This Thursday, the aisles of the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud were even more crowded than the day before. This time around, there's no shortage of artists to discover on the 5 different stages of the Rock en Seine site. By mid-afternoon, many festival-goers were already on site. Those who have come in part for Måneskin. They're easy to spot thanks to their t-shirts bearing the effigy of the Italian band, Eurovision winners in 2021. And then there are the others. For them too, T-shirts are of the utmost importance. T-shirts from Hellfest, Guns N'Roses, Rammstein and Gojira were all on display. This Thursday, the audience is also older than the day before. The forty-somethings are well represented, and are looking forward to taking a leap back in time, thanks in particular to Gossip, The Hives and Kasabian, the leading bands of the early 2000s.
But first, The Last Dinner Party opened the Grande Scène on Thursday. TLDP are 5 girls and a drummer on tour, all from the UK. Since the release of their hit " Nothing Matters ", the band have been riding the wave of success, from a concert at La Maroquinerie last February to the legendary Olympia stage next October. For each of them, the non-binary, all-female London quintet plays to full houses. And it's easy to see why. With The Last Dinner Party, there's this musical freshness carried by a pop that at times reminds us of the sound of Kate Bush.
On stage, the complicity between the girls is obvious. The singer - sporting a baroque look with her long dress straight out of an Emily Brontë book - hops, lies on the floor, scoots while swinging her arms in the air, and goes off to meet her audience. In short, singer Abigail Morris was having fun in front of an audience that was clearly already won over. The girls even took the opportunity to wish a happy birthday to the sister of one of the band members, with a beautiful birthday cake brought on stage. " My Lady of Mercy " and " Sinner " - taken from their debut opus"Prelude to Ecstasy" - not to mention the successful Blondie cover " Call Me ", were enough to make this show one of our hits of this second day!
Now it was off to the Scène de la Cascade for a more energetic set, courtesy of the Americans from Dead Poet Society. Hailing from Boston, the band treated the audience to a healthy dose of rock, skilfully blending alternative rock, blues rock and garage rock. The result? Some of the audience went wild, with wall of death and circle pit after circle pit! Even singer Jack Underkofler - whose voice is captivating and fascinating - took the opportunity to offer himself an invigorating slam. In short, energetic and powerful; rock as we like it!
Back to the Grande Scène for the Kasabian show. After a 20-year career, and despite Tom Meighan's departure in 2020, this British rock band still has a lot left in the tank. For their 50-minute set, the English band took us back in time to the early 2000s. Back then, the band were in the spotlight thanks to their hits " Club Foot " and " L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever) " from their self-titled debut (2004), and " Shoot the Runner " from their 2006 album"Empire". Kasabian were delighted to perform these three hits at Rock en Seine on Thursday evening, to the delight of their die-hard fans.
But the British band also took advantage of their Paris show to pay tribute to their latest opus, released last July, with " Call ", " Coming Back to Me Good " and " Italian Horror ", sung with force and conviction by Sergio Pizzorno, now the band's lead singer. Less catchy for our tastes than the songs they produced on their debut, these tracks nevertheless enabled Kasabian to get the festival-goers dancing in the front rows.
Then it's off to the Scène de la Cascade, where we'll be jumping up and down to Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes' punk rock tunes. With the 40-year-old British singer, you know you're in for a good time. And that's exactly what happened! With sunglasses screwed on his nose and tattoos galore, Frank Carter is a real live performer. Interacting with the audience on several occasions, the singer treated himself to a little crowd-pleaser, performing " Kitty Sucker " in the middle of his fans, then slamming while singing the excellent " Devil Inside Me " with his microphone stand in hand.
With a smile on his face and a rare generosity of spirit, Frank Carter gave us a jubilant set of hits, including " Man of the Hour ", to our great delight. In short, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes: an absolute must-see!
Another band we're looking forward to seeing live? The Hives! Since 1997, these Swedes have been making us dance with their garage punk, which is as effective as ever. Live, The Hives sweat and make us sweat at the same time. Still sporting their black & white suits, the Scandinavians may have aged a little, but they've lost none of their infectious energy. Jumps into the audience for singer Per Almqvist and guitarist Niklas Almqvist, and old hits (" Walk Idiot Walk ", " Main Offender ", not forgetting the unmissable " Tick Tick Boom ") were enough to delight the eyes and ears of a large number of festival-goers.
The waltz continues, with a return to the Scène de la Cascade for the much-anticipated concert by Gossip, translated for the occasion into Langue des Signes Française by the collective 10 doigts en cavale just a few days before the start of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Special mention to the translators, by the way!
But let's get back to Gossip's explosive, invigorating set. A seminal rock band of the early 2000s, the American outfit led by the celebrated Beth Ditto made a comeback last spring with the opus"Real Power", the trio's first since 2012's"A Joyful Noise". And that was all it took to flood nostalgic Gossip fans with happiness. On Thursday evening, many of them crowded the Cascade stage to sway to some old hits and recapture their lost youth. These included " Standing in the Way of Control ", " Listen Up! " and the euphoric " Heavy Cross ".
On stage, Beth Ditto is as charismatic as ever. And her voice is as powerful as ever. Accompanied by her sidekick Nathan Howdeshell on guitar, Beth Ditto took advantage of this moment with the French public to perfect her French, even going so far as to end her set among the crowd by singing Édith Piaf's " L'homme à la moto " a capella. It was a magical, improvised moment that demonstrated the generosity of this incredible feminist and committed artist.
And to round off this excellent second day of Rock en Seine, we take our final strides towards the Grande Scène to meet up with Måneskin. Do we really need to introduce this Italian band, winners of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021 with their song " Zitti E Buoni ", which has since become a hit? which has since become a hit? Over the past few months, Måneskin have been touring the world. This date at Rock en Seine was in fact the last of their extensive tour. So the Italians unleashed the wild beasts and got the show on the road, with a set that was "clean and square".
The four acolytes - whose complicity is obvious - delivered one hit after another without a false note. From " Zitti E Buoni " to " I wanna be your slave ", not forgetting " Gasoline ", " Honey (Are U Coming?) ", and their cover of The Four Seasons, " Beggin' "... the Italians delivered an energetic and successful set, carried by the husky voice of charismatic singer Damiano David.
Rock en Seine continues this Friday, August 23, with Belgian band Soulwax, British band Jungle and London's Fred Again...
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Location
Domaine national de Saint-Cloud
1 Avenue de la Grille d'Honneur
92210 Saint Cloud
Access
Metro: Line 10 terminus Boulogne-Pont de St-Cloud, By streetcar: T2 [Pont de Bezons-Porte de Versailles], stop Parc de St-Cloud By bus: Lines 52, 72, 126, 175, 460, 467, stop Parc de St-Cloud Line 160 terminus Pont de St-Cloud-Albert Kahn Line 260 stop Rhin et Danube-Musée Albert Kahn
Official website
www.rockenseine.com