George Ezra comes to Paris

Nominated as one of BBC's 'Sounds of 2014', George Ezra is really becoming the talk of the town. Now I don't want to get all smug and all that but for those of you who read my blog post in 2013... did I not mention something about this? Gaaaahdd I'm such a know- it- all sometimes....

So I heard from another friend of mine who is equally as loved-up with Mr. Ezra's music that he was coming to Paris to play in a gig. Unfortunately not his own, but as the supporting act to David Lemaitre. I was so pleased to hear he was in my 'quartier' - literally down my road - that I had to go, I don't give a golden nugget his this David Lemaitre guy was. 

He was playing at Cafe de La Danse, a small loco close to home. To be honest I was a little disappointed with how it was laid out as the seats were arranged like a theatre. The worst is when you want to dance, but because you're sitting down it's more of a top-half-gyrating-groove on some grimey plastic chairs. Naht cool.

Soon enough George came on stage and played his sweet chunes. If I compared his voice to a chocolate bar it would be like a blend of kinder bueno and crunchie. A little rough at times but on the whole a smooth ride with a bold crunch. Hmm...

Between songs he said, 'You probably don't know who the hell I am.' to which he had pretty much zero response, seeing as the crowd of French probably did have no idea who this bloke was. I should have sat down and gone along with the crowd...however my awkward-excitedness got the better of me and I made a fool of myself. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail but lets just say there was a lot of arm-flying and croaky bellowing. So much for being inconspicuous and cool...

On the whole he was great.. but that was expected anyway. We said a quick hello at the end- unfortunately not quick enough to have a photo but hey ho, there's always next time.

After our slightly awkward encounter, Millie, Clare and I left for a cocktail whilst everyone else was queueing up to see the actual main act.. Who even cares about this David guy anyway? pfft.

I know after my incredibly vivid image of an crunchie-kinder chocolate child, I've wet your appetite, so I thought it only fair to post a video for you to enjoy...

So in my previous blog, I said he was going to be big in 2014 so it only seems fair that I may another little prediction. A Number 1 in 2014? I guess we will just have to wait and see...

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Keaton Henson - Saint Eustache

When Kathleen was at her last internship at a music record label in Paris she was constantly sending me youtube videos of relatively unknown male singers strumming away to songs about the sea and boats. I have a massive soft spot for this kinda stuff.

My music taste tends to be relatively mainstream. However my playlist labelled 'husky men to serenade my ears with beautiful and meaningful melodies' is rather extensive. Kathleen knows how much I love this sort of music so invited me to a Keaton Henson gig in Paris. 

The morning of the gig I sent a text saying 'Okay, where are we meeting tonight?'. I was surprised to find we were heading to Eglise Saint Eustache, an enormous Gothic church in the centre of Les Halles- a pretty dodgy area if I'm honest. 

I've seen my mum put on a play in a Church so I kind of knew what to expect: a very haunting and emotional performance. That, and also that it was going to be bloody cold.

So I headed after work to Les Halles, wrapped up snuggly and warm in my new Zara coat.
After queueing for about 20 minutes outside we all shuffled in to the church and pulled up a pew (I wish- it was actually just a chair).

I didn't really know what to expect from the music. To be honest I hadn't even checked out any of his songs before I went, but in a way this made it far more exciting.

After about 20 mins of silent whispering, the lights dimmed and we all shushed like well-behaved school children.

The red lighting almost gave it a sinister feel. I had to stop myself from thinking these are what the gates of hell would look like.

I was really pleasantly surprised by his music. He had a beautiful tone to his voice and his shyness was incredibly endearing, only muttering the odd 'This place is incroyable' between songs before cowering behind his huge beard. Kathleen had told me before that he is often too timid to do interviews so it wasn't like I was expecting a Robbie- Williams lookalike bounding onto the stage screaming "I'm Keaton F****** Henson!!!!!"

I am not an expertise on reviewing music at all. In fact, I know practically nothing about music, expect what I like and what I don't like. I have the feeling though this is similar to a lot of people.

I can't really explain his music in any other way apart from that it made me feel like I've just come out of a massage. It was the most relaxing this ever, the only thing that could've made it better was a hot water bottle and a back tickle. 

His lyrics were uncomplicated, and romantically simple. And I liked it a lot. Especially his rendition of Hallelujah and the end. Movies, Music and Books rarely make me cry, but his lyrics were so relatable and he sung with such emotional conviction that I had to stifle a little gasp for air so I didn't start blubbing. 

Here's the Youtube video for his album Dear. Please listen to it in bed with a hot water bottle and if you have a nice enough friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/granny, ask for a back tickle. I can promise you you will feel completely and utterly content. Please ignore this if you're going through a break up. I would highly NOT recommend this for emotional wrecks.

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