Paleo, Friday

After Starsailor and Franz Ferdinand on the big stage Thursday, Friday I was looking forward for an act in one of the lesser stage. Goldie Lookin Chain from Newport, Wales. I knew about these Welsh rappers from my Welsh friend who went to school with one of the many GLC members. Their songs are hilarious and they are making fun of rap and chav and everything else in sight. But their level of humor has reached another stage when I saw them live.

I guess not a lot of people here have heard about GLC. So five minutes before they were due the tent was still empty except for us. In the 5 minutes it started to fill up and at 8pm 8 chav looking guys came out. They were all wearing chavvie clothes (track suits, trainers, caps) and of course some bling-bling. One guy who looked like a dork was wearing a headband and another guy was sporting a mullet. They rapped really good and danced geekily to the music.

I was amazed by the show they put on. It was hilarious! Adam Hussein and friends obviously have a knack for rapping, their rhymes and rhythm are as good as any top rapper. But by taking the piss seriously they have outdone any normal rappers. Songs like Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do and Your Mother Got A Penis are just classic. Their choice of clothing was so awful it actually looked cool.

On stage these guys were just fun. One of them asked for a spliff from the audience and just smoked it. After the show my Welsh friend managed to get backstage ("backstage isn't all that", she said) to meet GLC. Turns out that these guys were totally different than on stage. They were the friendliest people around, they don't act like stars. I guess not all people turn into pricks when they are famous.

On the big stage Rammstein was playing. This of course means lots of people dressed in goth and/or old Iron Maiden t-shirts. I can't stand their music but the show was amazing nonetheless. Pyromania everywhere, explosions, even fire missiles. At one point the vocalist had a back pack and was spewing fire all over the place.

I retreated to another small stage to watch Telepopmusik. They were on when Rammstein was playing and the girl vocalist jokingly said "We are going to make more noise than Ramstin and we don't need no fucking fireworks". Which they then did. Telepopmusik became the revelation of Paleo. I heard of them but never seriously listened to their music. They sound a bit like Lamb and in other songs they sound like Royksopp. Good music.

After more drinking I went home. This time making sure that I stood up in the bus. I didn't want to miss my stop like I did the night before and having to walk 3 km in the middle of the night...

Paleo, Thursday

It's time for Paleo again!

It's always nice when Paleo is on. The weather is usually good, there's not much work to do because everyone is on holiday and lots of good music is just around the corner. This year it's the 30th edition of Paleo so they try to do it big. On the 25th Paleo had Oasis so I was expecting something as big. I guess Franz Ferdinand fits the spot pretty well.

Last night it was Starsailor (again) and Franz Ferdinand - with lots of other groups in between. I got there around 20.00 and immediately started drinking beer. Lots of eating followed before we settled watching Starsailor who came to replace Sum 41. Last year they were there and I was standing front row almost by myself singing all the songs with James Walsh. Now everyone heard of Starsailor and all the girls realised how cute James Walsh is. A full pack by the stage.

After a while I realised that most of their songs sound the same and their biggest hit is the one that sounds different - Four To The Floor. Hmmmm. At one point while playing Silence Is Easy James asked the crowd to do the "Oh-oh-oh" bit. We all did and some people continued in the next song. Somehow it fitted very well in the other song as well. Hmmmmm. They ended with Good Souls and these 4 lads probably went on to the beer tent or something.

Time to rest a bit and enjoy the fire installations. Nice and warm.

Then it's Franz Ferdinand. They came out all looking 'geeky' (or 'art-school' if you prefer). Alex Kapranos took charge from the get go and the band sounded really good. The crowd was jumping up and down, slamming into each other as if it was a Metallica concert. That actually helped my quest to surge forward and at one point I was pretty close in front. Franz Ferdinand played all their hits and some new songs (which I will definitely get when the new album gets out - they're good!).

After more than an hour Franz Ferdinand went off and most people went home. I stayed around a bit drinking more beer and just talking around. At 2.30 I took the bus home only to fall a sleep in the bus and missing the bus stop (I have a habit of falling a sleep when drunk). So I had to walk 20 minutes in the dark to get to bed. I got in bed at 3.45. Tonight I will definitely stand up in the bus.

"Find me and follow me
through corridors refactories
and files you must follow me
this academic factory"

The Hives @ Montreux

Last Friday it was The Hives in concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Knowing how well these guys entertain I was really up for it.

At exactly midnight, the lights turned off, the exact time we got into the concert room. Without any hesitations, these five blokes from Sweden just hit it off. Rif after rif with explosive rhythms and Howlin Pelle Almqvist as if he fell into a tub of RedBull when he was a kid.

They were all dressed up as usual. 50's black and white boots, black pants, black shirts, white jackets and a white bootlace tie. And of course some grease in the hair. Drummer Chris Dangerous even had a comb for which he combed his hair in between songs. During the show these attire were taken off one by one until they were all just in their black shirts, untucked from their trousers.

The amount of energy they put in the show is amazing. Having energetic songs helps of course. It was just one guitar riff after the other. Songs like Walk Idiot Walk and Hate To Say I Told You So made the crowd go wild. And the pace was frenetic!

Too bad they didn't play Supply And Demand, but they played almost every other songs. With their pace it wasn't surprising that after one hour they have finished their set and encore.

After that everyone was on a high from The Hives.

"Welcome to our show tonight. We are the Hives" - Howlin' Pelle Almqvist

I Was Bono's Doppelganger

If you like music in general then this is a good book. If you like music and ever dreamed or even tried to make it in the music industry then this is a great book. If you're a music nut and a U2 fan then this book is excellent!

It's definitely worth a read. Neil McCormick's friendship with Paul Hewson (also known as Bono) and their parallel lives is greatly captured in this book. Lots of funny stuff and also his personal tragedy trying to become as famous as Bono.

Can you imagine being in the same school as U2? Having played a gig with Larry Mullen? Having a brother who tried out for U2? Having a band and sharing a stage with U2 in school? Then still keeping contact with U2? Being there at U2's first ever gig? Being there at U2 biggest gig? Still being able to call Bono anytime - even though he is a trillion times more famous and successful than you are?

I can imagine what it's like being Neil. To a certain point I can relate as I have mates who are now famous (although not Bono-famous). And if I was in the right place at the right time (or if only I could sing!) then it could have been me instead.

What? Do you say I'm just daydreaming? Maybe I am.

Maybe I am.

Blog Template Change

I had some problems with my previous blog template so I have decided to change the template in what you see now. Hopefully I won't have any problems with this template. The one before was annoying me to the point I didn't even want to post anymore even though I have some stuff to rant about. Enjoy the blog (again)!

ps. If you don't see any changes to the format, just press reload.

The Bravery / Kasabian @ Montreux

[caveat: this post is backdated. I wanted to post it a day after I saw the show but didn't because of my blog problems and the lack of time. Now that I have time I'm posting it]

Last night it was Pop N Punk night at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The Bravery and Kasabian were playing, with The Others and another band playing before them. We got there in time to see a bit of The Others. I thought that they were good, but all they were was just noise. Dominic Masters - the vocalist - is a buddy of Pete Doherty and he does look like another crack addict, skinny with a whiny noise. The Others are nothing special, I still prefer The Libertines (although it seems like it's the end of it already).

Then came on The Bravery. These 5 lads from New York totally took on the 80s revival that is going on. They had the hairdo, the swagger, and of course the music. At points they sounded like Duran Duran, other times they sounded like U2 in the 80s. Sam Endicott (pictured) is a good frontman. However, when they came out it seems that they hadn't done a checksound, the sound was all wrong. The mixer must had a nightmare adjusting the sound in that first song, it sounded all horrible. Luckily by the time they played An Honest Mistake and Fearless the sound was all good.

Rumour has it that The Bravery has been made up by a record company because of the success of The Killers. They were even given songs to play. Sam Endicott was in a ska band before sporting white dreadlocks. On stage it does seem that they have not been long together since the chemistry doesn't look to be there. Maybe it is true, but who cares. Even in the 80s, the bands were manufactured anyway.

And then came on Kasabian. These 5 chaps from Leicester have been together for a while and you can see it on stage. Serge Pizzorno, the guitarist/vocalist, is not actually the frontman but clearly he wants to be. He was singing a few songs and he seems to be the chick magnet in the band. The sound was sharp and the music was good. Most of them were danceable music and when they played LSF the whole room was dancing. They also sound a bit 80s although more late 80s (even early 90s).

Two good acts at Montreux and it wasn't even a full house. I was enjoying myself and only got home at 2.30. When I woke up today, I thought "Oh what the hell, I'll call in sick for the morning". LSF is still playing in my head together with Fearless.

Ah, oh come on
We got our backs to the wall
Ah, get on
And watch out
Sayin', "You're gonna kill us all"

London

We went to London last weekend to visit a friend. It was really nice being in a big city again. It was also nice seeing my friend. And I realised while flying there (while reading my Rolling Stone) that I'm in London the same weekend as Live8. Unfortunately the tickets for the Hyde Park show has been gone ages ago and we already made plans for the whole weekend.

I like London. It's a busy metropolitan city where you can find everything within your reach. At HMV/Virgin I can find any CD I want. There are tons of stores to shop in around Oxford Street. Lots of drinking places at night around SoHo (although most don't serve alcohol after 11). Lots and lots of good food (Veera Swaamy, Carluccio's, Busaba Eathai). And a transportation network that seems to have its own mind.

It was also the first time I watched a musical. Before I always associated musicals with something you did in elementary school for Christmas. But after I came out of the Lion King my view had changed completely. It was, simply put, amazing. The singing, the acting, the music, the costumes, the set, the crowd. Honestly, I'd rather see a good musical/play than a Michael Bay movie. Unfortunately, plays and musicals seems to only exist in big cities and even there interest seems to be waning. I hope they never die.

We almost got 250 Euros for willing to take a later flight but too bad, the flight we were supposed to be taking was able to fit us. Better luck next time I guess.