Friday night’s Paléo is reviewed by Jérémy Binz who went to see bands performing on the smaller stages at the festival. Check out out his review of Wednesday night at Paléo here.
The weather brightened up a lot more on Friday afternoon that it soon became actually quite sunny at Paléo and even wearing jeans seemed a little too much. The sun helped dry up a lot of the mud from the previous days so walking about the festival was way easier and made for a welcome change. The dry weather and the fact that it was Friday evening, were probably the two main reasons why there were a lot more people around the festival than on the previous days.
Photo above and below- Thursday night’s mud at Paléo.
First on when I got in the festival was French reggae band Danakil, however I decided to skip this concert as I’d already seen them last year. I heard the concert was good and chilled out though, and it must have been, judging by the massive crowd watching them perform on the Grande Scène. Instead I decided to go and discover something new, which is the best thing to do when you’re not interested by the bigger acts. I’ve sometimes found great artists by doing just that.
Binary Audio Misfits
I checked out Binary Audio Misfits who were playing a mix of rock and hip-hop under the Club Tent. The crowd seemed to have been drawn away from the place to go in front of the Grande Scène but the few there were dedicated enough. The band is actually a fusion of a French band and an American one, giving the music its own style. It was a little basic, but the vocals made up for it and the band was energetic.
Photo above courtesy Paléo – Binary Audio Misfits
The Creole Choir of Cuba
Next up, after a quick stop on the Colline to greet a few friends, was the colourful Creole Choir Of Cuba. Something to see if you’re into Latin music! The show was great with lots of dancing by Cuban women in magnificent dresses and enormous Cuban smiles all over the Dome scene, and the music, a lot of singing with a few chosen instruments, literally transported you to Cuba.
Photo above – courtesy Paléo – The Creole Choir of Cuba
Later on in the same place and still in the Latin repertoire was Los Van Van, which was a little disappointing as we were expecting something a little less pop. It wasn’t bad of course, but my friends and I soon decided it was time for something else. Instead we went to get some food, and the green curry we tried was amazing.
We Love Machines
On to the Détour for We Love Machines which turned out to be a fun and energetic French touch electro band. Paléo’s smallest scène was soon filled with an excited crowd of young people jumping around with the sound. The last tune played turned out as a nice surprise for some as it was probably the first time some dubstep could be heard in Paléo.
Calle 13 – Hot stuff from Puerto Rico!
We went straight to the Chapiteau after that to see what Calle 13 was about. I would’ve said it was a mix of hip-hop and reggaeton until the singer announced: “This is not hip-hop or reggaeton, this is Calle 13!”
Photo courtesy – Paléo/ Lionel Flusin
But still, it was anyway, mixed with cumbia, ska and jazz too. Hot stuff from Puerto Rico! They were very convincing on stage, especially the two singers who were bursting with energy the whole time. The instrumentals were very well done and the vocals great. They really got the crowd participating. At some point some people in the crowd started throwing South American flags on the stage and the singer hung them all up around the stage. The atmosphere soon became nice and hot with everybody dancing and enjoying. It was a great concert, my personal favourite for that day!
Photo courtesy – Paléo / Lionel Flusin
To end the night what could’ve been better than Round Table Knights? It’s one of the Swiss electro bands that’s really worth hearing, with their creative and clever mix of minimal electro. Ending their concert with a drum & bass tune was a wise choice for a great performance as everyone in the dense crowd gave out their last burst of energy, and a nice treat for lots of enthusiasts. See Round Table Nights video trailer here
After that last concert, we finally caught a few raindrops and it was clear the night was over so we headed to the gates, passing the same guy than yesterday giving out free hugs. I’ll have to give it a try next time!
Tomorrow will be another discovery night for me as I haven’t heard from most of the artists coming up, but it looks like Latin music will once again be the main performance under the Dome, and I’m sure Mika will please a massive crowd on the main stage.
