Friday's Playlist - Eric Clapton: Sessions & Contributions

Hey look at that! A new playlist! Been a while... This one is in honour of Eric Clapton's upcoming birthday in three days. It features some of his outside collaborations. So his solo career is mostly absent, as are bands in which he was the leader, or one of the leaders. Sadly this means no Cream, no Derek & the Dominos, no Blind Faith...

Greatest Hits Live (2011-2020)

The COVID-19 virus has ruined everything. Bars and restaurants are closed. Schools, universities... We're not allowed to visit our parents and we're told we can't even hug our children. It's only a matter of time until we're confined to our homes. It would be pretty indecent to bitch about the lack of concerts... I'm all for safety measures. In a few weeks' time we'll be back to living our normal lives.

Until then, check out this gallery of our favorite concert shots. Click on the caption for the full concert gallery and accompanying review.

And don't forget to wash your hands.

Angus Young (AC/DC)

Covid-19 Update

Friday's Playlist: Rock Operas & Concept Albums

Happy Friday! This playlist focuses on concept albums and rock operas. Rock scholars have been fighting for ages to determine which record was the first rock opera. Tommy, SF Sorrow... some exegetes even put forward Sgt. Pepper...

Tenacious D @ Zénith, Paris - February 26th, 2020

Lock up your daughters, your sisters and your grandmas too. Put you best party hat on, and get ready to rock out with your sock out, because tonight the D is in town. Tenacious D... the legendary, mythical, mystical, best, most rockingest band on the planet... and beyond. They've come to Paris to plunder, pillage and conquer. They've come to shred guitars and melt faces, in that order. If you're not down with the D, you might as well be listening to Hall & Oates.

Wynchester @ Zénith, Paris - February 26th, 2020

Wynchester had the prestigious yet unenviable task of opening for the mighty D in Paris. The country-rock duo has been gravitating around Tenacious D's inner circle for a while: Lead singer Mike Bray is the main pipes in Kyle Gas' band while guitarist John Konesky is Tenacious D's lead guitarist.

Cage The Elephant @ Olympia, Paris - February 24th, 2020

Last time we saw Cage The Elephant was six months ago in Queens when Brad Shultz' angular riffs and Matt Shultz histrionic stage presence electrified Forest Hills Stadium before Beck's triumphant headlining set. As brilliant and as energetic as they were, it was still an opening slot and it's never an easy task for a band to play in full daylight for someone else's audience. We've also seen them open for the Stones three nights in a row back in 2017, and that's even more of a thankless task. So we were looking forward to tonight's gig with a certain amount of trepidation: to finally see them in their element, in a human-sized concert hall, playing for their audience. The least we can say is that they didn't disappoint.

Friday's Playlist: Filthy Lucre

This playlist features songs about money. Money makes the world go round. Whether you like it or not. Me? I'm fine with it. I'm a capitalist pig. A bleeding heart liberal capitalist pig.

Friday's Playlist - Flying Solo

This Friday's Playlist features artists who are usually associated with a band, but have decided to explore new grounds with a solo career. This is by no means an exhaustive list, more like a small overview of some great acts that have spawned one of more notable offshoots.

Friday's Playlist: Awesome Guitar Solos (part two)

Two months ago we posted our first entry in the Awesome Guitar Solos playlist collection. It featured a lot of classic songs and solos, most of which are well known, some might even say overplayed. In this playlist, there will be more classics but we'll also go a little deeper.

Supergrass @ Casino de Paris, Paris - February 4th, 2020

It's been almost ten years since Supergrass last played Paris. In fact, that gig at La Cigale was their last one before their ten-year hiatus. To say that the gig was highly anticipated would be an understatement: the venue was absolutely packed to the gills and you could feel the trepidation in the air before the band walked on stage.

Method of Defiance @ Salle Jacques Brel, Fontenay-sous-Bois - February 1st, 2020

Bill Laswell's Method of Defiance is a collective of musicians which is as fluid in its membership as it is expansive in its sounds. In that regard, it doesn't differ much from his other projects like Praxis or Material. This iteration is a little more focused on dub, thanks to the programming and vocal stylings of Dr. Israel. 

Jamie Saft "New Zion Trio" @ Salle Jacques Brel, Fontenay-sous-Bois - February 1st, 2020

New York keyboardist Jamie Saft has been presenting his New Zio Trio in one form or another for several years now. In this incarnation, the rhythm section is comprised of Bradley Jones on bass and Hamid Drake on drums and needless to say, the groove is relentless. They lay down a dub foundation upon which Saft builds his cathedrals of sound. Hidden sound manipulator Christian Castagno adds depth and textures to the whole thing by adding reverb and echo.

Ange @ le Trianon, Paris - 31 janvier 2020

Il y a un demi-siècle jour pour jour, Ange donnait son premier concert, dans une configuration évidemment bien différente du groupe qui tourne aujourd'hui. L'occasion pour son meneur historique Christian Décamps d'organiser un beau raout entre les murs, tremblants forcément, du splendide Trianon, vénérable théâtre de Pigalle plein comme un oeuf de poule dentée.

Friday's Playlist: Last Week's Originals (part three)

This Friday's Playlist features last week's songs in their original versions.