[...music...]

2011-03-08

i had not planned on seeing the yann tiersen show that was part of the high lights festival, but i realized that it was during my midterm break, and i needed something fun to do. the show was on monday, two weeks ago.

the opening act was breathe owl breathe, a quirky indie band. half the set felt like a story-telling period, with the singer acting out the lyrics of the songs. it was alright.

yann tiersen's set was nice. a quiet evening for me.

when tiersen started speaking english in between songs, the crowd reacted by yelling "en français! on est au québec!". of course.

he and his band played all the songs from the most recent "dust lane", including the title track, which is my favourite on that release. i'm glad someone posted a video online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdaVWSS6YuY
(the audio quality is not too bad.)

when he played "sur le fil" on solo violin, it was the highlight of the show, for me. that song is pretty amazing in a live setting.

setlist (as posted on stage):
count down
dust lane
dark stuff
kala
amy
till the end
the wire
the train
ashes
chapter 19
palestine
fuck me

encore:
best of times (the trial)
le quartier
amélie

it doesn't seem complete, since "sur le fil" doesn't appear. or did they translate it as "the wire" on their setlist? seems strange...

the end of the show was perfect, with a re-worked version of "la valse d'amélie poulain". i left feeling all happy inside.

~~~

Labels: breathe owl breathe, metropolis, shows, yann tiersen

2010-10-25

random stuff

i wandered into hmv megastore on thursday, not looking for anything in particular. i ended up making a few unplanned purchases.

i saw that yann tiersen released a new album, "dust lane". when i listened to a few tracks at the listening station, i found that this new stuff is nothing like the "amélie" material i associate most with him. i couldn't decide if i like this new style, but i don't dislike it, so i got the album anyway.

i also saw the new trent reznor release, the soundtrack for "the social network", at the listening station. i tried a few tracks; sounds like mostly ambient stuff. not sure if this will make my top 10 of the year, but i'm a fan who will buy any music he produces.

since i was in the "soundtrack" section of the store, i checked out hans zimmer's soundtrack for "sherlock holmes". when i saw that movie, the first thing i noticed was how much i loved the music. i had immediately wanted to get the soundtrack, but the $20 pricetag made me hesitate. now, i saw that it was on special, 2 for $30. i just needed to find another cd to pair it with.

i searched in the adjacent "francophone" section. i randomly looked up mickey 3d. i first heard his music on the compilation "le pop en duo", with his collaboration with jane birkin, the track "je m'appelle jane". [in fact, i discovered many wonderful artists with that compilation. such as vincent delerm with "veruca salt et frank black".] in the summer, when i saw that mickey 3d were playing at francofolies, i listened to their most recent album "la grande évasion", and loved it. at the time, the $20 pricetag also made me hesitate to get the cd. but now, what a coincidence, it was also on special at 2 for $30. it was so meant to be.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, hans zimmer, mickey 3d, soundtrack, trent reznor, yann tiersen

2009-04-20

yann tiersen @ club soda

i went to the second night of yann tiersen's show, on saturday, at club soda, with glo, rox and a couple of her friends. this was one of the few shows where i loved the opening acts, and the main act completely surprised me by how awesome it was.

first guests were asobi seksu, a new york band who do the shoegaze/dream pop thing. they were supposed to play montreal last month, but it was cancelled (and i couldn't go anyway). about two weeks ago, i was delighted to find out that they ended up re-scheduled as openers for a show i had a ticket for; yay!

live, their music sounded more catchy, more fun. the singer has a nice ethereal voice. she was well-dressed, and wore a pair of white stilleto heels, contrasting with her dark outfit.

not familiar with their entire catalogue, i recognised the songs "thursday" and "me and mary". i would have liked to hear "i'm happy but you don't like me", but they probably didn't play it because it's too old (from the debut album). they ended their set in a noise explosion. as much as i like the band, i wondered how they fit with the rest of the bill.

la deuxième invitée de la soirée était coeur de pirate (alias de béatrice martin), une jeune artiste talentueuse et adorable; juste elle, sa voix et son clavier. une musique assez douce, un peu comme les chansons pour enfants.

"corbeau":

en plus des chansons de son album éponyme, elle a joué une nouvelle pièce inspirée par une visite à paris. elle a aussi repris la chanson "étienne d'août" de malajube, la jouant dans son style à elle. très beau. bien sur, elle a terminé avec son hit "comme des enfants".

de yann tiersen, je ne connaissais que ses compositions sur la trame sonore des films "le fabuleux destin d'amélie poulain" et "good bye lenin!", donc je m'attendais à de la musique un peu douce, avec de l'accordéon et du clavecin, très french folk.

enfin, il apparaît sur scène avec un band complet et guitare électrique en main, un look un peu grunge. ça a été un spectacle très rock, ce qui m'a beaucoup surprise, mais j'ai vraiment adoré. je ne sais trop comment décrire: c'était un peu post-rock, mais plus expérimental, avec un son plus riche.

voici un clip d'un moment calme, au violon:

et à la guitare:

je ne connaissais aucune des pièces jouées.

~~~

achat de cds: vu que les disques se vendaient beaucoup moins cher au spectacle qu'au magasin, j'en ai profité pour faire des ajouts à ma collection. d'abord, de asobi seksu, "citrus" et le plus récent "hush" (à 12$ chacun); malheureusement, ils ne vendaient pas leur album éponyme que j'aime beaucoup. ensuite, le disque de coeur de pirate (à $15). enfin, plusieurs albums de yann tiersen, "la valse des monstres", "rue des cascades", "le phare", "tout est calme" (à $15 chacun) et "les retouvailles" (à $20). un petit cadeau à moi-même, en fin d'année scolaire.

~~~

Labels: asobi seksu, cd purchase, club soda, coeur de pirate, shows, yann tiersen