Paris Gig Review
The bold Parisians who made the move (or who came despite the cold weather) are now in front of a band in constant shift, as elusive as a piece of soap that slips each time you think you have it. To such an extent that when guitarist Andrew invites people to “dance” or “clap their hands”, nobody complies, thinking it’s a joke. You can feel a gap between the band and the audience, especially when they start to play songs in welsh. Unexpectedly, it’s at this moment that their music reaches it's full potential. When matched with these guttural sounds from ancient ages, the broken landscapes of Threatmantics make sense. If they’re self-derisive about it (“It’s the worst language in the world!”), tonight it’s in this language that Threatmantics communicate best with their public.
The setlist is well balanced between their first album (Upbeat Love, 2008) and the new one, yet to come. At the last minute, they decide to add the song Esgyrn ("bones" in welsh) which they admit is not really ready yet. Then they continue with Don’t Care, but won’t play Big Man. After eleven songs, they decide to stop the experiment. There is still a song on the setlist, White Otello, but it will not be performed. The Welsh lay down their arms.
After the show, the band was to DJ but the venue emptied all of a sudden. The bravery of the audience not up to waiting for a hypothetical night bus in temperatures of -10°C. Threatmantics fought well, but Paris failed to respond."
This is a pretty good account of the gig and, hopefully, an accurate translation.
Read the original review here: http://www.soundofviolence.net/articles/live/1141/paris_l_international_.html
