Day 3, Wednesday July 22

The Wednesday is another day in the name of folk rock. Paléo Festival was originally born as a Folk Festival so that is a way to go back to its roots for its 40th birthday!

Angus and Julia Stone, Grande Scène, 7:45pm-8:30pm

 

The concert was delayed for technical reasons as the universal deluge decided to come down! So liters of water have to be taken down the stage… Angus and Julia Stone are presented as folk but the first song they play sounds more rock! The two Australian siblings are on stage with their band (4 other members). For the first few songs they take turns in singing, whereas for the second half of the concert they sing simultaneously with Julia doing the backing vocals and the opposite in some other songs. Julia Stone‘s voice is very soft and nice. She presents the band in French and interacts with the audience. They also play some old songs from their first album Chocolates and Cigarettes (2006). Their tunes are livelier live than on the album, nice vibes! A rather short set though, probably because of the rain problem and the delay. But enough to have a taste of the Australian surf-folk vibes, what do you reckon?

Passenger, Les Arches, 8pm-9pm

I just managed to catch the last half of Passenger‘s gig since the delay for Angus and Julia Stone gig! But I’ve seen him a few times before! He is very good with the audience, talking to them for quite a bit, asking them to sing along and such. He plays the very sincere and funny “I Hate”. When he plays “Let Her Go” it’s always a bit sad because he sings the truth… He tells the audience that before being famous he was busking in the streets. He comes back for an encore and says it’s the first time he is asked to do an encore at a festival! He plays the touching “Holes”, the public sings along to the tune. He leaves the stage with a “Paléo thank you so much you’ve been fucking amazing!” from the bottom of his heart.

Shake Shake Go, Le Détour, 9:15pm-10:15pm

 

This French-Welsh band with its charismatic ginger singer Poppy Jones mixes folk and melodic pop-rock. The two guitars, one classic/acoustic the other one electric create a great atmosphere, on top of it stands the powerful round voice of the singer which sort of has a folk timber. Their melodies are really cool,  the lyrics great to sing along too and they are entertaining with the public! If you see them live you will just have to shake shake and go 😉

Hanggai, Le Dôme, 10:30pm-11:30pm

 

As it often happens at festivals, there were three bands I wanted to see (Puts Marie, Ez3kiel and Hanggai), which were obviously playing at the same time. Since I had already seen Puts Marie not long ago (by the way check them out, they are a truly amazing Swiss band playing melancholic rock) and Ez3kiel are French, so easier to catch at another festival I decided to venture to Village du Monde and see the Mongol rock band Hanggai. A challenging choice as a listener and also as a blogger because it is not the kind of band I’m used to listen to and most importantly they sing in a khalka vernacular language, which means I cannot understand a word. But still, I thought it was a good way to test my boundaries!

I did the right choice, Hanggai offered a great show, the rock they play is occidental in a way but they add some exotic instruments which render everything special. With raging guitars and drums, their sound rocks! Their language has a beautiful sound which makes it easy to like it. They are great with the audience as well, with whom they communicate also in English! So leave your prejudices aside and go and enjoy this band whenever you can, you won’t be disappointed!

Sting, Grande Scène, 11:30pm-1am

 

When Sting and his band come on stage I barely recognize him with that long beard! His music is evergreen, multi-instrumental and with many influences from rock to reggae. The music is never boring and he is a great entertainer! He plays many of his most well-known tunes and also songs taken from his previous band The Police like “Message In A Bottle”.

 

He plays his bass guitar with a passion. He and his band come back not for one but two encores! In encore nr 1 they play the amazing rock song “Roxanne”, to which the public dances and sings along. Then it’s the turn of the stunning “Every Breath You Take” also by The Police and which was turned by Puff Daddy into “I’ll Be Missing You” in memory of The Notorius B.I.G.. A choir resounds in the public as everybody sings along. In encore nr 2 he plays “Fields Of Gold”. A soulful ending to a great gig and a great third day!

 

Simona @TakeMe2aConcert