dEUS on tour Official Podcast

But of course most of Ireland… is not part of the UK. Though they recently said No to Europe’s treaty for their own historical reasons (mostly based on a deep Catholic education that is still deep in their heart and soul). That will probably give Miss Sarkozy a chance to write a song about it in the near future as her husband will have such a headache trying to sort things out. Can’t wait, ha ha ha.

Ireland has always been good to dEUS. They even had a real hit over there with « Little Arithmetics », you know, a true one, sung along from butchers to shepherds, from students to lawyers, and it’s always a pleasure to visit such a lovely, lively country, blessed with a unique landscape, unique people…and a unique beverage: the black one, the fulfilling one, the meal in a glass, THE Guinness.
I think it does, actually, truly represent the Irish people: strong, funny, colorful…and at the same time familiar…and different.

Oxygen festival ‘08. Somewhere around Baile Átha Cliath, aka Dublin. We played right after the Sugababes. Didn’t think I knew them. But, in fact, I knew half of their set. Almost by heart. The power of the radio and mass exposure, I guess.
If think that’s what’s missing a bit for dEUS in the UK and Ireland right now. Radio airplay. Press exposure. A little bit of a hype. Or just finding a way to rejuvenate an audience.

Gigs were good. T in the Park, the next day in Scotland, was great. But there was not enough audience for a band of such a caliber, a history…and present qualities as dEUS. A band that has, just to name a few, influenced the likes (and NO, it’s not a name drop thing-just a fact!) of Radiohead, Muse, Snow Patrol (all of them were to be heard on previous dEUS podcasts history, not so long ago, but mostly…in French, back then) keep searching, you can still find them somewhere on the net) and many, many others… And you’ll also hear it in the shared points of view of two eminent musicians…mostly over the British media, on this pod.

We all know the English market…is a market. In the proper and basic sense of the word. Meaning they always try to find the new blood. The hype. The face. The gossip. The anecdotic. Sometimes instead or even against any sense (and I’m not using the term judgment!) of quality.
But, a band like dEUS, has ,I think, and surely after a six year break, the right to be treated again as some sort of a newcomer. And should be much more exposed over there. Put up front. Constantly regarded as…a new comer. Exactly.

England is the country I’ve toured the most over the years, and is not always funny to be in, believe me, but I know, deep down, that songs as The Architect, Slow, Maria Schneider or Smoker’s Reflect could all be anthems in many pubs, many night clubs, many homes, many parties…if it was pushed/exposed the right way by the English media.
Because dEUS are still leaders in a way… their very own way.

Let’s keep giving good gigs, delivering great songs, let’s keep reminding them how good they are…and I’m sure it will all (and soon) come back the way it should.

See you in the lovely Tripod, Dublin on October 14th. And in the not so lovely and a lot more gothic Forum in London the very next day, October 15th
Bring your friends. Bring some journalists. And bring your recorders if you want to, as long as the music goes through. The world needs to know. No. Just to be reminded.

On this one you’ll have a little thing by a cool guy named Jack White, excerpts from Oh Your God live in Dublin Oxygen festival on July the 11th, a nice little Irish accent (and great pair of shades, in reality!), a discussion between our very own Stef (drums) and the lead guitarist from The Kooks, Hugh Harris, the feelings, emotions, stress and memories of Ricky Wilson, lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs, and Instant Street, their opening song at T in the Park, recorded live at the very same place on the 12th of July.

Cheers,

And have a lovely day.

VP.

 

 Festivalitis 2: UK, or is it Zoo-K ? [19:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - T in the Park backstage: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS on tour Official Podcast - dEUS enjoying RATM at T in the Park: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Soooooo, where were we ? hummm… let’s refresh our little but sophisticated neurons: Stockholm and Moscow were the last ones, right ?  And we were guests to about 10 more countries during the fall club tour.
I’ll let you revisit the past if you don’t mind. I always find the present and the future much more challenging… and attractive. Even though lessons from  history are always needed to evolve…and maybe, probably even, become better.

No no no. No sentimentalism or « paternalism » please.
You know by now, if you’ve been following us carefully (as any human being would do for something they really find attractive, groovy, deep, funky, clever and sexy – aka a band named dEUS) the feelings, the ups and downs, the plans, the configurations, the eccentricity, the electricity, the joy and sometimes the deep downs of a life on tour.

Downs, luckily, were never based on human and/or personal crisis, but the results of touring in sometimes difficult conditions that were not always, hum, how can I say, foreseen by the management, the booking company, the crew…or the band itself. There were very few of these moments, indeed. Very.
Joys and ups, well, you were there, you shared those unique moments with us. Let’s not forget that it’s you, the audience, that allows dEUS to express themselves on stage. And gives a true meaning to it all.
As Tom said on the previous podcast, I don’t think they did any bad shows, either. I’ll go further than he does, I honestly think they still preserve and deliver the standard of quality you should expect from them. Delivering magic moments, unique ambiguity, as well as sometimes controlled chaos… and musical poetry.

But right now we’re sitting on a plane, flying over Athens, and on this one, I have a problem, and a serious one: I didn’t do any podcast over the last (and first four) festivals shows.
But, why do you make us read this then, are u gonna ask me ? And, more importantly, why didn’t you do anything ?
Hum, tough one.
Let me think.

Well, I could have gotten you some damn cool funny interviews with, for instance, our good old friend the unique Arno, when we met him in Belfort. But he had a difficult show (power broke down twice, guitarist was missing…) and I am sure we would have talked and laughed about it, in three or four different languages even, but… by the time I was done with my day job -it is still the reason I’m here, mixing the band…- he was gone.

Same story with my good friend Jim White (who I toured with briefly in the past for the cool Bill Callahan alias Smog), and currently drumming with the wonderful Chan Marshall aka Cat Power (what a beautiful gig it was, just before us, at les Eurokéennes – dear readers, tell me you agree with me on this, please). I was planning to let you enjoy his unique OZ accent, his big laughs, his views on dEUS etc… and we would have probably talked about the dirty three, of course. And, as we were due to meet Warren Ellis the next day as he was playing the Werchter festival with Grinderman, I would have asked him the same questions. And, you know, done some kind of a cross interview, if you see what I mean. And Beck. And Massive attack. And Tim Vanhamel. And all the other nice people/bands we met during the first 4 festivals we did.
But, strangely, it did not happen.

Yesterday we spent the day -under 42 degrees Celsius, the good old Greek gODS must have been happy in their gigantic dreamy tombs- at the Rockwave festival (if you follow closely you should know by now that it’s in …Athens). I wanted to interview the Gossip, but they left right after their show. Not an impressive one between us.

I was excited (and so was everybody in the band actually, we’re still music lovers who were teenagers in the mid/ end eighties) to see and interview the punk diva, the legend (and the punk picture of tits, if you remember well those days !) who is: Siouxsie…but the show was so horrible that I didn’t feel like even trying after the gig. Sorry Siouxsie, we know and greatly respect (and sometimes love) who you are but it was so pathetic… it hurt.

Same with the only original remaining Ramones, Marky Ramone (and true hero of both my kids, hey ho let’s go is the first music sentence young kids really seem to love and remember: true genius) and talk about his views on Phil Spector’s current affairs ha ha ha, his very nice spoken words, his life as a Ramone…and as a Marky Ramone, and why not as producer of the…next dEUS album ha ha ha (joke, but he was a hell of a producer in the Richard Hell/Voivoids times), etc… but again, his show was simply… the worst tribute/cover band gig of the Ramones you could think of…
Another Pathetico moment under the burning sun of the Athenian gODZ.
And the guitarist of the Offspring seems like a cool guy, as he was reading his book all day and watching every band from the stage but sorry, his music doesn’t touch me, and I didn’t really have anything to say or ask him.

And that was it. For yesterday anyway. So I hope you understand that sometimes the line up and/or the situations are not always in my favor to operate and deliver something that I think is worth it.
But I will be back in the very near future with real podcasts.
Ones that you deserve. I hope.

BUT, in the mean time, I have asked the band the permission to let you enjoy the first 20 minutes of the Werchter gig. Filmed in situ. No tricks, no big production, not edited, sound straight from the board.
A lot, of course, has been said about the gig in the local press.
I didn’t read them as we were gone the next day, but I can tell you that it was a damn good dEUS gig. A real one. Based on the most current affair: « Vantage point ».

And, NO, it wasn’t a festival pleaser gig. No, the set-list wasn’t made to get 80.000 people dance and sing along. But to listen to. To get into it. To feel the vibe and actually, well, simply and consequently: listen to the music.
Isn’t it what truly matters. Even after four days of lack of sleep, rain, sunshine, burned burgers and greasy chips for the audience? I love to think so.
And I do.

So, here you go, you have it.
Hope that the people who were there will come by sometimes and revitalize the moment.
Hope that the people who were not there will watch it, enjoy it… and get into it…and see you in another field near your Mum’s breakfast, or daddy’s car…or secret lover’s joint.

Next stop, Dublin: who knows, maybe this time they will play « Little Arithmetics ».
Who knows…
gOD knows.

Hope you’re OK.

Vp.

 

 dEUS - Rock Werchter 2008 (official live footage) [22:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS - Rock Werchter 2008 - Slow (official live footage): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS - Rock Werchter 2008 - Oh Your God (official live footage): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS - Rock Werchter 2008 - Instant Street (official live footage): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 dEUS - Rock Werchter 2008 - Fell Off The Floor, Man (official live footage): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download