I am not sure how St Vincent‘s passage at L’Alhambra this coming Sunday, February 26th slipped under my radar, but the good news is it is not too late to get tickets. What better way to rid yourself of the Sunday blues than with Miss Annie Clark, a.k.a St Vincent.
Tickets on sale at Fnac.
Sometimes you just gotta ask. Or get lucky. A reader informed me that Alabama Shakes ARE coming to town after all! Mark your calendar: May 2, 2012 @ La Fleche D’Or. 13.80€. Tickets go on sale February 17th on Fnac.
Here’s a little musical lovin’ from Alabama Shakes. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks to a gracious second invite by Azimuth Productions, I returned to the Sunset-Sunside Friday night, this time to hear Norwegian bluesman, Bjorn Berge. A packed bar, two twelve string guitars and an ellis foot drum, is all Bjorn needed to work his blues magic.
Bjorn Berge
Bjorn’s style, which can initially come off as unsettlingly dark and demonic, is not for the fainthearted blues enthusiast. Though his main influences are Robert Johnson and Elmore James, his sound is a fusion of traditional blues, hard rock and metal (think Black Sabbath meets Bluegrass meets Frank Zappa). His burly 6ft5 stature, gritty baritone, thumping drum and virtuosic picking and slide skills also means he’s not here to fuck around. With all this stacked in his favor, Bjorn could easily alienate his audience and just do his thing. On the contrary, and much to my delight, Bjorn is an extraordinarily warm and charismatic performer. He is unassumingly funny and likes to play on his “big man” persona. After a few songs, he throws out a question to the audience: “Have you bought my CD?” To which only a handful murmured a “yes”. With a stern smile he says, “I think it’s on sale after the show. Or let’s put it this way, you don’t leave here without the CD.” And after introducing one of his encore songs, “Blackwood”, explains the origin of the title, “I couldn’t play Black Metal so…I play blackwood. No, actually my guitar is made from blackwood.”
In addition to playing off his new album, he wowed the audience with powerful covers of “Give it Away” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and “Keep It Greasy” by Mr. Zappa. Before we can categorize Berge as only being able to master a modern in-your-face brand of blues, it must be said that he can also show a more subtle, melodic side. His cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” which I was able to capture on video, is a great example of this.
All in all, a great show and a must-see if you enjoy twelve-string guitar blues and ain’t scared of big Norwegian bluesmen.
“Blackwood” (Dixiefrog) was released internationally on October 13 2011 and is available on Amazon and Fnac.
Alabama Shakes
Paris is majestic. Paris is beautiful. Paris is … not always on the tour list for many bands coming to Europe. This does not make me happy. I checked the tour schedule for Alabama Shakes today and to my horror and disappointment, London is the only non-US city they are going to hit on their upcoming tour to promote their much anticipated full-length debut album “Boys and Girls” (Ato Records). When in distress, assess. I narrowed down my options to the following:
a. buy a ticket to London and hunt down tickets to one of their already sold shows
b. stalk the band by sending daily messages to their promoters and booking agents
c. sulk
d. share their music in the hopes that they may see this post and come to Paris
I’m a dreamer. I went with option d.
If you haven’t heard the roar and thunder of Alabama Shakes, you really need to. Like, now. And be ready for real, homegrown rock and roll from a band that will perform a seismic effect on your soul. Yes, it’s intense stuff, but that’s what rock and roll is. What this quartet from Athens, Alabama is able to provoke is so powerful and raw, there is no room for any lingering demons. Brittany Howard sings from that place where few dare to go and you are thankful for it. Sadness, regret, love gone wrong, love gone right, hope: emotions that have invigorated or haunted us at one time or another are all there waiting to be appropriated. And that’s just from their recordings. From what I have read, their live performances are fierce, sweat-drenched experiences. As Howard was quoted saying in music blog The South Rail when asked what fans should expect at a show: “Wear your dancing shoes. Bring a sweat rag. Leave your fear. It’s gonna be a different kind of night.”
I’ve got my sweat rag ready. Bring it on. Bring it to Paris, Alabama Shakes.
“You Ain’t Alone”
“Hold On”
“I Found You”
Alabama Shakes’ full-length LP “Boys and Girls” is scheduled for release on April 9th (Internationally) and April 10th (US).
Sarah Carlier
Right when I was planning on hibernating until spring, I get invited to two concerts. Music production company Azimuth stumbled across my February Gig Guide post from earlier this week where I mention one of their artists, Bjorn Berge (more on him next week), and asked if I wanted to see him live. They also asked me to listen to a few tracks by another one of their artists, Sarah Carlier, and that if I liked her music, I could check her out live too.
Ummm. Yes and yes please?
After reading a bit about 21-year-old Belgian born Sarah Carlier, I was actually looking forward to shelving my hibernation plans and spending a cozy evening at the Sunset-Sunside jazz club with this budding singer and songwriter. In addition to her talent, Sarah can be admired for her DIY approach to promoting her music. When she had a few songs under her belt, she simply posted them on the increasingly popular fan-funded record label, Akamusic and before she knew it, had earned enough financial backing to cut her first album. 
The concert I attended last night, as well as the ones on March 7th and April 4th are in support of her first full-length album, “For Those Who Believe” (Universal), to be released February 27th.
Accompanied only by her percussionist and armed with her guitar, Sarah Carlier gave a thoroughly refreshing performance. Her voice is rich and soothing and the warmth that I had detected in her recordings are immediately palpable. Her lyrics speak of her aspirations and a better world and her melodies, while rooted in folk, are punctuated by soft afro-soul rhythms. Though she has cited influences such as Tracy Chapman, Nina Simone and Gnarls Barkley, it is clear she draws some inspiration from her mixed cultural background (her father is Belgian-Congolese and her mother is from Chad). Although her songwriting skills will no doubt mature and develop over the years, her lyrics already reveal an introspective, poised voice. “Tenderness” is an affirmation, a tribute to independence “I don’t believe in fairytales and happiness frightens me” and in “Backstage”, which has already gotten airplay in Europe, Sarah shares her need to be alone in order to create “I’d rather be alone in the dark than exposed in front of you”. In addition to playing most of the songs off of her new album last night, the audience was treated to a great cover of Sting‘s “Mad About You”. After every song, she thanked her audience with an enthusiastic, incredulous smile. A smile that seems to say “Wow, I can’t believe I am here”. She must have realized at some point that the dreams she sings about are just around the corner.
Sarah Carlier will be playing at the Sunset-Sunside jazz club on March 7th and April 4th. To reserve your tickets, click here
For more information on Sarah Carlier, click here
View from my privileged seat at the Sunset-Sunside
