January gig highlights
Perhaps the most divisive harp player around, Joanna Newsom, if nothing else, energises a sluggish start to the New Year. In fact, only Godspeed You! Black Emperor!, and the southern belle are filling my stomach with butterflies. That said, they are butterflies the size of Condors. After a 7 year hiatus, the dark, anarchistic, musical wizards Godspeed You! Black Emperor! are back, and if ticket sales are anything to go by (sold out), they have been missed. The band is the definition of ‘media shy’, and so little is known about why they have chosen to reform. Friends who have seen them in the past week, during their UK dates, claim to have heard at least one or two potentially new songs – suggesting a new album could be in the pipeline. Either way, they’re back, and Paris, it seems, is all too happy to have them. I do feel sorry for Lone Wolf. A new signing to the über-respected Bella Union label, but due to an unfortunate scheduling clash, he’s having to play second fiddle to GY!BE! and The Chemical Brothers… a tall order for anyone. The Klaxons visit to Paris later in the month has almost sold out, but another gig to keep an eye on is The Vaselines – once described by Kurt Cobain as his ‘most favourite songwriters in the whole world’. (Mark. E. Thompson, www.gigsinparis.wordpress.com)
Fri 14 Jan
_Godspeed You! Black Emperor! (sold out), Grande Halle de la Villette.
_Lone Wolf, La Flèche d’Or, tickets here.
_The Chemical Brothers, Le Zénith, tickets here.
Sat 15 Jan
_Joanna Newsom, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, tickets here.
Thu 20 Jan
_The Klaxons, Le Bataclan, tickets here
Sat 29 Jan
_The Vaselines (Festival MO’FO’11), Mains d’Oeuvres, St Ouen, tickets here.
