Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The Who @ le Zénith, Paris - June 30, 2015


On the hottest day of the year, five thousand people decided it would be a good idea to step into a closed space with no air conditioning and dance.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Billy Idol @ Zénith, Paris - June 22, 2015


Last time Billy Idol played in Paris was 22 years ago when he was in his Cyberpunk phase. He is back to promote his new record Kings & Queens of the Underground.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Judas Priest @ Zénith, Paris - June 17, 2015


Four years ago Judas Priest embarked on their a farewell tour, and evidently it didn't take because they are now back touring behind a new album. Dragonaut is a decent piece of old school heavy metal, and the first one with new member Richie Faulkner.

The young guitarist has really given Priest a shot in the arm. He is by far the most active member on that stage, and on top of playing KK's role he seems to have taken over a lot of Glenn Tipton's leads. As for front man Rob Halford, he spends most of his time hunched over his microphone like Phil Anselmo over a spoon full of... sugar. But if that's what he needs to do to conjure up those vocals, then by all means hunch away, Bobby. He might be in his sixties, but he is still the Metal God. His shrieks on Painkiller are worth the price of admission alone. The man is a force of nature.

The setlist was brilliant, with great renditions of Electric Eye (we really like that one) and Victim of Changes. The new songs were very good too but let's not kid ourselves: people are here for the classics.

A great show from a veteran metal band, one of the originators of the genre, who despite their advancing age keep Delivering the Goods.

















Tuesday, June 16, 2015

KISS @ le Zénith, Paris - June 16, 2015


Hard to believe the KISS reunion tour is almost twenty years old. The personnel has changed several times since then but now seems to have stabilised around Gene Simmons (duh) and Paul Stanley (double duh) and in the roles of Ace Frehley and Peter Criss the more reliable Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.