Neal Black & the Healers @ Jazz Club Étoile, Paris - May 12th, 2022

Neal Black & his Healers played their first Paris gig since the pandemic at the Jazz Club Étoile with the help of special guests Janet Martin and Amar Sundy. French Bluesman Fred Chapellier was also announced but had to bow out on account of some unspecified medical reason.

The club formerly known as the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club is a somewhat hoity toity venue situated in the posh Paris Méridien hotel. For an artist who paid his dues playing seedy New York dive bars and rowdy Texas barrelhouses, this decidedly well-behaved audience with a median age averaging Medicare eligibility must have been a little disconcerting...

Greatest Hits Live (1996-2022)

Angus Young (AC/DC)

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much present, things have returned to a semblance of normalcy. In our neck of the woods, everything is now ope, without even having to mask up or show proof of vaccination: schools, stores, restaurants, and concert venues.

We attended our first "post-COVID" gig last September and we've been to 17 more since. So we figured it was time to update this page, which compiles some of our favorite shots that we have taken over the years, with some of our more recent photos. Click on the caption to access the full galleries.

Follow us on our social channels Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube to get updates on which concerts we'll be covering next.

Enjoy, comment, share and don't forget to wash your hands.

Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)

A-Ha @ le Zénith, Paris - May 7th, 2022

I've lost tracks of how many times A-Ha have called it a day only to resurface a couple of years later. The sirens of crowd adulation are hard to resist and financial solvency is reason enough to quell any of the inner-band tensions hinted at in last year's documentary about the band. I, for one am not complaining: I've loved the band ever since I was a child. In fact, they were the very first band I ever saw in concert (at the Mane Garrincha stadium in Brasilia, on May 17th 1991). Since then I've only seen them once twenty years ago at the Zénith in Paris, and tonight they are playing that very same venue, on the last night of the world tour in celebrating their 1985 debut Hunting High And Low.

Simple Minds @ la Seine Musicale, Boulogne-Billancourt - May 6th, 2022

Simple Minds' current tour is a fan's dream come true. Titled 40 Years of Hits, the show is over two hours long and spans their entire career. Opening with the pre-historic Act of Love, a song that dates back to their beginnings but had remained unreleased until recently, the set list then progressed through the band's history somewhat chronologically, which emphasized the sheer progression of the band from an alternative post-punk band, indebted to Joy Division and new wave, to the stadium pop/rock juggernaut they are known as today.

Friday's Playlist: Last Week's Originals

Last week we published a playlist compared entirely of covers. This week, we are giving you the original versions of these great tunes. That's it. No theme, no concept. Enjoy, comment and share!

Therapy? @ la Boule Noire, Paris - May 4th, 2022

I don't know if you guys have heard, but apparently there's been a worldwide pandemic that effectively shut down entire countries, killed millions of people and decimated businesses the world over. I guess this explains why Therapy? are celebrating their 30th anniversary as a band in their 34th year. It's a valid excuse.

Friday's Playlist: Awesome Covers (part four, but who's counting?)

More awesome covers, running the gamut from Metal to Americana to Funk to New Wave.

Check back next week for the originals. Same time, same place.

Friday's Playlist: Awesome Bass Solos (pt.3)

Here's the third installment in our ongoing Bass-centered playlist. You can find part one HERE and part two HERE.

To clarify, I know it's called Awesome Bass Solos, but these are not solos necessarily. Sometimes they're riffs, sometimes they're just fills, or little motifs. But they're all AWESOME.

Anneke Van Giersbergen @ Petit Bain, Paris - April 21st, 2021

Anneke Van Giersbergen will forever be thought of as the former vocalist for Dutch symphonic metal band The Gathering, but this shouldn't overshadow her collaborations with Devin Townsend, Ayreon, the Gentle Storm, Sirens, and of course her solo career.

Sparks @ Casino de Paris - April 19th, 2022

Much has been written about the resurgence Sparks have been enjoying recently, and while it is tempting to treat it as such, this isn't a comeback. Sparks never left, never stopped being creative, never stopped releasing excellent records and never stopped entertaining crowds the world over. But, with the release of two movies (a documentary on their career and a musical that they wrote), a typically fantastic new album and a world tour, their pandemic years have been very prolific indeed and it does seem like they are, in the parlance of our time, having a moment.

Friday's Playlist: Awesome Guitar Solos (pt. 6)

Here we go again. It's been a while since we've made one of these playlists (check out the previous installments HERE). As usual, a mix of famous favorites and overlooked obscurities, in a bunch of different genres, from classical to punk rock and even a Lionel Richie ballad. I apologize for nothing!

Friday's Playlist - Ollie Halsall: Sessions & Contributions

This Friday we zoom in on another one of rock's unsung guitarists. Ollie Halsall could have been mentioned in the same breath as some of his contemporaries and the closest he ever came to fame was as a part of The Beatles parody band the Rutles, and even then he ended up being cast out of the movie almost entirely.

Friday's Playlist: John McGeoch - Sessions & Contributions

This Friday's playlist isn't an April's fool post. It's a compilation of some of John McGeoch's greatest moments. McGeoch had a short career and is somewhat forgotten today. This is criminal. Check out his work with Siouxsie & the Banshees, Public Image Ltd., or Magazine and marvel at his unique approach to the guitar.

Friday's Playlist: Gibberish Songs

This Friday's Playlist compiles a few songs that are sung in made-up languages (Kobaïan, Loxian, Klokochazian...) or just straight-up gibberish.

Friday's Playlist: Psycho Killer

This Friday's Playlist asks the question: Psycho Killer, qu'est-ce que c'est? The answer surely is in one of these songs.