Blood Red Shoes live, May 8th, at La Maroquinerie, Paris.
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Or, belated live review 1/3.
I always feel that I'm really bad at writing concert reviews. So, this time, I'll seek help from my beloved bulletins, in an attempt to control my thoughts.
~ City: Paris (you know how they say that certain cliches exist for a reason? Well, the "Paris is the most beautiful city in the world" one belongs to that category).
~ Venue: La Maroquinerie. This venue is actually a multi-space. Restaurant, cafe, terrace, venue/club, and art gallery. If you are ever in Paris, check this place out, lots of indie shows going on there and a pretty venue to boot. The concert space itself is relatively small, intimate, located underground and I loved it.
Terrace:
~ The band: I'm always suspicious with duos, especially after seeing the White Stripes being unable to produce their sound and volume on stage (sorry, peeps). However, these two were a pleasant surprise. Their songs are short, fast, with a catch phrase and they get you carried away and dance your arse off. A curious thing was that the drummer/singer actually had a bigger presence than the female singer/guitarist, who seemed to be a bit tired (I'm speculating here). He was in a very energetic mood and quite communicative with the audience. Anyway, the final result on the whole was more than satisfying.
~ The crowd: a sea of skinny jeans and bangs. The difference between those indie peeps and the indie peeps I see in my city, is that those guys are not afraid to dance so that they don't ruin their bangs (I've seen people at shows here jumping 2 times, then stop all of a sudden and fix their bangs with their hand hahahahah). So, dancing, singing, lots of smiling and charming eye contact from the Parisians.
~ Conclusion: Blood Red Shoes won't change your world, but they will surely rock it. And make you dance; dance till your shoes are red.
Enjoy their latest favourite song of mine, I Wish I Was Someone Better, and its yummy video:
Comments (33)
Am I the only one who doesn't like singing drummers? Otoh, i did enjoy the minimal dance rock.
Thanks for posting about this. I would love to see them live.
Pyro (erm, what's you real name btw lol), I don't like them or dislike them, depends on the drummer, I guess. This one did a very good job at singing energetically and clearly, and banging his drums like a madman oozing rhythm.
Glad you enjoyed!
You're welcome, Andrea! You will soon, methinks, you have a good concert karma vibe :)
Hang on a sec.. you were in the same room as Blood Red Shoes and didn't kidnap a certain singer for me :P
Don't you like my nick...name?
I just don't like the picture when a drummer sings, no matter how well he combines singing n drumming. Maybe I'm jealous, dunno. ^^
Joxy....OOOOPS! I forgot! I'm losing track of our indie rock crushes :)
Pyro (fine, have it your way :P), you know best ;)
Almost forgot, I bought this merchandise shoulder canvas bag:
Cute and it sums up my feelings about marriage mwuahahha
Anna, read between the lines. ;)
Cute bag, one step closer to ecology.
Enjoyed the review and pics. Quite a unique venue.
I've seen people at shows here jumping 2 times, then stop all of a sudden and fix their bangs with their hand
<Snigger>
Going on the video they're an energetic bunch. That would never do in your city.
charming eye contact from the Parisians.
This kind of thing, yeah?
Anna, look at the second picture of the band... how could I not crush on that?
Pyro, omigod. I've been reading your name in English all this time. You tricked me! (what can I say, I'm a dork...)
Aw, happy to hear that, Fluxy :D
It's OK, I'll always mosh, no matter how high the bangs-cost is ;)
Yes, that's exactly what I mean. How can a girl resist! ;)
Joxy hahaha I guess I was distracted by the drummer then ;)
:S
My name is supposed to be read in english. What do you mean..? 'Πύρος'? lmao
:P By reading it in English I came to think it was only your nickname :)
And I'm glad you fancy my bag; most men are puzzled, at best, by my bags :O
Hahaha. Now I'm teh stupid one. >.<
anywayz, I'm starving, I'll have to eat some 'fillings' (gemista).
over n out
"the drummer/singer actually had a bigger presence than the female singer/guitarist"
Beware of what you're saying about Ms Carter. She is on MOG (http://mog.com/laura-mary) and this is her first post:
"this is Laura-Mary from Blood red shoes. i appreciate the fact that you seem to like our band and thats really cool it honestly is, but i am a human being! and if you saw this kind of stuff being said about you, i wonder how it would make you feel? Steven is a very social person and he is what you say he is, he is wonderful. Im sorry that i am shy and unlike him but surely we dont need to be exactly the same.I love music, we write the songs together! I am a person not a THING you can just talk about. you seem to think my whole purpose to be on stage is to look pretty. I am female, i like to wear dresses and put on make-up like most girls. i am not looking for your aproval to see if you rate me in that way or not. i am just another girl who happens to be a music geek and is in a band.i am so pasionate about what i do, and its hard when we put so much work in to be talked about like this. Steve wanted to come on here in a rampage because he is very angry and upset by your comments. But for the first time i have actually decided to come on here myself and say something. You may just make fun of me for saying this but at least i had a say. We are on tour and we are about to go on stage.Its a shame i had to see this just before a show." (posted 29 March)
If you're interested you can see what prompted this reaction on SA's post: here. I still stand by what I said in the comments.
Regarding La Maroquinerie, things must have changed quite a bit since I was there as I seem to remember the crowd was mainly Bobo hipsters who cared more about scoring some E than the music. (I saw this French actress there once)
I made a mistake. Good band! but the venue looks even cooler. A terrace goes a long way. i have the same bias pyro, singing drummers can be awkward, but hey, if it works, more power
Bon appétit, Pyro :)
Michael, that's some scene I missed there..ooops.
Well, I didn't say anything bad here, I think, just what I witnessed. There, I even made my description more accurate.
Glad that you fancy them, madrid!a
I didn't take that terrace picture myself btw, I found it on line. The terrace was filled with people before the show, drinking, smoking, chilling. It was really nice to be there :)
Wait. Is Pyro's name ... Nick?
I don't know, but mine really is Anna. How you doin'? :)
My name's Buck. Charmed, I'm sure. Pyro, whatever his real name is, possesses the power to cloud men's minds; I can't stop thinking about biting into a robust gemista now.
Nice to meet you, charming Buck.
Not to make things worse, but I'm having gemista later on as well (no, me and Pyro are not siblings, we are just Greeks with good food timing).
I like blood red shoes! And this band's not so bad either! Really they sound very cool, love to see em myself. Thanks for the report!
It looks like gemista is stuffed pepper...no...?
yea, now that you mention it, everything in the photo is perfectly placed like a good promotional pic should be. either that, or you are a perfectionist and cleared all of those schmoozing parisians out of there for a quick photo. i saved the website, will have to check that place out next time i am over there
And the winner is.... Buzz Sellwood!! xD
PS: why almost every blog of yours, turns into a gourmet topic?:P
i liked that video. anna, wish i could've witnessed the bang-obsessed indies dancing, especially at that beautiful venue!
You're very welcome, Helen! Cool band for a warm day :)
Gemista are indeed peppers stuffed with rice, or another version is peppers stuffed with rice and minced meat; I prefer the first version myself...slourp!
madrid, "cleared all of those schmoozing parisians out of there for a quick photo" ahahahahah I wouldn't put it past me, and then you'd hear stories about the most obnoxious tourist ever to set foot in the place :) Cheers! :)
Nick (mwuahhaha), the topic of this post is not gourmet, it's you ;)
Glad to hear that, Brittany :)
Indie times, happy times :D
late yes, still good.........why yes!
It was because of you I started digging this band in earnest.
About Laura-Mary and Ansell, I had invited them to join Mog after your first about them. I saw they were doing the cheap route to PR and advertising and said this would be a great venue for them. Never got back to me though .... don't know why, I was very sweet. I think I'll Mogmail Laura and reinvite them back.
Oh yeah, I hate you. Hate you for seeing them live and I couldn't.
My only chance to catch them in New York was preempted by a court case I had to go to. Damn supeonas.
Nice bag. And trick video.
You were in Paris and didn't call me? I am soooo offended. I would have been on the first plane out of SFO - four years ago when I could have gotten away at a moment's notice. (Seriously, what brought you to Paree?)
These guys are so rockin'. Really looking forward to seeing them at some point.
You're never late, Kevin!!! And good music doesn't go stale :)
Chris, how sweet were you? ;)
Read Michael's (Bartleby) comment. I don't think e-mailing them is a good idea........
I would go on a na na na na spree, but I won't, 'cause I'm feeling sweet today myself. You'll see them soon, it's written in the MOG stars :)
Alright, one more for the bag woo hoo!
Mikey, I'm unforgivable, and for the added reason that you would have payed your dance debt while we were at it ;)
Let's have a randevouz there 4 years from now :) Fun brought me there now and fun will bring me there again :)
"The crowd: a sea of skinny jeans and bangs." - depending on the day, that'd make me feel either like i totally belong or totally fat and ugly compared. ;D funny about people who "stop all of a sudden and fix their bangs" - i think i see this a lot in Bangkok altho substitute bangs with layered 'dos.
very lovely music, and anything probably sounds heavenly when in Paris!
PS- pardonne moi, this is off-topic but i followed Michael's link and just really feel for SA - a self-professed fan who i'm sure never intended to slag anyone.
poe (I do know your real name btw, I just really like to call you poe, not sure why), we ALWAYS belong. And when we don't, it's because the others have a problem ;)
Oh yes, the Parisian veil of beauty...before we went to the show, we were having dinner at a bistro on the same street. Our (pretty) waiter told us not to worry or be in haste, it was a good warm day, and everybody was out enjoying the weather, having picnics, etc., so the show wouldn't start on time... They really don't know how to live, do they ;)
And I agree with you. Stefan is a fan (not just in theory; he bought their music, goes to their shows, promotes them on MOG etc), and I think it was very unfair to concentrate on the one not so positive thing he said. Would she have liked it if he focused on the show's negative things in his review? I don't think so.
Plus, we have freedom of speech. Everybody has the right to speak his opinion; freedom of speech comes with a price, and we should be able to pay it. I'm really sorry that she felt that way and I do sympathize with her, I guess that she must have heard such things before, but she should be more thick-skinned. She is, more or less, a public figure. People have an opinion about everything, especially public figures, and she should know better than to waste her time feeling bad on the not so positive opinions.
Anna, hahahah i love your Paris story. i was there long ago and one thing i noticed is even if you just sat for coffee it still took them a long time to get back to you, almost as if they're making you dinner. on my very first Metro train ride, i got serenaded by a very gorgeous busker - he wanted my spare change, not my undying love ;d - so then i knew, ooh, i was in Paris.
"Everybody has the right to speak his opinion; freedom of speech comes with a price, and we should be able to pay it. ... She is, more or less, a public figure. People have an opinion about everything, especially public figures" - i completely agree. once you decide to make public your creative expression, you need to be prepared for it and for yourself to be loved / hated / ignored / worshipped / etc. aww we shall group-hug Stefan next time.
i also like to call me poe (when referring to my internet alterego) so we're okay there - makes me feel all macabre although i'm not alcoholic like Edgar Allan, maybe recreationally. (;
I'd go and see BRS if I was visiting Paris and they were playing there! But in fact I'm on the fence about the band: while I like the typic of music they play, their own songwriting isn't particularly developed or sophisticated (the stop-and-starts are pretty predictable, for example) and there are musically more slamming guitar-drum duos out there (no, I don't mean the White Stripes). But they seem energetic enough to provide a fun night!