Short live reports of concerts in 2009

Here are the pictures I took in 2009.

♪♫ My 1^st concert: MARIT LARSEN(NOR) + JASON MRAZ(US) at Grand Rex, Paris, 16th March 2009

Jason Mraz is a talented American singer-songwriter. I discovered his songs in 2006 or 2007(I don’t remember well) with his song “I’m Yours”(original acoustic version) via the video from Wong Fu Productions. Also with the Blogothèque’s videos in Paris, very cool ones. I followed him for 2 years and I discovered many artists who are his friends: Bushwalla, Tristan Prettyman, Rachael Yamagata, Dave Matthews, Two Spot Gobi, Colbie Caillat. It was a great concert, but difficult to enjoy it completely, because everyone was seated in the comfortable seats in the main part of the concert… I was lucky that he played songs I like (The Remedy, Geek In The Pink, Did You Get My Message). He never does two concerts with the same setlist. If you want to know more about his music, I recommend you to go to the Archive.org website and search for his songs, many unreleased ones from years ago. I am now less fan of his music. I actually better like his old songs than his new ones. There were more folk pop rock than reggae, “sun, love, peace”. I hate all the marketing and the massive advertising by his major company which destroys all I think great about him (his songs, his personality). I mean, he wrote thousands of great songs. I used to love the original acoustic version of "I'm Yours", and now, I can't even listen to it, the arrangements and all the promotion around it made me sick of it.

Marit Larsen is a 26-year old Norwegian singer-songwriter, who was well-known before, because she was part of the duo M2M. Her songs are very joyful, and she has a lovely cute voice. She smiles a lot! She is now more famous in Germany and in other European countries.
After the concert, I got the chance to meet briefly Marit Larsen (very nice) and Toca Riviera, the drummer and friend of Jason Mraz (I was impressed by all the jewelry he wears).

♪♫ My 1^st concert in a small concert venue: LIFE IN FILM(UK) + LOVELY RITA(FR) at l'International, Paris, 3rd June 2009

Life In Film was excellent on stage, maybe a bit shy, they didn’t play in Paris before. It wasn’t very crowded, but I saw many people dancing and enjoying their music! The 1^st thing you could see is that they bring their guitars very high on them. The voice of the lead singer Samuel Fry is special, similar to the singer of Kings of Leon. I liked the sound of their guitars, very catchy tunes. And the drummer Micky Osment played good!

Then, Lovely Rita played after them. You could feel that the audience was mainly of friends of the members of the band. It looks like a lot the Beatles’s music. I found them great.

I didn’t have the courage to talk to them after the show. My friends talked a little bit to the guitar player Edward Ibbotson from Life In Film, very nice. I hope to see them very soon!

♪♫ CARLY SINGS(IRE) + PARIS BRUXELLES(FR) + YOU AND YOU(FR) + FRANZ IS DEAD(FR) at Réservoir, Paris, 17th June 2009

One of my friends wanted to go see Franz Is Dead, but she finally didn’t go, due to personal problems. But as I like the songs on Franz Is Dead’s MySpace and on You and You’s one, I went there with other friends. There also were Carly Sings(great voice, great songs, but didn’t catch the disrecpectful crowd’s attention), Paris Bruxelles(a guy and a girl, bad songs and very annoying). You and You played full band, with a bassist, a guitar/melodic player, a drummer, and the lead singer Félix Perez who played guitar. Their songs were very folk, as I like. And the singer has a particular voice that can bother some people, but I like it.

Then came Franz Is Dead with the lead singer Laurent Blot (who plays for Eldia, Please Don’t Blame Mexico), the drummer Olivier Marguerit (who plays for Fugu, The Chiltons, Syd Matters, Toy Fight, My Girlfriend Is Better Than Yours, Wilfried, Bless), and also the bassist Julien Gaulier (who plays for Hey Hey My My). So, it was a special band. Great catchy tunes! I enjoyed their performance a lot!

♪♫ REVOLVER(FR)
¤ at Kiosque à musique, Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Paris, 27th June 2009
¤ showcase at Fnac, Paris, 3rd July 2009
¤ at Parc de Belleville, Paris, 5th July 2009
¤ at Square Jean XXIII, Ile de la Cité, near Notre Dame, Paris, 26th July 2009

I randomly listened to their MySpace and I remembered that I liked the song ‘Get Around Town’. Then it was a friend who talked me about their acoustic concerts in some parks in Paris. It was summer and it was a good idea to go out.

I liked their acoustic concerts in the parks, even if they were more and more crowded as they were getting famous. The audience was each time of young people between 15 and 24 years old. I talked to the band at the Fnac showcase, then at their last acoustic concert at square Jean XXIII. It was funny that the guitar player Christophe Musset did recognize me. He is a cool guy. I got the feeling that the cello player Jérémie Arcache was the coolest in the band, even if he seems to be shy. And the lead singer Ambroise Willaume was actually charismatic, but didn’t talk much. Now they are famous, they opened many great concerts in good concerts venues. They toured in Germany and everywhere in France.

♪♫ 1973(FR) at l'International, Paris, 22nd July 2009

I discovered them by the HibOO’s live sessions. Fortunately, they played in Paris a few days later after I discovered them. Their gig was at l'International. Luciole, a young French singer opened the show. She has a great voice and I found on the Internet that she won some titles as slam singer. It wasn’t songs I used to listen, but she was a great performer. Then came 1973 composed of 3 people. They are great and sing folk songs. Many of their friends were supporting them in the audience.

♪♫ THE BEWITCHED HANDS ON THE TOP OF OUR HEADS(FR) + PETER VON POEHL(SWE) + STUCK IN THE SOUND(FR) at Fnac Indétendances, Paris, 1st August 2009

I wanted to see Peter Von Poehl there. The sound there was too loud, very bad. There were at the beginning the bands Steeple Remove. I only remember that I didn’t like it. Then played The Bewitched Hands On The Top Of Our Heads. I listened to their songs before going there and I quite like them. Sometimes good songs, sometimes not. We had to wait a moment before to see Peter Von Poehl and his band. It was very great! Finally, Stuck In The Sound played when the night came out. I didn’t really like their songs on their MySpace, but they were very energic on stage. Good rock songs. A lot of fans were on the audience, very young and very excited. They often pushed each other, danced half-drunk, kind of dangerous. It was a special end, beer bottles everywhere on the ground…

♪♫ TOP TOP(FR) + PLEASE DON'T BLAME MEXICO(FR) + SH** BROWNE(FR) + ELDIA(FR) + NELSON(FR) at Motel Night at Nouveau Casino, Paris, 3rd August 2009

I wanted to see Please Don’t Blame Mexico and Eldia. Top Top is a duo playing some electronic music. And there were some people dressed on robots who danced next to them. It was kind of ridiculous, but funny to see. Please Don’t Blame Mexico were great, but not maybe at their best. Sh** Browne didn’t impress me, I found them sometimes very boring, because their songs are similar. Finally Eldia played around 11:30PM. But it was too late for me, no transports to go back home, so I only stayed to listen to their two first songs. I was a bit sad to miss them, but I didn’t have the choice. I know that the last band was Nelson, but don’t know how great it was that night.

♪♫ GARCIAPHONE(FR) + STARBOARD SILENT SIDE (FR) at Nouveau Casino, Paris, 3rd Sept 2009

I discovered Garciaphone’s music by Les Boutiques Sonores, because I missed his show at Péniche Cinéma with Gaspard Royant and Every Man Has Your Voice in June 2009. This time, I didn’t miss him. He played alone with his guitar and some loop pedals. It wasn’t very crowded, but the audience was attentive. His performance was very good, even if sometimes it was a bit too soft. Starboard Silent Side impressed me, because their live songs are more rock, more energic than the album version. The lead singer, Mij, is quite charismatic.

♪♫ BLUE ROSES(UK) + NOAH AND THE WHALE (UK) at Café de la Danse, Paris, 18th Sept 2009

I didn’t know well Noah and The Whale, when I went to this concert. I only knew the band, because their name was often quoted on articles. So it was the opportunity to know them better. Fortunalety, I got a free ticket with Les Boutiques Sonores by playing a game where the fastest people can get an invitation. So, I was one of the fastest. Thanks Les Boutiques Sonores! I discovered Blue Roses on Youtube, on Bandstand Busking’s live sessions. She has a beautiful voice, but I didn’t like much her songs. Then Noah and The Whale played with new members. The drummer wasn’t the brother of the lead singer Charlie Fink, his name is Jack. There was a guitar player, Fred Abbott, and the two other usual members, the cello player Tom Hobden and the bassist Matt Urby. Their album is actually kind of depressing, but on stage, the songs were wonderful. And they played some old songs, like Rocks and Daggers, Five Years Time, which made the audience sing and dance.

♪♫ EVERY MAN HAS YOUR VOICE(FR) + ANNA TERNHEIM(SWE) at l'Alhambra, Paris, 23rd Sept 2009

I was also very lucky with this concert. I got a free ticket with a Facebook game by Every Man Has Your Voice! The fastest people who replied to their message got free tickets. Thanks Every Man Has Your Voice! The concert venue was very classic. Many people between 30 and 50 years old. The sound there was excellent, very clear! Every Man Has Your Voice weren’t anymore a duo, but a trio with the singer Andrea Perdue. They played very good songs. The singer has a particular strong voice. Anna Ternheim played after them. I didn’t know her much, only watched some videos of her on Baeble Music and I quite liked her voice, similar to Suzanne Vega’s voice. Her performance with a guitar player and a cello player was particularly good. She played piano and guitar. Her cover of Fly Me To The Moon was quite good!

♪♫ MAISON NEUVE(FR) + THE LEISURE SOCIETY(UK) + TOY FIGHT(FR) at Café de la Danse, Paris, 26th Oct 2009

I discovered The Leisure Society by Bandstand Busking’s videos on Youtube on August 2009, which appeared as ‘similar videos’, when I was watching some Rod Thomas’s videos(one of my favorite artists,. I was very happy that they played in Paris.

I missed the performance of Maison Neuve, because they played too early, they began at around 19:30PM, as I was told. I was surprised that The Leisure Society was only the opening bands for Toy Fight, and not the main band. They played in full band, 7 musicians on stage! Sebastian Hankins on drums, Helen Whitaker playing flute, xylophone, ukulele, Michael Sidell playing fiddle, William Calderbank as cello player, Darren Bonehill as bassist, Christian Hardy on Rhodes piano and the lead singer Nick Hemming playing guitar and ukulélé. I like bands with many members and many instruments, it just made the music better and more impressing and amazing! I knew their songs very well and I was very happy to see them. Unfortunately, the set was too short, they only played 9 songs. I went alone to this show and after the concert, I was enough lucky to talk to the full band at the merchandising place in the corridor. I talked to William and Darren for about 25-30 min. They told me about Paris, the streets, and many other things I don’t remember well. And all the members are very nice, modest, smiling and funny!

Toy Fight was great, but not enough to impress me that night, maybe because I was overjoyed about The Leisure Society. There were Mina Tindle and Olivier Marguerit playing on the band that night. I heard that they are now far better on stage.

♪♫ KINGS OF CONVENIENCE(NOR) + LESLIE FEIST(CAN) as surprise guest for 2 songs at Bataclan, Paris, 11th Nov 2009

I was ashamed to know Kings of Convenience’s songs very late. I read many articles which mentioned them as influencers for other bands and I was lazy to search how is their music. I immediately loved their song Misread (official video on Youtube) when I listened to it! And I was lucky that they were going to play in Paris! So, I got my tickets very fast, because I was scared that the show was soldout! They didn’t play in Paris for 8 years, so it was kind of special and unforgettable night! The sound at Bataclan was perfect! And I got the chance to see everything from a side of the venue. They interacted a bit with the audience, made them sing along, and dance. I think it was the best show I’ve ever been to. The end of the concert was incredible! Nobody expected to see Leslie Feist appear at the Encore! She sang the last two songs and I saw everybody with a huge smile, totally happy. It was funny. :)

♪♫ GASPARD ROYANT(FR) + HANGAR(FR) + MY GIRLFRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS(FR) at Flèche d'Or, Paris, 28th November 2009

I missed Gaspard Royant a few times in Paris since I listened to him for the 1^st time in May 2009. He played at around 9PM and it wasn’t very crowded. He had months ago a website where you could find some free download. But now, he only has a MySpace and a Facebook page. Check them out! I thought I was late when I arrived at 20PM, but the venue was empty. He played songs I know and some new ones. He also sang with Marie-Flore on his ‘kind of famous’ song ‘Yours’. Then came My Girlfriend Is Better Than Yours (in complete band) with Oliver Marguerit as lead singer with Laurie Lassalle(his girlfriend) on piano. There were also Jonathan Morali on electronic keyboard(he is the lead singer of Syd Matters), Jean-Yves Lozach(the bassist of Syd Matters) and also the multi-instrumentalist and drummer Jean Thévenin. I had to leave the place, still due to transports to go back home. During the set of the band Hangar(very boring), I talked to Gaspard Royant, Olivier Marguerit and to Laurent Blot who was there too! Very nice guys!

♪♫ THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE(GER/NOV) at la Cigale, Paris, 4th Dec 2009

Everybody knows that Erlend Oye from Kings of Convenience plays on The Whitest Boy Alive with German members. The audience was crazy, excited and real fans. The floor at la Cigale was a trampoline as everybody was jumping and dancing. It was funny.: the floor moved you…Very good tunes, but all songs were a bit similar.

♪♫ Cooperative Music Xmas Party: GET WELL SOON(GER) + JAMES YUILL(UK) + DELPHIC(UK) + BLOOD RED SHOES(UK) at Flèche d'Or, Paris, 9th Dec 2009

Some people in the first rows seemed to not be so happy to be there and that made you want to ask them why they went there to show so awful faces, and they stayed there during all the night… no kidding.

I knew James Yuill via Rod Thomas, as they are friends. I missed Get Well Soon when I arrived at 9PM and James Yuill just began to sing. He didn’t interact much with the audience. Nevertheless, he was amazing! Very concentrated on his keyboard, computer and electronic material.

Delphic was the special guest of the night. Their songs on their MySpace sounded very good, but not on stage. It seemed that they didn’t play much before, but it could have better if the sound wasn’t too loud! Flèche d’Or, you done wrong!

After this performance, I found and talked to James Yuill and his manager with a friend. They were very nice, even if James Yuill were a bit tired, because he toured in Japan days before. I was very happy to finally meet him, because I missed his Paris shows in 2009.

I didn’t stay to see Blood Red Shoes, because I don’t really like their music. Big crowd and too late to stay.