Gig reviews (2007-2009)

The Eastpak Antidote Tour : Paris, November 9^th 2009
Anti-Flag + Alexisonfire + Four Year Strong + The Ghost Of A Thousand

........

7pm : The Show!!

As a bad news disturbed me, I must say that I didn't really pay attention to what was going on at the beginning...

The first band performing was The Ghost Of A Thousand. I didn't know their music before. I just knew that they are from UK, and quite popular there among hardcore kids. And that they supported Alexisonfire for one of their London show in June. Well...it was nice. They are a good live band, and their music was a good starter. Tom Lacey (vocals) rocked, though the crowd was not huge at all. I'm gonna check their music more carefully.

Quickly the stage was ready for the next band : Four Year Strong. I had no idea at all about their music. And it was a good surprise! They play a kind of pop punk mixed with hardcore and electronic keys. They also share the vocals parts, three different voices. Interesting. Entertaining. I had a good time!

But...the best (for me) was still to come. Two of my favourite bands were playing in a row. That sounded like an amazing night! And it was...

ALEXISONFIRE

All I can say about them is : oh my God, I love them so much! When they came on stage, I forgot all the shit of my life. I just had in mind that my favourite band was in front of me. It was so good to see them again! Yeah! And I was on the left, so faced to Dallas Green. The set list was not too different from their shows at the Borderline in London. If I'm right, here it is :

Drunks, Lovers, Sinners & Saints
No Transitory
We Are the Sound
Boiled Frogs
Young Cardinals
Waterwings
Rough Hands
Born And Raised
This Could Be Anywhere in the World (feat. “Numéro Deux” said George)
Accidents

Well...I love all their songs! I sang along all the time. They made us sing during “We Are The Sound”, but we are not in London or in Toronto...we were not a lot to know the lyrics! George Pettit was without a shirt, as always! Chris #2 came to sing at the end of “This Could Be Anywhere In The World”...and the show ended with “Accidents” (which is the opener of “Watch Out!”). Chris Steele jumped in the crowd, and George took his bass to finish the song...and the show. Please, don't go! Don't go! I want more! I was so sad when they left! Gosh, when am I going to see them again? When I saw them in London I was okay cause I knew the Antidote Tour was coming...Well, the only thing that cheered me up was :

ANTI-FLAG

Yeah! My third Anti-Flag gig! The first one is a venue of that seize...and the sound was amazing!

What could I say? I was first row, faced to Chris Head. I love being that close! After a short intro, they played “The Press Corpse”, and the crowd started to be really excited! Okay, here is the setlist of the Paris date (source: setlist.fm)

The Press Corpse
Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington D.C. (Sheep In Shepherd's Clothing)
Turncoat .
I'd Tell You But...
War Sucks, Let's Party!
The Economy Is Suffering... Let It Die
The Smartest Bomb
One Trillion Dollars.
Fuck Police Brutality
This Is The End (For You My Friend)
Should I Stay Or Should I Go (The Clash cover)
Die For The Government
Cities Burn
Power To The Peaceful

I'm pretty sure they also played “Got The Numbers”.

It was awesome! Maybe I would have liked more songs from “The People Or The Gun”, but it's a tiny little detail. At the end Pat played drums in the crowd while people got on stage.

I think after that the show was over :( But it was really great. I used to say that my best Anti-Flag show was the first one, cause I was probably impressed. But that night was maybe better...

10.30pm : The show is over!

0.30am: I finally left the venue, after collecting signatures and chatting a bit with Pat and Justin.

Once again, I managed to offer to myself a really amazing birthday present! Awesome night.

November, 16th 2008 : Alexandra Palace, London UK

Bullet For My Valentine + Lacuna Coil + Bleeding Through + Black Tide + Lawnmower Deth

When i arrived at Alexandra Palace, i was amazed by all the people standing in line. I waited an hour before i could go into the Palace.
First point : it seemed that everyone there was younger​ than 18 !I missed the 1st band, Lawnmower Deth, but Black Tide arrived on stage quickly. After 5 minutes of technical problems, they played well, but it’s not the kind of stuff I like, so…

Bleeding Through…

People became crazy as the band began to play their angry metalcore. Sorry but I thought their performance quite boring. Okay, the pit was mad, the singer was good, screaming and singing. That’s all ! They have a pretty keyboard player, but her playing was too discreet. That’s just my opinion.Well, I was there for two bands that night, Lacuna Coil and Bullet For My Valentine.I tried to be closer to the stage, but it was difficult because people were always pushing me away !It was not pleasant at all, the audience were not respectful to each other, and it spoiled my night. I was there to enjoy the music and see bands on stage, but I was just trying to stay alive !

Lacuna Coil…

I’ve already seen them at the Fury Fest 2005 (France), and it was a revelation. But sadly Cristina’s voice was not loud enough…In Alexandra Palace, I could hear her ! Their show was so good! Cristina was amazing. They played almost only songs from Karmacode, except Swamped and Heaven’s A Lie. I would like to have heard older songs, but To The Edge or Fragments of Faith were good. I don’t know how much time they played, but i felt too short !LC was still on stage when teens began to call:

Bullet For My Valentine…

Ok, they are here now ! When Matt arrived, everyone became hysterical. To open the set, “Scream, Aim, Fire”. The crowd was overexcited, and suddenly fireworks ! People were singing, they knew the lyrics by heart, jumping, moshing… A few songs they played : “ The Poison”, “All These Things I Hate…”, “Tears Don’t Fall”, “Hearts Burst Into Tears”…The audience was totally committed to the band. Bullet is now a huge band. I saw several cameras, and to confirm my thoughts, Matt announced that the show would be released on the next BFMV dvd!“Waking the Demon” closed the show, and I didn’t notice time go by ! But I was happy to go outside and breathe fresh air and drink water without people shoving me !

I enjoyed the show because I like the bands, but it would have been better with a more respectful audience that let you enjoy the atmosphere more! !English kids are mad !

THE UNSEEN + Banane Métalik+Time Bomb+The Last Wanted
11/11/07, La Maroquinerie, Paris

For my birthday I wanted to offer to myself something cool. So I've chosen to see The Unseen.
I went just to see them, but I had a good time to see and hear the three bands that played before. I remember during the show, I looked around me to look at punk rockers in the room, and I saw Mark from the Unseen standing close to me...wow!
Then the Unseen show began. It was probably one of the best show of my life, even though I saw several of my favourite bands. I can't remember the whole set list, but I was glad cause they played Talking Bombs, Torn and Shattered, No Evacuation, Scream Out and other Unseen classics. After the show Mark stayed with people, and he signed my ticket. Unfortunately I was too shy to be able to talk to him more... but it was cool anyway and he was really nice.

Give It A Name festival, April 24th, Elysée-Montmartre, Paris

AFI + Jimmy Eat World + Enter Shikari + Motion City Soundtrack + Aiden + The Sleeping + Tracy Gang Pussy

So I went to Paris mainly to see AFI, my favorite band [at that time]. To be honest I was bored during the first bands. Maybe because i was just waiting for AFI. The only good surprise was Enter Shikari. Their electronic/hardcore (or whatever) convinced me. The sound was good, the show was dynamic. Three years later they are still a band i enjoy. I got closer to the stage for Jimmy Eat World. Yeah, cause they are famous. Gosh, how boring! The band members themselves looked so bored. That's a shame cause they had many fans in the audience. Finally AFI arrived on stage! I enjoyed the show a lot, I just regret its short length and the lack of communication from the band who almost played songs without talking in between.

Prelude 12/21
Girl's Not Grey 
Kill Caustic
The Leaving Song Pt 2
Summer Shudder
File 13
Silver And Cold
Dancing Through Sunday
This Time Imperfect
Death Of Seasons
Song 2 ( Blur cover)
Love Like Winter

God Called In Sick Today
Miss Murder