Live report: 5th March 2011, WILD MOCCASINS(US) at l'International, Paris

Last Saturday night was crowded like hell at l'International!

That night's lineup (approximative stage time):

9:15pm: Tornado(FR)

10:20pm: Wild Moccasins(US)

11:15pm: She Keeps Bees(US)

The four-piece French band Tornado, first on stage, is not a very bad French folk-pop band, but it was hard for me to listen to it. Not really the kind of songs I usually like. Sorry.

Wild Moccasins(US)

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Members:

Zahira Gutierrez: lead vocals, keyboard, tambourine
Cody Swann: lead vocals, electric guitar
Nicholas Cody: bass
Andrew Lee: electric guitar
John Baldwin: drums

A promising young band and very nice people. Give them support!

I don't often see bands whose members are as young as me, so it was a good reason not to miss this great quintet from Houston (Texas) at their first Paris gig, part of their huge Europe tour. Wild Moccasins are one of the best indie-pop bands in Texas where they have a big fan community. The band is signed on the American label New West Records. They played a quite long set of songs from 2008's "Microscopic Metronomes" EP and their debut album "Skin Collision Past" which I highly recommend you to give a listen (on Spotify). I've been listening to them since I discovered them last month. Very enjoyable and catchy songs played with electric guitars, bass, keyboard, pop-infused drums, tambourine... and with a great energy and freshness on stage. Unforgettable choruses as well (songs "Late Night Television", "My Favorites Die", "Fruit Tea"). The lead singers are the beautiful Zahira on keyboard and Cody on electric guitar. Their both voices fit perfectly to their pop songs. The band reminds me of the young Tennessee band Magic Kids with their joyful tunes and gentle melodies (songs "Its Health & My Own", "Calendar", "Spanish & Jazz", "Psychic China", "Born Bonde", "Zylophone", "Skin Collision Past"), you can sometimes notice 60s music or Motown influences. They will play many gigs in Germany and in the UK in the next few weeks, so if you're in these both countries, be sure to catch them, before they return to the US! Tour dates here.

Setlist: 

80s Song

It's Health & My Own

Calendar

Late Night Television

Spanish & Jazz

Born Blonde

Psychic China

Funk Song

Zylophone

Skin Collision Past

My Favorites Die

Fruit Tea

Wild Moccasins during their 2010 SXSW Showcase & East Coast Tour, live at Indiehouston.TV

(here with their previous drummer)

Then, as the venue was very crowded, there was impossible to see anything of the stage. So the only thing I did was to listen to the headlining Brooklyn guitar/drums/vox duo She Keeps Bees and look at people looking at the stage... If you want to know more about this band, read the review by my good friend Oliver Peel from Konzert Tagebuch.