Gig Review : Route du Rock Session

Route du Rock Session - February 18^th, 2010 at the Antipode, Rennes.

Jookabox - Parlovr - dd/mm/yyyy

100% Sucre is now writing reviews, if nothing else. Yet we are not convinced by the use of such a chronicle:

• You were NOT there: too bad for you, it was really good! / No worries, it sucked.
• You WERE there: you do not agree with me, and hit me as soon as you’ve finished reading the review.

    I will try and write something anyway.

Rule #1: write down notes after the gig (so I don’t forget anything). Didn’t! It’s been two days already…

Rule #2: write down notes during the gig. Uh, do text messages sent to my colleague count?

Rule #3: be on time! Well done …

    I really like the Antipode. At the door, signs say ‘No camera’ but you can get in and never be searched.

    However, I had difficulties finding which band was playing – I am a looser, was late and could only listen to two of the last band’s songs. No it is not cool, because as a matter of fact I cannot judge objectively, write a good review, or applaud rightly. When some guy from the news website Rue 89 screams at the band that people from Rennes have a sanitized ass and have to be forgiven – or something like that – but he is himself having a drink so does not applaud more than you do, you are a part of the problem, even if you have been told to show respect to someone’s work. Is this about discomfort?

    So, the first band was Jookabox and it has sweet moves - the girl could not stop jumping – and the singer was really nice. I could not see the drummer as he was far in the back and I had forgotten my glasses. Again, I am a looser. I am a nearsighted person; do you think it is a liability for me who is trying to write reviews? Jookabox was on stage, and I thought it was Parlovr, but anyway…

    First intermission and it is already 10. Among others, I saw Gaëtan, the events manager, and the two managers of La Route du Rock and the top of the folk team … Are there really 200 hundred persons here? The Antipode can host about a thousand people, and I cannot judge how much people attend the show.

   The second band playing was Parlovr, a group of young Canadian head bangers – it is an understatement – who make you shake your booty (you don’t like the expression?). They remind me of the Cribs. Ok, no, they use a synthesizer, the Cribs don’t. Moreover they make jokes and there are 3 of them. One should not make too much jokes when at the Antipode, it always goes wrong. And I feel I am the youngest one, though I was born before 1990. There, jokes only make the people smile silently. Anyway, Parlovr was doing a great show. I was at the back of the venue and I could see drops of sweat falling on stage. And I liked that, it’s generally a good sign. For once the sound is good, but probably a bit loud for people in the front. At the end of the show, the second vocalist went in the middle of the crowd, with his guitar in the hands, and tried to make a guy sing. I liked that too!

    Second intermission. I tried to get a drink. At the Antipode, you must have a card to take a cup (there is a 1-euro deposit). You fill up a form at the first bar (Marie Gallic was preceding me, does the name ring a bell?), say what drink you’d like, someone gave you tickets, you walk across the room to another bar, the real one, you ask for your drink again, and wait, someone gives you your drink and then, enjoy. Fortunately you have plenty of time for that and there are not many people queuing.

    The third and last band to play was dd/mm/yyyy – the one everyone was waiting to hear? Somebody asked me as I walked in, ‘Do you know Foals? Cause they’re the same’. First, who does not, and second, no they cannot be Foals since they are called dd/mm/yyyy*. The first part of the set is indeed similar to that of Foals – did they do a sound check? They are chatting on stage. It does not bother me but it makes a change. Some strains remind me of Foals, and yes, it sounds like franc math rock but the comparison stops here. You quickly recognize the band’s influences that are more punk or classic rock. The music is somewhat crazy, a little psychedelic (Can I use this term?). The lead singer’ haircut is the same as the singer from Foals some years ago. Weird blonde color and curls – I did not need anything more, everything I love is in that band! From a song to another, the guys play different instruments but it is not flowing very well, save between the first and second songs, but it does not affect the quality of the set, it adds even more charm to it. Apparently it annoyed some people or maybe it was just getting late (it was 11.30/45). Not me anyway. The band tried to make jokes as well, that were half-French, half-English: ‘We’re at the Antipode, but we’re more propode.’ Again, no one laughs, but they went on. The crowd was cheering them more and more and was hoping for an encore – which unfortunately I did not get to see. The show was supposed to end at half past midnight, so a little bit late to catch the latest bus at 00.15, which I missed. Next time, don’t follow my lead, enjoy the show but do not forget to check the time: you have to leave at 00.05, because buses are always ahead of schedule!

   The Route du Rock is not over: thanks to a great site called Arte Live Web, you can watch online the concerts that have taken place that weekend in Saint-Malo, despite the setbacks, and press rewind or pause! You would be wrong not to, even more so if you live in the west of France and are on holiday. So listen to some Beach House, Local Natives, Clues, The Fiery Furnaces or The Horrors. You can’t miss concerts like these when there are brought home.

*They seem to have difficulties with their band’s name. You can call them dmy or day month year or whatever. However it fits rather well their songs titles. (‘Bronzage’, which “talks” about the difficulty to... I can’t remember. How smart is that?)

by LittleSyd. Translated by Comète.