Written by:	Jeff
Published:	May 14, 2006
Event:	Katatonia, Novembre
Location:	La Boule Noire, Paris, France
Galleries:	Katatonia and Novembre by Jeff (11)

It was my first concert at the "Boule Noire" of Paris and I must admit that I wanted to discover this venue. First because I knew that it was a cool venue but above all, because I was there to see finally one of my favourite bands, Katatonia. The Boule Noire (read the Black Ball) is a really small place and well actually it was perfect for this show. I mean that Katatonia must be seen with a really dark and intimate ambiance and this place was just perfect for that. But before Katatonia, we had the luck to see the Italians of Novembre.





Novembre plays a cool Dark music. I don't know how I can classify them but let's say that they play a mix of Doom, Gothic, Death and Progressive stuff. Their show was not so long, approximately 35 - 40 minutes but we had the luck to listen to some songs from their last album Materia (the majority of the setlist actually) and some others of their precedent album. Even if the last album is really soft and cool, their performance was nice and enjoyable and those new songs didn't lack of power. They were a bit static, near to be shy and not really communicative but at least they were friendly with the audience and they had a lot of good answers from the public. I won't say that it was a perfect show or something that will stay in my memory for eternity but Novembre was good this night and I had the luck to headbang like an idiot on a lot of their songs. It's probably the proof that it was a good and not boring perfomance.


The Swedes of Katatonia were the headliners of the night. Damn I was waiting to see them since a lot of time, and finally they were there in Paris (their unique date in France) especially for us!





Katatonia isn't a talkative band. They're extremely shy, hyper dark and not really communicative (especially their singer Jonas Renkse who was hidden behind his black long hairs during the whole show). But well, everybody in the venue knew, I think, and they all was there to listen to some good music and not to do jokes with the band because it's simply not the specially of the combo. The first important point is that the sound was really cool. It wasn't pure like on a CD but it was extremely good and surprising. Also, Jonas was extremely good and his vocals were all really audible with a nice and pure sound. Also, the terrific and disturbing music, which probably came from a horror movie or something, that we could listen to before and between each songs was simply awesome. It put a really cold and dark atmosphere and I have to admit that I had some really uncomfortable feelings (when I think about it now, I simply find it classy).





The set-list was composed in majority of new songs, they were here to promote their new album after all. But as you'll see in the set list, we had the luck to listen to all their hits, from "Teargas", to "Evidence". The new songs sounded good live and anyway the band had the intelligence to only keep the powerful and catchy ones. We only had some killers like "My Twin" or "Soil's Song" and even if I was sure of it before this show, I can affirm today that those songs are perfect for a live performance.


Set-List:

Leaders
Wealth
Soil's Song
Deadhouse
Teargas
Deliberation
Ghost
My Twin
Criminals
I'm Nothing
Sweet Nurse
Tonight's Music
Sleeper
July
In The With
Evidence




It was a good show, not the best that I ever seen but since that I'm a fan, I was extremely happy of my evening. The venue was perfect, the bands (both Novembre and Katatonia) were really good and even if it was a bit short (Katatonia played 1h20 minutes maximum) I passed a good moment and will keep a lot of good souvenirs of this show. Now I must admit too, that I'm not sure that Katatonia can produce outstanding shows in a big venue, they just need an intimate place so think about it if you want to see this band, but it's highly recommended especially if you're a fan.


Many thx to Paul @ Peaceville Records for the accreditation