Day 1, Tuesday July 19

This edition of Paléo Festival Nyon was named the number “40+1” to underline the fact that the 40th edition was such an amount of work and emotions that it had to be lived again but with a step back. So this is another sort of jubilee edition of Paléo!

For the occasion lots of installations are held on the festivals besides the usual stages, like the wooden project of HES-SO Rocking Chair and Rock’n’Roll.

The Celtic theme of the Village du Monde is the perfect way to celebrate with its festive pubs and folk bands from all over the Celtic countries, from Galicia to Scotland. Its oasis of green and water render the village welcoming and give to it a air of freshness.

Antipods, Club Tent, 5pm-6pm

This Swiss band mixes indie-rock with some post rock instrumental music. The colourful rhythm of the guitars riffs reminds Two Door Cinema Club and makes the audience dance! Antipods has lots of precious instrumental bits.

Anach Cuan, Le Dôme, 6.30pm-7:30pm

Anach Cuan is a band from Valais but also a bit Celtic since the Helvetii were a Celtic tribe which also spreaded in this part of Switzerland, as the presenter says. The band plays a lively folk with great tunes to dance on to. A dancer who is part of the band dances with the audience.

They are eight on stage, playing multiple instruments typical of Celtic folk music from violin to the accordeon. Anach Cuan takes the public in a trip among the green hills of Ireland and the other Celtic countries with wind caressing your face and the notes hovering in the air.

The Lumineers, Grande Scène, 8:30pm-9:45pm

The Colorado band brings a colourful folk on the Asse plain. The sun is setting and the scenery looks nice as the singer claims. The band came out with a new album Cleopatra in April 2016, which remains faithful to their folk sound.

The Lumineers play their “old” battle horse “Ho Hey” early in the gig to get the audience all excited and to let them sing along. During one of the songs, singer Wesley Schultz jumps down the stage and takes a stroll in the audience keeping on singing from there. The audience gets all excited about the proximity with him, taking selfies and touching him.

The Lumineers play an effective folk mix with mandolin and cello intertwining themselves and adding to it the softness of the piano. The influence of Americana can also be heard in the way they play. The band involves the audience during the song “Stubborn Love”, people on the right  have to sing “head up” and the audience on the left side  “love” and then these two are nicely put together. A fun sing along to close this great gig!

Muse, Grande Scène, 11:10pm-00:45am

Muse plays hard to get and as a VIP coming on stage 10 minutes later. The band is soon forgiven by the fans as singer Matthew Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, drummer Dominic Howard and touring member Morgan Nicholls deliver a set which treats the fans. The entry of the band is preceded by an intro video for “Psycho”, song present in their last album Drones (2015). Matthew Bellamy‘s powerful electric guitar riffs make their way into the gig straight away and his unique voice is as impressively beautiful as ever although not very audible at the beginning of the gig.

A new song and then back to the good old days with “Plug in baby”, a never ending beauty. Muse creates an amazing show blending new songs with older ones and retracing seven albums. Huge white balloons are delivered in the air during the song “Uprising”.

A jump back in the past with “Time is running out” and a closer jump back to their previous album The 2nd Law, with the electronic “Madness”. An album that certainly drew a line in the career of the band as the sounds in it are more electronic than the usual rock sound in Muse. The band returned to the original sound with drums and riffs further heightened in Drones.

“Starlight” is without any doubt one of the audience favourites to listen to live and to sing along to, with its addictive drums beats in unison with clapping of the audience. “Knights of Cydonia” is one of the last songs Muse plays and it gets the audience all jumping and singing along with passion to the refrain, incited by singer Matt Bellamy.

For hardcore fans or those who know Muse well, each song is a charge of adrenaline, a crescendo of sounds which makes your body shake and your mind get away. Muse proves once more to be one of the best live bands in the world, despite the fact that the members don’t interact a lot with the audience the quality of the band’s live shows is outstanding, from the music itself to the scenography passing through Matt Bellamy’s superb voice and vocal range. It all ends in a handful and beautiful explosion of colourful paper confettis.

The Deaf, Club Tent, 1am-2am

 

Muse’s concert left me (and I bet I’m not the only one!) with so much adrenaline and excitement that I urged to go and see The Deaf. This band from The Netherlands puts on a great show involving the audience.

The music The Deaf plays is a 60s scathing rock with a touch of punk music, it is fast, very fast and doesn’t allow you to hold your breath for a minute! An amazing run into the wild guitar riffs and a jump into the past with the sexy intertwining of the female and male singer voices!

A first day at Paléo which absolutely rocked!

Simona @TakeMe2aConcert