On Stage: The Good, The Bad & The Queen @ Paradiso

I've probably written it here before, that Damon Albarn is one my musical heroes. Almost everything he touches is gold in my eyes and I think he's one of the best songwriters and musicians of the past couple of decades. I was thrilled to hear The Good, The Bad & The Queen were back with a second album Merrie Land after ten years of silence and a tour that would pass through my hometown.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen at Paradiso Amsterdam, June 6 2019

Not only does this band have Damon Albarn, it also has one of my drummer heroes Tony Allen behind the kit. To top it off there's Paul Simonon on bass, who used to play for The Clash, and Simon Tong, former guitarist for The Verve. The latter two are playing a lot with Albarn, including Gorillaz. Yes, that's not a bad group together I'd say. Set to a backdrop of a classic London scene, some table lamps spread around the stage and some string lights hanging above, the mood couldn't be more perfect tonight in Paradiso. When the band steps onto the stage you can see they are eager to play and all the ingredients are in place for a beautiful night.

Even better, the night turns into a magical one with a group that sounds better than ever, has a lot of fun playing together and has an incredible collection of songs. On stage they have a couple of reinforcements, to do justice to their music. They made only two albums, but quality definitely is more important than quantity in this case, since both records are full of little gems. This is not Blur or Gorillaz, that have some insane bangers to knock out. These songs are a bit harder and require you to really dig in. However tonight this is not a problem at all, since Albarn will drag you into this melancholic world.

Both albums are critical of London and England as a whole, where Merrie Land draws inspiration from the Brexit vote. That doesn't mean this is a political heavy night. Albarn does touch on the subject a few times, but for the rest the music is speaking. You can see he is used to the biggest stages, since he's exploring every corner of this smaller stage that is already filled with musicians and equipment. It's as if he wants to sing to everyone individually, wants to look everyone into the eye and wants to dance with everyone here tonight. There even turns out to be a whole string section on the balcony above us, I found out only after the concert.

The small group of youngsters in front of the stage, who are probably his fellow country men, draw a big smile on his face every time they jump up and down singing along every word in every song. This is the wonderful vibe in here tonight, that only keeps getting better. The setlist is split in half, serving Merrie Land before and after a short intermezzo the songs of The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Almost all songs of both albums are being played here tonight. The slow songs turn into lush intimate moments, while the more up tempo ones keep the party going.

Albarn is constantly looking for contact with the rest of the band. Tony Allen seems to be smiling for the entire set and Simonon is a delight to watch, how he is handling his bass, swinging back and forth. Tong is focused on his guitar mostly, but is definitely in the moment. I can only watch these musicians in awe and try to absorb every second. After more than one and a half hours the band take a bow to receive their well deserved round of applause. This is one of those exceptional nights that I'll always remember and will treasure for ever.



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Setlist:
01. Merrie Land
02. Gun to the Head
03. Nineteen Seventeen
04. The Great Fire
05. Lady Boston
06. The Truce of Twilight
07. Ribbons
08. The Last Man to Leave
09. The Poison Tree
Intermezzo:
10. History Song
11. 80's Life
12. Kingdom of Doom
13. Herculean
14. The Bunting Song
15. Nature Springs
16. A Soldier's Tale
17. Three Changes
18. Green Fields
19. The Good, The Bad & The Queen


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On Stage: Tony Allen @ Paradiso Tolhuistuin

The Dekmantel festival is a yearly festival for electronic music on a beautiful location in Amsterdam, the huge Amsterdamse Bos park. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but the festival is renowned for having a cutting edge program. This year they have a series of opening shows around town and to my surprise one of them featured Tony Allen. Needles to say I wanted to go there.

Tony Allen, Dekmantel opening show at Paradiso Tolhuistuin Amsterdam, August 4 2016

The Nigerian drummer and afrobeat inventor is one of my favourite musicians and to see and hear him live is a delight. He's turning 76 in a few days, but is still going strong. It's the same band that I saw play a few times before, the last time in Barcelona at Primavera Sound a year ago. The band starts off a bit slow and so does the crowd. It looks like both have to get used to each other. It is maybe a different crowd than the band is used to and the people here may also not go see a band like this a lot.

In the end the people visiting this festival besides dancing to DJs and electronic music and partying, have an open mind to music. That's something you can leave to Tony Allen who likes to see the people dance. His grooves and afrobeat music are perfect for it, so it doesn't take long for people to start shaking it. It's always wonderful to see this master play the drums. His light touch, his subtle playing and his irresistible grooves are unique. He doesn't stick to just regular afrobeat, but you can hear he's also exploring his possibilities and keeps developing his sound.

The rest of the band get enough room to play as well and we get treated to some nice horns, keyboard and guitar solos. At the end of the show Amp Fiddler joins the party as well and this show is now getting really hot. Allen himself is looking pleased too, with a big smile on his face. Unfortunately this show was only scheduled for an hour, so by the time everyone is on fire it's time to close up. Hopefully I will get to see this wonderful musician many times to come.



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Primavera Sound 2015 Day 2

One of the great things about this festival is that you have plenty of time to wake up slowly and have a nice day before diving in again. And although festival campings site can be fun, I can do without them. Being in a hotel is an absolute bliss and so after a refreshing shower we head to the beach to take it slow for a while. Totally rested we cycle back to the Parc del Fòrum and head for the first band.

Primavera Sound 2015 Day 2 May 29 2015



Disappears
It feels a bit awkward seeing a shoegaze garage rock band like Disappears on broad daylight in the sun. But Disappears have no trouble putting up an interesting show with good rock songs. Many songs have Krautrock influences with repeating elements. Singer Brian Case is totally into the music and loses his sunglasses halfway the show. It doesn't bother him for a bit and continues to sing passionately. I can only imagine this is even better in a dark club.



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Julian Casablancas + The Voidz
We decide to take a look at the new project The Strokes singer cooked up with his band The Voidz. Casablancas has dyed his hair red and yellow and looks like to have gained a few pounds. The album Tyranny where they teamed up sounded completely weird and proved too much for me. It has interesting elements though, with African rhythms combined with heavy metal and lots of noise. It is definitely not for the faint of heart and also live on stage it's not appealing to me. Maybe I'm just not ready for this kind of music. We have to leave anyway to see the next act.

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Tony Allen
Afrobeat master drummer Tony Allen is a bit of a weird one in the line-up. He is playing in the Auditori Rocklux, or Auditori Fòrum, which is the only inside stage. I don't want to miss a bit from this living legend, but we're not allowed in with some snacks in our backpack. We head to the cloak room to leave the bag and return to the venue where Allen is now halfway his show and everyone is sitting down. Fortunately a few minutes later everybody gets up from their seat to dance to the swinging irresistible afrobeat grooves. Allen can only smile to this and the band keeps firing up the crowd. It's the same band I saw a while ago at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam and once again it turns into an African party. In the end I'm really glad I took the effort to get in.

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Patti Smith
We hurry back to the festival ground to the farthest stage to see Patti Smith wrapping up playing the famous Horses album. What we see is pretty good and Smith looks more determined and full of fire than ever, fierce fully shouting out her political statements. She ends her set with a rough version of the notorious 'Rock N Roll Nigger' where she tears off the strings of her guitar. Although older, Patti Smith is no way ready for life in a rest home.



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The Church
Australian band The Church have been around since 1980 and I didn't even know they were still around. The band proves tonight they can still write interesting songs and play some songs off their new album Further/Deeper. Singer and bass player Steve Kilbey is a charismatic front man who uses theatrical poses throughout some songs. Although it looks like not everyone is staying until the end, it is a convincing show by experienced musicians. Of course 'Under The Milky Way' still is a monumental song that sounds just as good as it did almost thirty years ago.



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Ride
Another band that decided to come back together are britpoppers Ride. They did cause a bit of a stir with their shoegaze music in the early nineties but wasn't much heard of after their breakup. Bass player Andy Bell then joined a band called Oasis and Ride kind of was forgotten. Until last year when they announced a reunion and several festival appearances. I don't know them very well but it's pretty good what the band is showing tonight. It's a tight playing group with good songs that stood the test of time. The songs are well written and sometimes sound like a mix of The Stone Roses and Oasis. Maybe it's a good idea for the band to come up with new material?



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Today feels like a slow day where we didn't see that many bands play and were a bit unlucky that we saw some shows only partly. Nothing a few cervezas can't fix.

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Tony Allen, King Of The Groove

Together with Fela Kuti, drummer Tony Allen invented the afrobeat several decades ago. Now in his seventies he's still one of the biggest performers in that genre. The master made a guest appearance at this year's Amsterdam edition of Felabration last month. But whenever you are able to see a legend like Allen perform an entire show, you have to grab that opportunity.



Tony Allen's Black Series at Bimhuis Amsterdam, November 9 2012

For the Black Series tour, the drummer from Nigeria is visiting the jazz club Bimhuis in Amsterdam which filled up nicely. He's accompanied by a young band where especially trumpet player Nicolas Giraud is getting plenty of freedom to play his sparkling solos. Allen is seated behind a golden drum kit overlooking the young band. But he's not pleased with everyone sitting down in this jazz club. Naturally this is quite normal in this kind of venue but Allen wants people to dance! Many people are quietly moving their body in their seat to the irresistible grooves. "Allen doesn't hold the sticks: they float between his fingers as if by magic" according to British news paper The Guardian. This is absolutely true. His relaxed and loose style is a delight to watch. The groove never ceases, which he keeps on going at all time. Even when playing fills or grabbing a few more drum sticks, the groove is always there.



That's what makes him such a great drum player. His timing is phenomenal, always laid back, playing his grooves behind the beat. Bass player César Anot is the perfect match here. Anot seems to be smiling the whole evening and is enjoying the rythms the master drummer is laying down. After the break, people are still in their seats and Allen can't take it any more. He and his band urge people to stand up and start shaking their booty. Fortunately no one can ignore this request any more and within no time we are all dancing. Now the show is really taking off. Allen is smiling and the band is looking content. The band's efforts are paying off now and the room is boiling with energy. This causes the music to swing and groove even more. It shows how important energy between a band and an audience is.



Every member of the band is allowed to show their skills. Francois Xavier Bossard on keys is playing some hot solos, Claude Dibongué is playing laid back guitar solos and singer Audrey Gbaduidi is getting her time in the spot light as well. Of course they have to come back for encores since the crowd is hungry for so much more now. It's good to see how a band can turn around a performance and end up winning big time. Allen is all smiles and for a good reason. What a legend!



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Felabration: Partying Fela Style

For the second year in a row, Jungle By Night, the young Dutch afro-beat collective, organised a Dutch edition of Felabration to honour and celebrate the life of Fela Kuti. A few days later Fela would have turned 74. Several bands would be playing this night, including Jimi Tenor with very special guest Tony Allen.

Felabration: Fela Kuti Tribute at Paradiso Amsterdam, October 12 2012



I don't need much persuasion when a legend like drummer Tony Allen is announced. Together with Fela Kuti he invented afro-beat. So we make sure to arrive at Paradiso on time to watch Jimi Tenor kick it off on the main stage with Kabu Kabu.



Jimi Tenor with Kabu Kabu, special guest Tony Allen

Jimi Tenor, real name Lassi Lehto, is a Finnish jazz musician. Tonight he's playing with Kabu Kabu, an afro-beat band from Berlin, who already worked with some famous afro-beat pioneers like Ebo Taylor and Tony Allen. Tenor is giving a lot of freedom to the band to play the jazzy tunes. He's playing flute and sax himself and is singing some occasional vocals. Most members are getting their chance in the spotlight. A lot seems improvised, which gives it a very loose but also a bit of a messy feel. After a while they announce Tony Allen, who will be playing the rest of the show with them. Unfortunately this is rather short and after about 15 minutes they have to end. It's still great to see the master himself on stage. His very relaxed style is all coolness. Don't expect any technical tricks or rolling fills. But he's so tight in the groove and loose in his playing. It's a delight to watch this legend and dance to the music he invented.

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Jungle By Night
Of course the young members of the band themselves are also playing tonight. It's clear they are spending a lot of time playing together and on the road. Every time they sound more tight and look more relaxed and confident on stage than the time before. Where Jimi Tenor was lacking some speed and may have been a bit too jazzy for this crowd, Jungle By Night know how to light the fuse and get this party going. Fortunately besides Jimi Tenor and Kabu Kabu, they get Tony Allen to play with them as well, so I get to see a bit more of one of my favourite drummers. The old master is all smiles and looks like he's loving every minute of it. It has to be a great feeling, that such young people are playing and dancing to the music you invented fourty years ago. It looks like the legacy of him and Fela Kuti is safe. Kuti himself would have approved as well I'm sure.



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Bixiga70 It's a diverse bill tonight. We missed two more bands, one from Germany, Woima Collective and another Dutch band, Atanga Boom. Now there's a band from Brasil playing on the small stage upstairs. It's their first show outside their country and I hope it won't be their last one. Their music, afro-beat with some latin influences, is very catchy and danceable. It's impossible to stand still. The band is very excited and is working hard to please the crowd. When a few members of Jungle By Night join in on the fun, it turns into a wild jam. It's the appropriate ending of the live part of this Felabration, before the after-party downstairs takes off.



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This event is a great idea. For the second year in a row it proves to be very successful. It's good to see that a musical genre that almost seemed destined to be forgotten, is catching on with a young generation. This way we will never forget about great people like Fela and Tony Allen. Hopefully we can "felebrate" for many years to come.

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