Friday's Playlist: Concerts of 2022

As we're about to wrap up this year, we're bringing back our Friday's Playlist for one more installment. In this one, we look back at all the concerts that we've attended in 2022, including some of the most memorable opening acts. It was a truly memorable year for live music, especially in contrast to the previous years which were plagued by lockdowns, cancellations and postponements.

The Rest of 2022

These are some of the concerts we've attended that didn't quite make it to our Best of the Year's list, but that we feel should still be mentioned, as they were also fantastic. These lists are hard and not very fair.  We've left some very worthy concerts off of this list as well, but that's the deal when making a selection: it can be heartbreaking. After all, we can feel one way about a show the minute it's ended and feel differently the following week... Nothing is really definitive, and everything is subjective.

Again, these are presented in no particular order whatsoever. Click on the titles or on the photos to access the full gallery.

Enjoy, comment and share!

The Worst of 2022

Yesterday we posted an entry about our favorite concerts of the past year, so this is the counterpart. We don't like being negative but what can you do?

Now, we're not going to list the worst concerts of 2022, for one main reason: we did not attend any bad shows. Some were better than others, some were not necessarily our preferred style, but we haven't seen a bad gig. 

What we're going to do is list the (probably) awesome concerts that we've missed. And there have been a few. Again, these are presented to you in no particular order.

The Best of 2022

It looks like we've covered our last concert of 2022. What a fantastic year it's been! Legends, veterans, and newcomers... Rock, Pop, Metal, Jazz, Blues or Funk... They are presented to you in no particular order: it was hard enough having to pick out five out of the nearly fifty we've attended. Click on the artist name to access the full gallery.

Ride @ Élyée-Montmartre, Paris - December 18th, 2022

On this last date of their tour celebrating 30 years of Nowhere (with a two year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Shoegaze legends Ride played their debut masterpiece in full and in sequence, including the bonus tracks. 

Bryan Adams @ Palais des Sports, Paris - December 12th, 2022

It's a glacial December night in Paris but things are about to get hot in the 15th arrondissement, as Bryan Adams is in town, touring behind his new album So Happy It Hurts. At 8:20, John Cleese's voice starts resonating in the arena, announcing the band's entrance on opener Kick Ass, the appropriately-named  second single from the new record, and we're off for two hours of killer songs and tight musicianship.

Saxon @ Trianon, Paris - December 9th, 2022

Saxon finally returned to Paris, nearly two months after having had to cancel at the last minute because a pipe burst and flooded the venue... And we all know what water does to Metal. Thankfully, any notion that Saxon might have been rusty quickly dissipated when the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal veterans took the stage by storm with  the opening track of their excellent new album Carpe Diem.

Friday's Playlist: Odes to Onan

This Friday's Playlist concerns itself with matters of a very private nature.

Ahem.

The theme here is, uh, solitary pleasure.

Onanism.

Y'know, spanking the monkey. Flogging the dolphin. Wrestling the one-eyed trouser snake.

Ladies, diddling your skittle. Flicking your bean.

Anyway, a classy, elegant playlist. You're welcome.

Enjoy, comment and share!

Dio: Dreamers Never Die

We were finally able to get a screener of the documentary on legendary Heavy Metal singer Ronnie James Dio. The movie has been out in the U.S.A. for several months, and Universal is supposed to be releasing it in Europe at some point, but the date is still up in the air and France doesn't seem to be included in their plans...

Check out Brooks & Bowskill's first single here.

Jimmy Bowskill was already well-known in country and blues-rock guitar circles before he joined the Sheepdogs, but that gig certainly helped raise his profile. These two covers are the first songs he released since leaving the band earlier this year, mere months after we saw them bring the house down at la Maroquinerie. The full album is due to be released January 2023.

Enjoy, comment and share!

Friday's Playlist: R.I.P. Christine McVie

Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac passed away a couple of days ago at the age of 79, so we thought we'd pay a little tribute by compiling this playlist of numbers she's written or sung on.