Friday, 16 April 2004
Zero 7 != "Seven Times Nothing"
Besides griping about stupid little things and paying my taxes, I listen to music for fun. Actually, at times I've been known to equate good music to being as necessary as breathable air. And when you listen to good music, what better way than at a live show?
Zero 7 gives a decent live show. The group is just popular enough to have a decent following, but still unknown enough that their show was in a seatless venue (those familiar with Minneapolis, think "First Avenue"). This meant that we arrived well after door-opening to a full house, but still got a spot no more than five people back from the stage. It helps that the French (in my experience) handle crowded places better than Americans, so the concerts I've been to have rarely involved aggressive shoving or personal-space hogging.
Four female vocals - two lead, two backup - and one male lead in rotating combinations gave some pretty amazing variety for a one-hour show. Make that "an hour forty-five," including encores and dead moments. For you damn kids on my front lawn, pop queen Britney Spears' scripted-to-the-bone tour has a show time of only 90 minutes. Not that I'd compare her lip-synching to the smooth and/or powerful singing coming from these five. Just sayin', is all.
I've seen Zero 7 called "the UK's answer to Air," but I don't know if how much I'd agree. Sure, superficially they have a similar sound - and if you're into classifying things, I guess that's good enough. But there's much more reliance on live, undistorted vocals and the unpredictable - but ever-so-more natural - results that they give. It's definitely not like comparing apples to oranges, but I could imagine people liking one band and not the other.
Much like after Air's concert, I didn't leave this show feeling invigorated or refreshed - just content. But like a decent meal at an unpresumptuous restaurant, it was worth the price (less than € 20 a ticket!) and gave me another name to put on my "recommend to hear" list.
Zero 7 in concert at the Élysée Montmartre
Your average picture of the opening moments at a typical show. This one happens to be of Zero 7 at the Élysée Montmartre.
Zero 7 in concert at the Élysée Montmartre
Snapshot with Mr. Smooth Vocals. I'd wanted to get a shot of at least one of the female leads, but my phone had no memory left after recording a few songs.
Coming soon: crappy sounds that I recorded live