Helloween @ Olympia, Paris - August 30th, 2022

German Speed-Metal heroes Helloween have managed to do the impossible: bring together two generations of fans by fusing their 80's and 90's line-ups. Put it this way: imagine Van Halen going on tour with both Roth and Hagar. Or Maiden touring with Dickinson and Blaze. Sabbath with Ozzy and Dio. You get the picture: it's never been done. It was quite a gamble, but the gamble paid off. Not only did it work in a live setting for their "reunion" tour, it has since spawned a fantastic new studio record and now the band is on a roll. What could have been considered a mere gimmick now turned into a full-fledged project: this is the next era of Helloween: forty years into the band's career, this is a new beginning.

Concert Season Recap pt. 3

This is the last part of our concert season recap series. Check out part one HERE and part two HERE.

It's been quite a great season, and not just in contrast with the drought of the preceding year an a half. Seeing legendary bands and artists like Iron Maiden, Jeff Beck and The Rolling Stones within weeks of each other is pretty exceptional. And it's always a pleasure to see old favorites like Popa Chubby, Sparks, A-Ha or the Sheepdogs. And there are quite a few artists that we've seen live for the first time like Mastodon, Drive-By Truckers, Steve Vai... Classics like Genesis, Steve Hackett, Simple Minds or future superstars like Ayron Jones. 2021/22 was a great return to live music.

And the upcoming season is already looking pretty good with concerts from amazing artists in every genre. Check them out and get your tickets HERE.

Enjoy, comment and share!

Summer Cleaning: Merch and memorabilia

Summer Cleaning is almost over! This is a photo dump of some music-related toys and trinkets I've photographed through the years. Some are mine, some I've just seen in shop windows. Some were bought at the merch stand at a show, some were bought online, some were bought in a real brick-and-mortar store.

We'll be back from vacation next week and hopefully our next concert won't be too long after that...

Enjoy, comment and share!

Summer Cleaning: Picks and Sticks

Summer Cleaning continues! This time, we're sharing pics of picks and sticks we've gathered through the years. This is what's left of the stash because, unfortunately, some were lost... Including guitar pics having belonged to BB King and Angus Young! Infuriating...

Enjoy, comment and share!

2021/2022 Concert Season Recap pt. 2

Here's part 2 of our recap of this past concert season. You can find part one HERE. Be sure to come back next week for the last installment.

Enjoy, comment and share!

Summer Cleaning: Autographs

Another installment of our Summer Cleaning series. We're just dumping a bunch of photos while we're on vacation, since we won't be attending any shows until the end of August at the earliest.

Summer Cleaning: Setlists

Welcome to Summer Cleaning! Grab a broom, make yourselves useful.

This second installment focuses on setlist we've grabbed of photographed on stage over the years. Once again, they are presented to you in particular order, some of them for the first time. Check them out after the jump. Enjoy, comment share!

2021/2022 Concert Season Recap pt. 1

The 2021/2022 season has been an exceptional one for rock shows in Paris. Obviously, any time the Stones roll through town, you know it's going to be something to remember. 

This season was also notable for the fact that it marked the return of live music after the pandemic effectively shut down the world for the better part of two years. And if the virus is still around, still dangerous, we have learned to live with it. 

Our last gig before the cancellations and lockdowns was Tenacious D in February 2020, and then we didn't set foot in a concert hall until September 2021 for Robert Jon & the Wreck. But between the Robert Jon gig and today, we have attended 34 shows in almost every possible genre, from Metal to Jazz, Pop, Blues, Progressive Rock, Punk Rock, Americana... Some of them were old favorites that we'd already seen a bunch of times, and others were first times for us. 

Singling out one show would be impossible and unfair, so here's a quick recap of every show we've been to. Apologies to opening acts, but we're only featuring the headliners here. Click on the titles to access the full articles.

Summer Cleaning: Mixing Desks

It's summer, we're on vacation, and we won't be covering a show until the end of August at the very least so here's the first installment in our Summer Cleaning series where we just dump a bunch of photos, most of which we've not published before.

This one focuses on a very important instrument: the mixing desk. Here they are, in no particular order!

Suffocation @ Backstage By The Mill, Paris - August 2nd, 2022

Fancy a little brutality on this hot summer day? O'Sullivan's Backstage By The Mill was the place to be. Suffocation literally annihilated the Paris red light district venue with their savage musical assault on the senses and their brand of old school Death Metal.