Aside from the band's name, which denotes a certain sense of ironic identification with a Hollywood portrayal of a bumbling Frenchman, the band being French and all, they sure sound a heck of a lot like the Red Hot Chili Peppers circa Blood Sugar Sex Magic. But the weird thing is, how do you do funk without a bass player?
Any hardcore Fujirock fan knows that the Palace of Wonder is where it's at during the wee hours, and now that Smash UK is moving forward with a dedicated website, you can count on more coverage.
Many, many links, vids and more info after the jump.
Guitar gods ain't what they used to be. In fact, Eric Clapton, who WAS God for many years, has become such a personable, avuncular mensch over the past two decades that you feel sort of cheap boosting his chops over his singing, which peaked on "Layla" anyway. Still, it seems only fitting that Robert Randolph, maybe the most acclaimed rock guitarist of the 00s except for Derek Trucks, plays steel guitar and learned it in the service of gospel, effectively putting God back in His musical place as inspiration rather than enabler.
What is it about surfers that makes them turn out dreamy, melodious guitar twinkles? Or is it that people who produce that breezy rock are more likely to enjoy standing on a plank and having the ocean throw you onto the beach? Hayley Sales says on her Myspace page that she performs in the vein of Norah Jones, Ben Harper and Jack Johnson, but the latter one is the most obvious influence. And Donavon Frankenreiter.
Can there be any doubt that the hardest gig to catch at the fest will be Lily Allen in the Crystal Palace? She's gonna be the Gogol Bordello of 2009. The place is going to be heaving, and that's already my tip for show of the festival. Yeah, that's a ridiculous, meaningless, stupid prediction, but it will be.
Amazing Fuji Rock ad from Aigle boots, official sponsor of the festival. I know many Fujirockers have a weakness for those girls in muddy boots every summer. The text say in French... 'For the reintroduction of men in nature'
Thank for Tetris to tumblr it. The original image appeared in Magazine Figaro.
Sebastien
Thought this might be somewhat appropriate. The recent Star Trek re-tooling made me think of an old Boing Boing post with the above Spock/Bad Brains mashup. Mercy.
Click "Continue reading" for more vids & links
Nine Inch Nails, Linkin Park, and Mew will invade the Taipei area in early August with huge, arena sized shows. Meanwhile, Placebo and a host of smaller acts will band together for the newly inaugurated Music Terminals Festival. What do all these bands have in common? They are all performing at this year’s Summer Sonic.
Previously, Taipei audiences could expect1 or 2 Fuji Rock performers (Moby, Super Furry Animals, Lisa Loeb) to stop over at Taipei’s longer running Formoz Festival. However, Formoz went on a one-year hiatus due to construction work on the festival’s preferred venue – a children’s park in central Taipei- potentially opening the door for rival promoters.
This just in...New acts and stuff announced! Robert Randolph Band on the Green Stage! Holy Fuck on the White Stage! (that's a band, not a comment) Dinosaur Jr. taking the top slot at the Red Marquee on Sat.! Lily Allen two times!!! And the Killers cancel!!! (stop cheering, you over there in the AC/DC T-shirt) Plus the full rosters for the Crystal Palace and Daydreaming, so you better get on line right now.
