Bed Rugs 8pm-8.30pm

Unfortunately I just managed to catch two songs by Bed Rugs but they were enough to convince me to listen to some more of their music! Nice guitars and mix of sounds!

Puts Marie 8:50-9:45pm

This is what I would call a coup de coeur! Puts Marie start off with a catchy instrumental intro featuring drums’ beats, guitar and bass. The main singer, Nick Porsche, seems rather under the influence but when he opens his mouth and unveils his stunning melancholic voice he leaves the audience in awe. In most of the songs he sings in an almost spoken way, also letting himself go to some cool rap!

Puts Marie manage to effectively combine quiet bits where the instrument remain soft and reflect the melancholy of the singer’s voice and bits in which all the energy is let out, much more rock and wild. The second singer also has a great voice and joins in with some beautiful back vocals as well as taking the lead in some of the songs.

Nick Porsche sometimes sings in a microphone which modifies his voice rendering it more metallic. Despite being Swiss he speaks English all along with the public. They live the stage and then come back to play one more song, rather unusual for a support band but the cheering of the audience couldn’t just be left in the air without any reward. If you missed their gig at Les Docks, don’t panic, they will play at Paléo Festival in Nyon 😉

Balthazar 10:10-11:25pm

The stage was already set up with the name “Balthazar” on the back in big letters. The four guys and the girl forming Balthazar enter the stage and stand on an horizontal line one next to the other except for the drummer who towers the rest of the band from the height of his station! A beautiful violin intro played by the only girl in the band and then off with the singing and the other instruments joining in.

Balthazar, like Mando Diao, count two singers, Maarten Devoldere and Jinte Deprez, the alternation and intertwining of the two is beautiful. In some of the songs the choruses and the melancholic sounds remind me of The Last Shadow Puppets, the band formed by Alex Turner and Miles Kane.

In “Sinking”, Maarten Devoldere sings alone with his guitar and is later joined in by the rest of the band. Balthazar have some really cool songs which get you in the right mood to swing, chill and dance on the more indie rock tunes.

They come back with an encore making the audience dance on the indie rock notes of “Last Call” a song that you may have already heard! With its catchy riffs and rhythm. They bid goodbye with “Blood” a touching song with mighty choruses and vocalizes. Ending a cappella they prove that their voices are stunningly melodic and do not necessarily need to be backed up by the instruments to impress but rather the opposite!

Setlist:

Decency
Then What
Leipzig
Boatman
Nightclub
Oldest
True Love
Bunker
Fifteen
I Looked
Sinking
Claim
Last Call (encore)
Blood (encore)

What else is there to say? This was truly a night of great musical discoveries! 🙂

Simona @TakeMe2aConcert