Paris (AFP)
The light of Catherine Ringer who sings the Rita Mitsouko or the lightnings of the Arctic Monkeys: live albums illuminate this end of the year, as if to compensate for these concerts put under the extinguisher by the health crisis.
"I had never seen the Philharmonie in this state! We measured the power of Rita Mitsouko, still alive", remembers Vincent Anglade, programmer of the current music of this Parisian venue.
It was there that the show "Catherine Ringer sings the Rita Mitsouko" was captured on the last weekend of September 2019, which has just been released (at Because, a DVD added to the musical support).
It is a flagship concert of the - interrupted - tour celebrating the 40 years of a group with the flame maintained by Catherine Ringer, alone on board since the disappearance of her half Fred Chichin (in 2007), but not alone on scene.
"In the end, a total spectacle arrived", rejoices Vincent Anglade.
Alongside the robust group - with a guitar in the hands of Raoul, son of Catherine and Fred - parade a troupe of dancers drunken by the choreographer Marion Motin, as well as the pioneer DJ Dee Nasty, scratching his paw on "Y 'a d'la hate "and" Hip kit ".
- Whirlwind and thrill -
But the central piece on the chessboard remains obviously Queen Catherine, "incomparable, capable of singing everything, who takes everyone along and raises the temperature", as Vincent Anglade summarizes.
The artist is whirled around on “The stories of A”, “It's like that”, and shudder on “It was a man”, a tribute to his father who survived the concentration camps.
Electricity always, with "Arctic Monkeys - Live At The Royal Albert Hall", concert given in London in June 2018, now available at Domino.
The proceeds of the record, like those of the original concert, go to War Child UK, a body helping children victims of armed conflict.
"The situation which was already bad in 2018 is now desperate and these children and their families need our help more than ever," said the English guitar gang in a statement.
Besides the explosions "Arabella" or "RU Mine?", The performance shines the pearls of the last album "Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino".
This opus, born at the studio La Frette in the Paris region, disconcerted fans from the start, but gave a new dimension to the group from Sheffield.
- Clamor of 70,000 spectators -
Also performed in London, but at Alexandra Palace this time, on solo piano, this summer - and without an audience, paying livestream at the time - Nick Cave offers "Idiot prayer", an intimate rereading of his work ( at Kobalt; not to be confused with "Litanies", chamber opera by Belgian composer Nicholas Lens for which the Australian wrote the texts, released by Deutsche Grammophon).
The destitution of this London live gives a music "very strange, very beautiful, which makes sense in this uncertain period, without undergoing the inclination", exposes Nick Cave in the notes of intentions.
Back to guitars, acoustic this time, with "Mettavolution live" by Rodrigo y Gabriela, given in October 2019 at the Trianon in Paris, recently delivered to Rubyworks.
The groove turbine is running at full speed with this instrumental duo, the Mexicans even offering a cover of "Echoes" by Pink Floyd.
The reservoir of their references, from flamenco to metal, always captivates.
Metal question, we must also mention the live of the English veterans of Iron Maiden, with "Nights Of The Dead - Legacy Of The Beast, live in Mexico City", testimony of September 2019 exhumed at Parlophone.
While mass concerts are still banned, the clamor of the 70,000 spectators at the first chords of "The trooper", an emblematic piece, is a pleasure to hear.
© 2020 AFP