakan tugas kuliah yang masih belum selesai, riset pemasaran –> bikin kuesioner, huft!! aaaargh!! dari 2 hari yang lalu, sama sekali ga ada ide gimana bikin pertanyaan tentang topik pindahnya customer hape merk tertentu ke blackberry akhir-akhir ini.

Yeah! secara sekarang di mana-mana kita bisa liat dari anak SD sampe Opa-opa sibuk pencat-pencet barang kotak berwarna hitam yang dilapisi sampul warna-warni dan ga’ menghiraukan keadaan sekitar.

Sebenarnya sih, ga susah-susah amat kayanya. Tapi malasnya itu loh,YAD!! Ya Ampun Deh!! enaknyabubu-bubu, telvon2an, nggosip, maem, nonton tv. Hayah!! corettt!!! bertekad dengan sungguh-sungguh akan mengerjakan tugas setelah listrik mengalir kembali.

Hari ini, beberapa hari setelah gempa Padang terjadi, setiap nonton tv *kebetulan lebih lama melototin tv1* –> yang ada cuma si Tina Talisa lagi live report dari hotel ambacang. Well, jadi kangen sama masa-masa liputan dulu, xixixiii. Jelek-jelek gini pernah jd reporter loh saya

Kemarin pas lagi main twitter sama teman-teman eks Kantor yang dulu, terungkaplah bahwa seorang kawan saya yang tadinya reporter akhirnya menjadi korlip. Prestasi yang bagus-lah untuk dia, dan saya appreciate for him, but setelah beberapa kali reTweet dengan teman-teman, muncul sebuah reply dari salah seorang teman yang kebetulan seorang cameraperson, menyatakan bahwa rekan “korlip” tersebut adalah korlip detik, pikiran saya saat itu “oh mungkin sekarang pindah ke portal berita terkemuka tersebut.

Ternyata oh Ternyata! saya baru ingat, bahwa korlip detik itu maksudnya, korlip yang dapat info segala macam dari berita di detik.com, bukan dari sumber2 terpercaya. hahahahahahhahahahaa!! *NO COMMENT*

Back to hujan, alhamdulillah sekarang dah berhenti, dan lamat-lamat terdengar adzan ashar, cukup lama juga hujan hari ini, dari ba’da dzhuhur sampe sekarang. Tapi ini listrik kok masih padam yah? kalo dipikir-pikir, kita sebagai masyarakat harusnya diberi pelayanan yang terbaik kan ya? kok akhir-akhir ini, sering baca status teman-teman di facebook kalo listrik dirumahnya mati karena pemadaman bergilir.

Saya ga’ sendirian loh! ga’ cuma di wilayah jakarta dan tetangganya, di tempat pacar saya bertugas *di bumi sulawesi juga terjadi pemadaman rutin setiap pukul 19.00 tau 20.o0 wita*, dan saya ga’ berharap pemadaman masih terjadi sampe anak cucu saya lahir. Bahasanya, cukup saya dan teman-teman saya aja di tahun 2009 yang merasakan bahwa pelayanan publik pemerintah tuh ga bagus banget!!! jangan sampe 30 tahun kedepan, cucu saya masih merasakan pemadaman setiap beberapa jam sekali. huft!! Pak SBY, ini gimana PLN??

Voilà la traduction du live report du concert PLAY OF MEDLEY de Kiyoharu du 17 avril à Osaka écrit à l’origine par Bine sur JaME ! Je l’ai traduit pour la version française.
A noter qu’il s’agit du concert qu’à repris le DVD du même nom.

PLAY OF MEDLEY

Già da diverso tempo è on-line su www.dedication.it un reportage del concerto dei The Get Up Kids tenuto lo scorso 29 agosto a Ceccano (FR) nell’ambito di “Etnika Rock Festival 2009″.
Il live report, completo di video tratti dalla serata, può essere letto cliccando qui.

The Get Up Kids

foto di Elio Dattero (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciaopimpa2/)

Serata irripetibile quella dello scorso 11 settembre. Vinicio Capossela “sbarca” (è il caso di dirlo) a Positano per il “Myth Festival”  con il suo spettacolo in riva al mare “Storie di marinai, balene e profeti”. Tra letteratura, musica mito, favole, ecco il live report di Giuseppe Piscino.

Venerdi 11 settembre, notte di luna calante, umida di mare e Vinicio Capossela mette la ciliegina sulla torta al “Positano Myht festival”. Da quelle parti, vuoi per ragioni turistiche economiche, vuoi perché si pensa in modo internazionale, i nomi sono inglesi e sentendo il cantante irpino declamare versi di Melville non  si può non lasciarsi prendere dallo spettacolo, semplice, unico, affascinante.

E mentre a decine di chilometri di distanza si spendono cifre vergognose per un cantante che nulla hanno a che fare con l’humus del luogo, Capossela, accompagnato da una band rodata di ottimi strumentisti, tra cui il chitarrista Allessandro Stefana ed il mago dei suoni Vincenzo Vasi, al theremin ed ai campionatori, ammalia, donando agli astanti ritmi sincopati e talvolta jazzati.

I concerti del nostro hanno la peculiarità di esser sempre diversi, nuovi. Come i grandi artisti, la scaletta non è mai simile, del resto il cantare non dovrebbe essere un “lavoro”, un ripetersi meccanicamente. A Positano, Capossela offre uno spettacolo dal titolo “storie di marinai, balene e profeti”.

foto di Elio Dattero (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciaopimpa2/)

Un migliaio le persone accorse sulla spiaggia grande per questa rappresentazione che spazia dalla musica alla letteratura dedicata al mare,  sempre lì, sempre presente, intorno ad un palco che è una polena di una barca, opera dello scultore Ruben Esposito.
Non vogliamo qui procedere didascalicamente ai pezzi suonati, a quelli evitati, ma solamente ricordare una sera magica tra le bellissime pagine di letteratura del Jona che visse nella balena, le note di chi sta dalla parte di Spessotto e poi pirati, ciurme che si ammutinano, serenate marinare.

E così può anche capitare di vedere muoversi sul palco-barca uomini con maschere di meduse sinuose e sensuali, affondamenti del Cinastic, canzoni che si muovono tramite manovella e Celine che appare tra una canzone e l’altra, il tutto condito da un’artista a tutto tondo che, conferma, ad ogni disco, ad ogni concerto la sua unicità, in un mondo, quello della musica leggera, sempre più appiattito su sé stesso.

Positano-Capossela: sembrava un binomio tra due mondi distanti, tra l’effimero e la poesia, la schematicità e l’assimetria. L’altra sera ha vinto la poesia, che ha avvolto l’effimero, nascondendolo, facendolo danzare e cullare sulle onde di un mare placido e splendente.

Giuseppe Piscino

Coldplay en stade ou dans une salle de taille “normale”, c’est exactement la meme chose! J’avais peur que la communication avec le public soit réduite à zéro au Parc mais finalement Chris Martin a su nous donner ses plus belles phrases françaises.

Le plus beau moment restera la ola de telephones portables dans un stade plongé dans le noir.

Je n’ai pas grand chose de plus à rajouter par rapport aux 3 derniers shows que j’ai pu voir.

Pour ce qui est de l’album leftright, il n’a pas été possible de nous le délivrer à la fin du show, mais à partir de demain 11 septembre, vous pourrez vous le procurer à la FNAC en y présentant votre billet.

Pour les photos c’est par ici : click

Son stati una rosicata.

Cathedral me li son persi per andare a vedere la stessa sera i Gong, che però si sono rivelati un gruppo di anziani onanisti progressive con i suoni midi anni 80 e turnisti da band fusion. Della band di Camembert Electric non c’era manco l’eco lontano e ormai gli elementi migliori del loro show sono vedere lui e lei fare cose da anziani hippie pazzi in un centro di igiene mentale, neanche masterbuilder mi riescono a fare carica. Quindi concerto brutto e rimpianto per il concerto non visto dei Cathedral.

I Motorhead li ho persi perchè mentre mi recavo al concerto si è rotta la Vespa. Chiaro segno che, dopo la beffa dei Cathedral, Dio mi è nemico ed è nemico del rock.

Per fortuna l’evento salvifico accade il 27 Luglio: John Fogerty all’Auditorium, prima volta a Roma. E questo col cazzo che me lo perdo avendo comperato i biglietti in anticipo da mesi.

Il frontman dei Creedence Clearwater Revival può anche essere una figura un po’ stronzetta del classic rock (le liti col fratello, il divorzio da primadonna coi Creedence, le querelle con la  Fantasy sui diritti delle canzoni…), ma a me fotte sega: ha fatto alcune tra le mie canzoni preferite di sempre ed è troppo pettinato per potergli volere male.

Io e Il Vento entriamo trepidanti al concerto del nostro eroe, il timore di una delusione era stato preventivamente spazzato via grazie ai video dei suoi tour recenti su Youtube.

Sediamo in tribuna laterale ai posti economici che ci si addicono. Da li è magia: Fogerty entra più pettinato e tonico che mai, è ibernato nel 1975 credo, ha la pelle tesa come un mocassino e il sorriso più smaccatamente yankee che si possa immaginare. C’è visibilio nell’aria.

Attacca con Hey Tonight e da li per quasi due ore inanella gran parte dei classici dei creedenece (praticamente tutto il best of di Chronicles e qualche chicca da Willy & The Poor Boys) e tra un terzetto di classiconi e un altro ci infila brani dal recente Revival. Revival è un disco che mi è piaciuto per metà, nel senso: bei pezzi ma brutti suoni… Puliti, impersonali, senza la  “pastosità” dei CCR.

Dal vivo invece, ah dal vivo son proprio belli quei pezzi e avolte sfiora il southern rock… Ma non c’è tempo per stare a fare considerazioni del genere quando vieni incalzato a colpi di Fortunate Son, Green River, Proud mary, I put a Spell on You… Io mi commuovo in più punti, lo confesso.

Nel frattempo il parterre sotto di noi è diventato una dancehall in barba alle restrizioni della sicurezza dell’Auditorium, la gente balla anche sugli spalti; c’è gente di ogni tipo, età sesso, provenienza a dimostrare cheè  il buon rock il collante salvifico degli uomini… Ad avere delle birre in corpo sarebbe stato il top.

Nello show Fogerty cambia 666 chitarre e fa degli assoli cafonissimi, lo amiamo! A un certo punto  dal nulla fa una specie di Eruption che spacca in due Eddie Van Halen solo per far capire che lui è più coatto di tutti se vuole. Che possanza…

Ciao Roma, non ho un parrucchino!

Lui con il suo radio-jack salta, balla, incita il pubblico e si gode marpione gli applausi come se avesse vent’ anni. Fa sinceramente impressione pensare che ha quasi l’età di mio padre in realtà.

Esco ebbro di rock, felice, emozionato, ripagato da un estate di delusioni concertistiche, il Vento mi è sodale e ci incamminiamo veso il pub per farci le birre negateci all’Auditorium.

Eccellenza Sir Crom

Arrivés à 7h45 à Chatelet, la guerre des nerfs commence…

Un peu moins de 50 personnes attendent déjà devant le théatre lorsque nous nous redirigeons vers les “enclos” que nous allons habiter pendant près de 12h. C’est en plus avec 2h maximum de sommeil dans les pattes que je commence ce que j’appelle le sitting de la mort!

L’ambiance est bon enfant et les visages des premiers arrivés portent tous les traces d’une nuit bien courte. Pour s’occuper on sort jeu de cartes et autres baccalauréat… 15 ans que j’avais pas joué à ce truc là!!

Dans l’attente on sympatise avec les autres fans, tout le monde étant dans la meme galère, autant passer la journée à s’amuser avec ses voisins de barrières. Merci d’ailleurs à la personne devant nous de nous avoir nourri XD

Bien sur, nous pouvions sortir de temps en temps pour aller manger, se dégourdir les jambes etc. On essaye d’obtenir des informations concernant le nombre de places disponibles, l’heure à laquelle on pourra enfin acheter nos places et bien sur l’heure du concert. On apprend alors que les places seront vendues sur place et pas avant 19h. Le concert commencera quant à lui à 21h. Bizarre ce n’est pas ce que j’avais entendu à 8h sur Virgin Radio… il y a déjà du retard.

19h30 on entre dans le theatre, magnifique endroit. Les sièges n’avaient pas été retirés, et à la limite tant mieux car j’étais complètement cassée XD

Le public s’installe petit à petit, frappe des mains/pieds au rythme de l’intro d’Absolution et s’exite dès que quelqu’un entre sur scène. La corbeille est réservée aux gagnants des différents concours. Les instruments sont cachés pour le moment par du tissu.

Quelques minutes plus tard, découverte des instruments et 1er réglages, il suffira d’une demie seconde pour que les premiers rangs se lèvent et se vident pour se placer devant la barrière de sécurité. Je me rappelle encore du bruit que celà à fait, on aurait dit un troupeau se précipitant vers un oasis. L’espace entre la barrière et les 1er sièges étant d’ 1m à 1m50, j’ai préféré rester à ma place, d’où je voyais parfaitement bien d’ailleurs.

Pas d’appareil photo pour moi ce soir là, je ne voulais pas etre distraite et pouvoir chanter (faux) à plein poumons. Et puis risquer de se faire recaler après tout ça serait sacrément con!

C’est à 21h30 que le groupe entre en scène après une bande son techno… Un petit coup d’adrénaline et oubliées les 14h d’attente, j’étais prete à vivre le concert de ma vie.

Le groupe commence avec Uprising, qui passe très bien en live. Plus le temps passe et plus j’apprécie cette chanson. Ils enchainent ensuite avec Supermassive et Map of the Problematique puis Resistance. J’ai un peu de mal avec cette chanson, j’attends d’entendre la version studio pour un avis définitif.

Avec les 1ere notes d’Hystéria, Muse enflamme carrément le théatre. Les personnes debout trouvent le moyen de slammer sur un mètre de fosse, je n’imagine pas dans quel état se sont retrouvé certains! Je crois d’ailleurs avoir vu des personnes se faire évacuer.

Puis autre classique, les premières notes de New born sortent du piano et nouvelle hysterie collective. Les paroles sont reprises par le public, les points tendus vers le ciel.

United States of Eurasia vient ensuite calmer le jeu, d’une par son intro assez douce au piano et ensuite parce que sur les nouvelles chansons, on pouvait remarquer que le public se déchainait beaucoup moins. C’est pour le moment l’une de mes chansons préférées et je peux vous dire qu’elle passe elle aussi très bien en live. Mais les “sia sia sia” ont quand meme résonnés dans la “fosse”.

Bellamy s’installe ensuite devant son piano blanc et 1ere vraie tirade (sic) de la soirée pour nous annoncer un ancien titre… *sueurs froides* Cave! Et là je n’ai pu retenir un petit cri de joie (pardon au jeune homme qui était en face de moi). Je me suis fait un plaisir de chanter haut et surtout faux, je n’ai d’ailleurs quasiment plus de voix, mais Cave quoi! C’est le piano qui a remplacé la guitare. C’est assez troublant au début mais ça donne une toute autre dimension à ce morceau.

Sur fond de lumières bleues, c’est Popcorn que que l’on peut maintenant entendre. Oui oui Popcorn le fameux titre de J.M Jarre! Je ne sais pas le pouquoi du choix de cette chanson mais le groupe avait l’air de bien triper dessus en tout cas !! Après cette interlude electro, c’est au tour de Starlight. Je ne suis pas une grande fan de ce titre, mais on ne peut pas nier son efficacité pour mettre l’ambiance. A la fin du morceau, Bellamy revient sur scène avec un synthé en bandoulière et c’est sans surprises qu’Undisclosed Desires commence. J’aimais déjà les 30 secondes du morceau, j’aime encore plus son intégralité. Meme si je ne peux m’empecher de penser à la patte Depeche Mode.

Time is Running Out et Unnatural selection s’enchainent, la tempete puis le calme dans le public.

Pour finir, le dernier mais pas le moindre des morceaux : Stockholm Syndrome. On a pu voir un public réagir avec précision au tempo de ce morceau, à la fois enragé et mélancolique. Le groupe se retire dès la dernière note mais le public en redemande encore. Après une minute, il revient pour un rappel composé de Plug in Baby, une cover de A man With an Harmonica, où Chris se chargeait de l’harmonica pendant que Matthew arrivait comme un cowboy, armé de sa guitare et bien sur de Knight of Cydonia.

C’est donc une setlist de 17 moceaux, sans compter les intro/outro habituelles, que nous a proposé Muse durant 1h45.

Le retour à la réalité est difficile, on aurait aimé rester dans cette bulle musienne encore un peu plus longtemps. Une super soirée que je n’oublierai pas de ci-tot, bien contente de les avoir vu et surtout de les avoir fait découvrir à mes amis. Comme 1er concert de Muse on ne pouvait pas mieux trouver!

Seule déception, certains éléments du théatre ont apparement été endomagé, un peu de correction n’aurait pas fait de mal. C’est Warner qui va etre content de recevoir la facture :p

Pour ce qui est des photos, vous pourrez en retrouver sur le hiboo! Quant à moi, j’attends qu’une amie me file ses (magnifiques) vidéos et promis je tacherai d’en poster au moins une ici.

PS : Deezer proposera en exclusivité d’écouter The Resistance en intégralité le 10 septembre.