Day 2 is sunny and glorious! (of course now everyone is looking for a shady spot)
Saturday 25th August Lineup:
Puppetmastaz
I Love UFO
The Fratellis
Pravda
Hello Goodbye
Cold War Kids
Calvin Harris
Eric Truffaz
Jarvis Cocker
Terry Poison
CSS
The Jesus & Mary Chain
Alpha
Les Ritas Mitsouko
Tool
The view of the second stage, Scène de la Cascade.
The Grand Scène from the hillside, between shows.
Despite the sun, there is still some leftover mud. Ick.
The Levi’s stand where you can win a pair of customized jeans.
Guiseppe Demaio, the artiste du jour (from Australia, despite the Italian name).
This is the Music Library…you can actually sit in here and read books about your favorite rock stars. How very civilized!
It’s okay. He’s paid to graffiti. Another "live" artistic moment at Rock-en-Seine.
One of the editors from Teemix.com asked to take my photo for the "fashion at the festival" blog. I tried explaining that the knee-high boots, chiffon top and big hat were chosen for practical purposes (ie the hot weather and the mud), but apparently she thinks this looks "très mode". Only when I’m not trying do I end up looking presentable! LOL I take a pic of her in return and try to continue enjoying the festival without wondering if I look like a fashion victim.
Jarvis Cocker attracts a huge crowd on the Grande Scène. He sang a special tribute to the late and great Lee Hazelwood.
Behind the stage, people in the VIP/Media zone drag all of the chairs out of the circus tent and into the grass to enjoy the sun.
French rock station Le Mouv’ has set up their mini studio for the festival (here are DJs Emilie and Mac Fly, with nightlife guru Nicolas Ullmann smiling from the back). They’re celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. Listen online!
French rocker duo Pravda (the blond on the left and the black bob on the right) live on Le Mouv’.
Fifteen minutes before Jesus & Mary Chain are scheduled to start, fans begin staking out prime spots in front of the stage.
Jesus & Mary Chain…one of my fave 80s bands. Unfortunately, their show really lacked energy. Disappointing.
A peek at the giant moat separating the stage from the fans.
The wine bar packs out for Happy Hour.
Fans line up for the Tool concert, trying to avoid this GIANT mud puddle just to the left of the stage. I can’t imagine those people standing right at the edge aren’t going to get shoved in when the music starts.
I really love Tool, and saw them live in Minneapolis a few (okay, 12!) years ago. Unlike every other band, they don’t have themselves singing on the big screen for those in the back who can’t see anything. Instead they show their videos, which, if you’ve ever seen, are quite disturbing in a creepy way. Artistic, fascinating, but creepy. Maynard, the singer, does not come to the front of the stage once, nor is he ever spotlit. You can see his mohawk’d silhouette near the drummer, playing his keyboards on some songs. So there’s basically nothing to do but focus on the music, s
ince you can’t really see the band. Clever. I try to record some video for you folks, but I’m so close to the speakers that the bass totally blew out the recording. Sorry!
The view of the stage during the Tool concert. That’s Maynard on the right. Yeah, you’ll just have to take my word on that one.
During the show, some guy taps me on the shoulder. I have to pull out my ear plugs to finally hear what he’s saying. "Do you have any E?" Wow, a fashion icon and a drug dealer, all in one day. I’m seriously going to have to reconsider my wardrobe choices. After the show I head back to the VIP/Media zone and, having missed the restaurant serving time, I snack on a bag of carrots and cucumbers I have stashed in my bag (yeah, I’m so Rock’n’Roll) while chatting with a group of French music journalists. I ask why the presenter of the Arté Summer Tour TV show (which is being filmed as part of the summer festival series broadcasting September 7) hasn’t taken his Ray Bans off yet, seeing as how it’s almost midnight. Stupid question.
French journalist: "It’s Philippe Manoeuvre. He’s a legend in rock since the 70s. He never takes off those sunglasses."
Me: "You know, sometimes people need to evolve. Even John Bon Jovi finally cut off his hair."
French journalist: "You know, no one in France knows who Bon Jovi is."
Me (shocked): "How is it possible that they’ve never heard of Bon Jovi?! They know Hasselhoff!"
So there you have it. The root of all French rock problems. They just weren’t listening to the right music in the 80s.
Of course, they all seem pretty shocked that I had no idea who Marco Prince was. I was talking with him for a few moments about the Tool performance, and he mentioned something about opening for them once, so I figured I should probably ask someone who he was. "He’s the singer from FFF!"
From the RFI music website: The story of FFF began back in the late 80’s when Marco Prince, a young singer and songwriter who had been brought up on a solid dose of soul music, met bass-player Nicolas Baby (better known as Niktub). The pair went on to form FFF -La Fédération française de Fonck- coining the term ‘fonck’ to describe their innovative fusion of rock and funk.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am not a rock journalist! I have a hard enough time keeping up with music from the US and the UK. Maybe I should be listening to Nostalgie Radio instead. 😉
Tomorrow: Day 3 of Rock-en-Seine….Björk rocks the park!
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