Here is Jonas’s final review of Paléo 2015 where he reports back from the final press conference.
Photo above – Writer Jonas Parson.
270,000 at the festival
The traditional end of festival press conference brought together the organisers of the festival to acknowledge the success of this anniversary edition. With an additional seventh day, over 270’000 people celebrated Paléo’s 40th festival. The bands all lived up to their expectations, with the sad exception of Iziah, who had to cancel her show due to losing her voice half an hour before her show. According to Jacques Monnier, Paléo’s head music programmer, she was really looking forward to performing at Paléo and left the grounds in tears.
“Oldies” not out of the picture
Monnier praised the extraordinary line-up of Saturday night, calling it an evening that would go down in the records as a legendary night. He noted that the legends who had performed on that evening were still up to giving the most amazing concerts after all those years, and they still had a lot to teach to the stars of today. From Joan Baez’s calm class to Patty Smith’s incredible energy, the “oldies” are definitely not out of the picture yet he said. This for him, validated the programming which had initially been criticised for the number of “old” artists on the line up (let’s not forget that criticising the programme is something of a national sport!) He also gave a special mention to Robert Plant’s performance, saying that he now nearly preferred him to Led Zeppelin, as he had managed to create amazing arrangements to his songs with a nice African touch to them.
From Robbie Williams’ huge show on Monday – “he proved what a real entertainer he was, mischievous and slightly cheeky” – to the slightly lesser known bands such as The Script and their melodic rock or Gary Clark Jr and his stylish blues, to artists who most people thought past their prime (such as Veronique Sanson and Johnny Hallyday), but showed they still had it in them.
Another few star moments of the festival were Sting’s concert on the main stage- “an artist with a capital A” according to Monnier and Explosion de Caca’s special guest, Henri Dès. Watching over 3000 adults singing Henri Dès’ “la petite Charlotte” was a pretty exceptional event, easily explained by the fact that most of the people in the crowd grew up listening to him over the past 30 years.
Discovering new and up-and-coming bands has always been part of Paléo’s charm, and this year was no different, as Monnier noted. From the slightly more outlandish and harder to access music from the Far East under the Dôme, with bands such as the barmy Japanese ensemble Pascals (a personal favourite) or the post-punk mixture of traditional instruments and guitar riffs (verging on heavy metal) of Korean band Jambinai. They showed us the existence of an underground scene in those countries. The festival also is a good outlet for local talent, as unknown gems can often be discovered by talent spotters who were here to scout out new bands for their own festivals and music venues.
As Daniel Rossellat joked, the only negative note of this edition was that having to go from official celebration to anniversary apéro, he had less time to go and listen to all of these lesser known bands.
Transport
On a more organisational note, the new security measures put in place for the trains had been a success, although the waiting time was at times slightly too long, either due to several trains arriving at the same time at the station, or the majority of the crowd leaving at the same time after a concert. As Rossellat noted, it’s impossible to change that without more train coaches, something that will be happening later this year. However waiting for a while in a queue at the station is still the faster way to get to and leave the festival compared to being stuck in traffic jams for ages!
Regarding the total ban on fireworks due to the heatwave, it was somehow paradoxical to enforce a heatwave plan while being drenched by the rain! Paléo’s extraordinary fire prevention unit, which boasts over 50 firemen ready to intervene, means that the Festival is exempt from the ban, allowing the traditional end of week fireworks to take place.
All in all, a great and memorable edition, full of great vibes as Rossellat noted, which will give them all the enthusiasm and energy to prepare a 41st edition neither lacking in content or punch. Next year’s Village du Monde will be celebrating Celtic culture, so we can trust without a doubt that it will be a very festive year!
trish thalman says
Thank you/merci Jonas – in English et Française! Good move with the bi-linge article.
I only ‘lived the heat’ at PALEO on Monday (‘Rock DJ’ forever!) , but after reading your immensely entertaining reviews and having an enjoyable eye-fill of your fine photos, I felt I had ‘been there’……to celebrate, discover and chortle a few laughs with the sonic array of artists and wonky (as always) other-than-music events that you described – – sooo well. On to the 41st!
Oh yes, looking gorgeous in green!
Trish – your biggest fan.
Margaret says
Very interested in any mucsial events that maybe shared.I am also interested in any lesson plans thhat include historical quilt ideas. I teach quilting to 4th-5th graders from time from time to time.