Juliette & The Licks - LFSM, Part 4

Last Monday at the Bataclan (Les Femmes s'en mêlent Festival), after Rose Kemp, after the Plasticines, it was the duty of Juliette & the Licks to play and to close the evening. Juliette Lewis and her boys were much more awaited than the others, no doubt about that, as soon as the lights died out people rushed in front of the stage not to miss a second of the show.
She was all dressed in black with a t-shirt saying “je ne regrette rien” (I don’t regret anything) - when Juliette Lewis meet Edith Piaf, another woman always dressed in black. Me either I didn’t regret anything of what I saw, it was a real Rock’n’Roll show with sweat and blood as my friend Bookerfatz 2 like to say. The music was loud and The Licks were perfect, they remind me The Foo Fighters that I saw two years ago. Juliette Lewis is really a show woman, a female Iggy Pop. She knows how to act on stage and play with her body and her face, years of being an actress sure helped her a lot. Talking about acting, the show was filmed for the French musical TV called MCM, I am sure that it will be available in some DVD form pretty soon. So, don’t miss her if you like sweat and blood... if not, once in a while!

Web: julietteandthelicks.com
MySpace: myspace.com/julietteandthelicks

Juliette & the Licks - You're Speaking My Language .mp3
Juliette & the Licks - Hot Kiss .mp3
Juliette & the Licks - Got Love to Kill .mp3 via theprettiestpony

Bonus: Edith Piaf - Non, je ne regrette rien .mp3
Crooked Fingers - Juliette .mp3

Photo: Thanks to Robert Gil (photosconcerts.com)

Rose Kemp - LSFM, Part 3

At the end of her show Rose Kemp received… a rose from a fan, a moment of softness after a vigorous gig. Last Monday evening at the Bataclan, the promoters of Les Femmes s'en mêlent Festival decided to open the stage to, let’s say, some more dynamic performers of rock than the previous nights: Rose Kemp (UK), The Plasticines (FRA), Juliette & The Licks (USA).
It was not so easy for Rose Kemp to open the evening, the crowd was not completely awake and ready after a long business day to listen carefully to her music. Anyway, I enjoyed very much her pop rock energy even when she sang a’cappela. Some compared Rose Kemp to a young PJ Harvey, Well, not yet! Rose has her own style and that’s enough for her to deal with until she’ll find her final music identity.
Rose Kemp performed with her father, a member of Steeleye Span, when she was a teenager; she took part of an a’cappela record in 2002; recorded several mini-albums and EPs and an acoustic pop record called Glance (2003). In 2005, Rose signed an album deal with One Little Indian Records to record her second full length album, A Hand Full of Hurricanes (February 2007). Besides, Rose Kemp performed with Jeremy Smoking Jacket, an experimental pop trio and with Vilna a post-rock band.

MySpace: myspace.com/rosekemp

Rose Kemp - Violence .mp3 via Black Candy Music
Steeleye Span - Gaudete .mp3
PJ Harvey & Bjork - I Can't Get No Satisfaction (live) .MP3 via President Bouclier

Photo: Thanks to Robert Gil (photosconcerts.com)

Elk City - LFSM, Part 2

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Elk City before I entered the Nouveau Casino last Saturday evening (Les Femmes s'en mêlent Festival). All I knew is that Elk City is a NYC-based quarter who took shape in 1997 after Renee LoBue left the Meltings Hopefuls. That’s all. Since I learned that the other members are ex-Luna guitarist Sean Eden and ex- Lovelies bassist Barbara Endes and Ray Ketchem (drummer/producer).
It was a perfect Rock’n’Roll gig, nothing new but very enjoyable. Elk City played mainly songs from there latest work, New Believers, out this month on Friendly Fire Recordings including Cherries In the Snow who is a possible hit. They finished with older songs that gave the opportunity to Sean Eden to play some impressive guitar solo à la Neil Young.
Klima opened the evening. It’s the side project from Piano Magic singer’s Angèle David-Guillou a London-based French singer-songwriter (a mix of both Gallic and Anglo-American pop, rock and electronic). More info here.

Web: elkcity.net
MySpace: myspace.com/elkcity

Elk City - Cherries In The Snow .mp3
Elk City - Three Ears .mp3
Elk City - Nighttimeowls .mp3

Bonus: Piano Magic - Comets .mp3 from The Troubles Sleep Of Piano Magic (2004)

Photo: www.le-hiboo.com

Frida Hyvönen And The Pear - LFSM, Part 1

A glass of water, a pear, a lemon, a digital camera and a red dress, Frida Hyvönen (Sweden) reached the grand piano and offered twelve songs from her soon to be bigger repertoire including the beautiful N.Y., as an encore. The small audience from the Swedish Cultural Centre of Paris (100 seats) was very quiet and concentrate ready to listen to the bitter-sweet tales of Frida about cities, longing and sad love.
Frida Hyvönen was invited this week to play two sold-out evenings for the Les Femmes s'en mêlent Festival. She showcased songs of her debut album Until Death Comes and her recently finished soundtrack to Pudel (translation: Poodle); a 70 minute choreographed performance with 6 humans and 5 poodles.
By the way, the pear almost disappeared before the end of the show – I guess it’s the first time that I see an artist eating during a set – the lemon was there as an aromatherapy use and the camera, of course, was there for her to shoot the audience. Smile!

Web: fridahyvonen.com
MySpace: myspace.com/fridahyvonen

Frida Hyvönen - I Drive My Friend .mp3 (soundclip)
Frida Hyvönen - You Never Got Me Right .mp3

Bonus: Under Byen - Plantage .mp3
Under Byen - Af Samme Stof Som Stof .mp3

Under Byen, from Denmark, toured the US in March together with Frida.
Web: underbyen.dk

Silversun Pickups

Hi there. Special post today, based not on freshness but on excitement. Noble cause as well, isn't it? I wanted to be passionate for my first Leaky Sparrow post, and I am. I'll do fresher next time I promise.
Two seconds. It's all you need to get into it. Silversun Pickups's music is that exciting you don't need more to pay attention. And you won't stop ‘til the amps cease shaking. This young band from L.A. has just delivered you the best of what inspiration and hormonal disorder can create when combined. Carnavas (2006) is their first LP and it really confirms our high hopes when listening late 2005 to their incredible debut single Kissing Families. Reminding Smashing Pumpkins, Sunny Day Real Estate, Placebo and so on, the Silversun Pickups have nevertheless their own particular foot print. The rough voice and nervous guitar playing of Brian Aubert, the airy keyboards of Joe Lester make them definitely unique.
Those distant Americans from Silversun Pickups are still sadly unknown down here in Europe, but there forthcoming UK tour scheduled for May and June will hopefully help us to discover them on stage. Don't miss them, they're really a blessing in these times of scarcity.

Sunday Worker

Web: silversunpickups.com
MySpace: myspace.com/silversunpickups

Silversun Pickups - Kissing Families .mp3
Silversun Pickups - Comeback Kid .mp3

YouTube: Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye (on Letterman 12-01-06)

Marathon Season

Busy week-end for me because of the Marathon of Paris that I partly ran… Yes, Leaky Sparrow likes to run too! April is marathon time. Yesterday morning, at the same moment than Paris, thousands of runners participated to the Marathon of Rotterdam (I was among them two years ago). Today, it’s Boston, the oldest one, next Sunday, London (I did it too twice also in 1997 and 2001). And it’s only few among many others. Keep on running!

Placebo - Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush) .mp3
Snow Patrol - Run .mp3
Lenny Kravitz vs. Run DMC ft Slash (of GnR) - My Adidas On The Run .mp3
Bob Marley - Running Away .mp3

Bonus: Stars Of Track And Field - Movies Of Antartica .mp3

Women Only

Born on March 8th 1997 in Paris, the French festival Les Femmes s'en mêlent tries to look into everything the female artists of pop, folk, rock, punk or electro have to offer, and gathers exciting new discoveries and icons.
2007 will be the 10th anniversary. I attended this Festival a couple of time years ago. At the beginning, it was only 4 days in one location in Paris. Now it has developed so much that it will last from April 18th to May 5th and not only in Paris and in some cities in France but also in London at The Borderline and The Luminaire.

MySpace: myspace.com/lesfemmessenmelent

Let’s see what LFSM offers for this year:

Anaïs (fra) • Au revoir Simone (usa) • Les Bunnies (fra) • Bunny Rabbit (usa) • CSS (bra) • Ebony Bones (uk) • Electrelane (uk) • Elk City (usa) • Frida Hyvönen (swe) • Gomm (fra) • Hafdis Huld (isl) • Juliette and the licks (usa) • Marissa Nadler (usa) • Plastiscines (fra) • The Slits (uk) • Tender Forever (fra) • Terry Poison (isr) • Tilly and the Wall (usa) • Laura Veirs & the Saltbreakers (usa) • Yelle (fra) • Klima • Ane Brun (swe) • Babet (fra) • Rose Kemp (uk) • "586"

Not too bad, isn’t it! I’ll try to get one or two tickets for some shows if it’s not too late.

Ane Brun - My Lover Will Go .mp3
Tilly and the Wall - Lost Girls .mp3
Bunny Rabbit - Sexy .mp3 via Green Clothes
Elk City - Older .mp3
Laura Veirs - Galaxies .mp3
Marissa Nadler - Horses and their kin .mp3

Chic Chic Chic

Easter holidays are over now, so let’s come back to music.
And, after i ii iii… why not… !!! (or chk chk chk). You follow me?
Good, let’s dance.

Web: chkchkchk.net
Label: warprecords.com

chk chk chk - Heart Of Hearts .mp3

i ii iii

April 4th, 2006 , Leaky Sparrow took his fragile wings and learned to fly... Thanks everyone for visiting this blog since one year, it helped me a lot. Come back anytime, you’re very welcome.

So, this is for you:
onochord documentary

And let’s have fun with my good old pal Daevid Allen and his friends from Gong:
Gong - The Pot Head Pixies .mp3
Gong - Est Ce Que Je Suis .mp3

Jim Morrison - The Movie

Last week-end, I saw, maybe for the tenth time, Oliver Stone’s biography of Jim Morrison and The Doors (1991). The movie is really enjoyable even if it has the limit of a documentary and Val Kilmer is excellent. One thing that bothers me a little is why Mister Stone called his movie The Doors instead of Jim Morrison – The Movie. It is obvious that all along this feature film you mainly follow Morrison, the writer, the poet, the alcoholic… The band - The Doors - is behind Jim and is only the music vehicle for his writing. Jim Morrison doesn’t really care about the music, as the lead singer of a band who never plays any instrument, he only wants to read his poems, his prayers.
This year, Warner celebrates the 40th anniversary of The Doors first album : “All Six of The Doors’ Studio Masterpieces, the brand new 40th Anniversary mixes, remastered and expanded to include bonus outtakes and other bonus material are now available for the first time as single disc releases. All six studio albums are newly mixed as supervised by The Doors and Bruce Botnick, their original engineer/ co-producer.”

Web: thedoors.com

The Doors - Light My Fire .mp3
The Doors - The End .mp3
The Doors - Riders on the Storm .mp3
Snoop Dogg ft. The Doors - Riders On The Storm .mp3