Sunday 5th August 2012
Gig 3 in Paris – Belushi’s Bar
After a failed trip to find the Viaduct des Arts, we headed to the Villette park and popped into the Cite de la Musique (there had been a Bob Dylan exhibition on recently, but it had finished a few days before). The park is yet another really large green space in the city, that’s also filled with very cool buildings (the 3D cinema is a mirrored globe) and random stuff including a submarine and a science centre, a fairground and a Zen Garden. It runs alongside the Saint Martin canal in the 19th arrondissement and creates a calm, yet still ‘full of life’ atmosphere in what is a very busy area.
Parc de La Villette
In the afternoon we headed round to see Jacob at aMi-Ami (pizza place from the first night) to drop off some CDs and grab a coffee. The weather had turned pretty quickly from sunny to rainy, so we thought it’d be a nice gesture, plus the coffee there is good, so two birds with one stone and all that jazz.
We sat for a few hours that afternoon, drinking coffee and talking about music with Jacob. He brought out his guitar and a little amp so we could have a jam in the pizzeria with him & his friend and local MC. Alexis showed Jacob how to play the Elvis Presley hit “Suspicious Minds” and this seemed to go down very well & even got us some free coffee. It just shows that when you make the effort to speak to new people and take the time to be part of their world, you get to know great people & meet some new & talented artists along the way.
Jam Session @ aMi-Ami
Before heading back to Belushi’s for tonight’s gig, we popped into La Rotonde by Stalingrad Metro to have a quick drink and drop off some CDs for the manager (he’s a really good guy and we might be playing there on Tuesday night, so thought it would be good if he could hear the new LP).
La Rotonde Stalingrad is a very impressive new venue, bar & restaurant set in a redeveloped rotunda in a beautiful and historic building.
So back to Belushi’s for the Open Mic / first electric Sacre Noir show in Paris this year…
First up Graham plays a mixture of modern classics and original material, then we chip in a couple of the covers that have been popular at the Plage shows. Then we had a couple of tunes from Romeo (usually found dealing with all the Spanish speakers at reception) – ‘Everlong’ by the Foo Fighters and the 90’s Britney Spears classic ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’. We we’re treated to a local singer-songwriters too, including Lancelot, Lucy & a guy who was left-handed so played the guitar upside-down al la Hendrix… all were very good but I think Romeo was my favourite of the night. He got everyone singing along and was having fun with his brave cover choices.
Belushi’s Paris Open Mic host Graham McIntosh
Then we played our new LP from start to finish (with a quick break for the 100m final – which I got to commentate on / talk through) and everyone in the bar seemed to be really into the sound. We finished with our cover of “Time” which is always a winner, but the most popular tracks from that set seemed to be “Can’t Find My Truth (In Someone Like You)” & our song about Belushi’s in Paris “Rue Crimee”.
Sacre Noir live at Belushi’s Paris – 5th August 2012 (photo by Graham McIntosh)
Monday 6th August 2012
Gig 4 in Paris – DJ Set @ Belushi’s Bar
After breakfast we headed out determined to find the Viaduct des Arts & after a closer look on-line, we realised it would be best to start @ Bastille and this time we had more success!
Alexis at the Promenade Plantee / Viaduct des Arts
It’s really nice to walk through part of the city above the crazy roads and busy streets – I think every city should install ‘sky-gardens’.
Carrie & a cat at the Promenade Plantee / Viaduct des Arts
After lunch we headed to the Jardin du Luxembourg as it was a beautiful day – seems like loads of people had the same idea, as the gardens were very busy. There were collections from modern artists being shown in the Orangerie of the Palais du Luxembourg, which included sculptures made from cardboard & plastic packaging, beautiful stone statues and wall art from old slate amongst others.
We have a fairly quiet evening hanging out at Belushi’s before the DJ set in the main bar area (10pm – midnight), chatting & planning the set.
The set went down a treat with punters, travellers and staff alike – the drum ‘n’ bass classics were holding their own alongside the newer tunes like Little Dragon’s ‘Little Man’. Gathered a few tips along the way via requests – funny how people see a DJ and still feel the need to come & have a chat… it’s not like you’re busy eh! It feels like such an old school thing to do, still it’s good for the new info.
Alexis – DJ SET @ Belushi’s Bar, Paris
DJ Set Belushi’s Paris 6th August 2012
1. Hurts – Better Than Love
2. Terry Lynn – Kingston Logic
3. Sebastian – C.T.F.O. (feat MIA)
4. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden
5. Little Dragon – Little Man
6. Pandr Eyez – Eyes on You
7. CSS – Off The Hook
8. Cold War Kids – Hang Me Out To Dry
9. The Bloodhound Gang – Kids In America
10. The Chemical Brothers – Galvanise
11. Calvin Harris – I Get All The Girls
12. The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die
13. Roni Size & Reprazent – Who Told You?
14. The Beastie Boys – Intergalactic
15. Tiga & Zyntherius – Sunglasses At Night
16. Missy Elliot vs. The Cure – Get Ur Freak On
17. Labrinth – Earthquake
18. MIA / Diplo – China Girl Mix
19. Fatboy Slim – Funk Soul Brother (Remix)
20. Basement Jaxx – Where’s Your Head At?
21. Terry Lynn – Streetlife
22. Black Box Recorder – Uptown Top Ranking (Remix)
23. LCD Soundsystem – Give It Up
24. Kasabian – LSF
25. QOTSA – No-one Knows
26. Foo Fighters – Best Of You
27. A – Nothing
28. The Bloodhound Gang – The Bad Touch
29. Primal Scream – Rocks
30. DJ Shadow – 3 Freaks Ft Keak Da Sneak & Turf Talk
31. Pendulum – Hold Your Colour
32. Chase & Status – Time (Remix)
33. Joe Godard – Gabriel
34. Ayah Marar – Follow You (Remix)
35. Ed Sheeran – You Need Me (Remix)
36. Sebastian – Killing In The Name Of
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