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I have rarely seen so few people at a concert, even if the Ubu is small, it was almost scary. I thought this was only concerning the first part and people would come for the main band, but there wasn’t many more people then. It gave a somewhat more intimate effect, but I feel a bit sorry for both bands and they gave us a very nice experience in such harsh conditions.

I already talked about L’Effet Défée which had already opened for Magma in last december. No cymbals or sticks were harmed this time, but they again played a nice set.

Slug plays a pop-jazz-rock kind of music which is interesting, but I thought there wasn’t enough “high” moments in the concert to my taste. Not to dismiss the others, but I think Antoine Paganotti on drums was the most interesting on stage, even though Emmanuel Borghi was almost close to waking up at some point and that would too have been interesting.

Damn, I wonder if that’s just the use of very low sounds or if this concert wasn’t a bit over the decibels limitation; at times it was like my chest was exploding.

First first part was assumed by a guitar and bass hardcore duo. At first I was a bit non-plussed by effects on the voice (as usual, viking style) and by the over-use of a backing track, but they nevertheless hold the stage with style, fighting a really dull crowd. I’m in admiration.

Second first part was assumed by a DJ (whose name also escapes me). I’m not a specialist of this kind of music but it was quite enjoyable, with lots of BOM-BOM to resonate inside oneself.

Then came Atari Teenage Riot, and as there was a lot more people than when Alec Empire came “alone” at the same place a few years ago, and after taking off his shirt during the first two songs, he was able to do some crowd surfing without much trouble (even though he kept his wired mic— not that easy to do!). I’m not a fan of the mix, but there were a lot of sounds, it moved, it rocked and it felt good.

(there was a fourth act after that and some guy even asked me if I knew about it, but really it was already a bit late and I had some road ahead, so I didn’t even try to stay).

Anyway, one thing I keep wondering is how/why people can go to such loud concerts without any ear protections. Yeah, it may be more fun without and I’m just an old fart, but I’m thankful for my earplugs.

It has been quite some time since I last posted anything about music that I discovered: a blank music period followed by a blank posting period. There are some that are worth mentioning (The Absence, Centaurus-A, Megadeth’s Endgame), and then there are those that truly impressed me.

For example, After The Burial combines really brutal and heavy (8 strings baby!) sound with great technical and innovative syncopated guitar handling. Take for example Cursing Akenaten, it starts slowly with an oriental sounding melody, then there’s the heavy wall of guitars before the two mixes up; And then, there’s the double-time that just blows your mind. Or you could be misguided by the first seconds of Aspiration: Is that 80’s hair metal calling? But beware of the blowing heads that quickly follow. And there’s Ometh that pumps you forward so much with its melody/solo that just counterpoints the rhythm elements.

But if you want to go the old guys, there’s also Dream Theater latest opus, Black Clouds & Silver Linings. I kind of like their previous work but I wasn’t really a fan, mostly because of James LaBrie’s voice, but I was somehow amazed by the way they came full circle on this release. There are a lot of influences on this album, either from themselves, featuring themes and elements from previous albums (the most prominent for me would be The Glass Prison) but also from other bands: not exact riffs or melodies but some kind of sound and way of playing, just like discovering a good wine. When I listen to this album, I hear Pantera or Metallica and that’s without counting the covers included in extended versions. And obviously, they still excel technically.

Just before I talk about the subject of this post, I have to mention that I saw the TraLala band last month, but I didn’t post about it since even though it was a nice concert, the crowd was one of the worst in this setup. And I feel sorry for those who were fans but didn’t have ear protections and hence spent half the concert with their hands on their ears.

So, yesterday I saw Andy McKee at L‘Étage: the guy was really cool and sweet, playing instrumental songs on acoustic guitar and harp guitar, adding percussion sounds using the guitar body and using a lot of different guitar technics (harmonics, taping…) which gave an impressive result. He also used a lot of different tunings (even breaking a string while retuning — I feel less alone). Highly recommended to guitar fans.

First part was assumed by Deadcell and maybe they should have abstained. Some kind of Ministry/KMFDM sound, mostly with a (bad) recorded backtrack and strange videos in the background (I had a problem associating correctly the images of Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Religion and the USA, but that may be just me). The girls on guitars were kinda cute, but I spent maybe 5 mins trying to see if their instruments were plugged in.

Punish Yourself may be uglier, but at least they sounded far better (even if this time I had a doubt with the drummer vs the backtrack). They were screaming, painted, flaming and moving the people around and that was good. Soundwise, they’re a bit of mix between punk, rockabilly (I’m pretty sure to have clearly heard that influence in one or two songs) and hard techno. Stage-wise, it was also really nice to watch: lasers, flames and body paint.

Overall, it was just a bit short (1h and 1:25 respectively) but it felt good in the end.

If you think the new Guns & Roses is getting too complicated, check out Paul Gilbert and Freddie Nelson’s United States album as it just rocks your pants off.

(yeah, I’m late).

About a week and a half ago, I was seeing Magma in concert for the second time. The first part was filled by L’Effet Défée which provided us with a strange mix of sounds: Vocals (and samples), Harp (yes, harp!), Bass (with a bow) and noise/hardcored drums (the guy lost a cymbal and broke a stick, it can’t be much hardcore). In the end, it gave a powerful and refreshing mix, with a kind of Björk-meets-Magma result.

Next came Magma. They played a powerful set, although I was a bit disappointed because compared to the previous performance I saw, I thought that the bass and guitar were less overwhelming in their sound and presence. I think the guitar was a bit low in the mix and there was only one real solo. But I still love watching Christian Vander play the drums with ease and at the same time a lot of power (he too lost a cymbal, that wasn’t the night for the drums techs).

This gives me goose bumps. I know anything goes, but I think 2010 might get interesting on this point.

I recently wanted to get a 7-strings, but it appears the ones I chose are out of my range (be it price-wise or stock-wise), so instead, I’ll go look for a new 6-strings (hey, Christmas is coming). The aim of the exercise would be to tune it lower (or more differently) than usual (either in Db/C# or even in NST). So far, my requirements would be:

• NOT a superstrat body (but best if this is not a plain Les Paul copy or a SG;
• lighter and smaller than a Les Paul (and I mean it: not just a Lite LP);
• dual humbuckers (coil splitting a bonus but not required);
• oil/wax neck finish (even though this could be done after);
• NOT inlined tuners (but bonus for locked tuners);
• right arm rest is an ultra-bonus;
• low-mid range price (aka: not cheap but not requiring me to sell my kidneys again);
• either really good looking (but I’m picky) or cheap looking (and it will suffer);
• fixed bridge;

• available from a local dealer.

Currently, my eyes would be on a Godin LG, but I haven’t tested the neck yet. Otherwise a ’72 tele might fit part of the bill, but that would not be exactly my current aim.

[ this is a geeky post, but geeky as guitar-geek, not computer-geek ]

I played the guitar for quite some time now and as a self-taught mostly rock guitar player, I used to play with a pick (or mediator, or plectrum) and unlike what some people may say (Hi Aurélien!), I think the quality of the pick has an influence, maybe on the sound but mostly on the way one plays. My first picks, as far as I remember were either noname ones or from Fender. And one day, about fifteen years ago, while visiting New York, I discovered the Dunlop Tortex picks. I bought some then and maybe a few more a few years later, but I think I haven’t bought any for 5 or 10 years.
My main picks for quite some time were the black (1.35mm) Dunlop Tortex Sharp and blue (1.0mm) Tortex. I tried the same in 1.50mm gauge but found them too heavy for my taste. Anyway, recently, I gave a try to different picks, to see if I should change. Here are my feelings and reviews for the few I have at hand: (more…)