Written by:	Darkside Momo
Published:	November 23, 2018
Event:	Shining (NOR): European Animal Tour 2018
Location:	Le Rex, Toulouse, France
Organizer:	Noiser
Galleries:	Shining (NOR) Animal Tour In Toulouse by Darkside Momo (23)

Shining (NOR) playing in Toulouse? Of course I would be in!...

But then came Animal, which, well... left me unimpressed at best. It's actually decent for an electro / hard-rocking album, I guess, and just another - somewhat predictable - evolution for this ever-mutating band, but not one I'm particularly fond of. And given the quite small audience - less than 200 people - and what a few discussions confirmed, I'm not the only one to consider Animal as a letdown.

Oh, as a side note, I'm not really happy with my pictures. Lights weren't that good as is usual in the Rex venue, but I certainly could have done better anyway. That said, on with the show!


Baron Samedi

Openers Baron Samedi are a local band, hailing straight from Toulouse. They play something that could be described as art jazz-rock and/or alternative metal, with a saxophone and both spoken and sung poetic lyrics in French (with some influences coming, at least, both from Noir Désir and Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine). Yep, that's quite a progressive - in the truest sense of the word - mix.

I'll admit I didn't know them beforehand, but I wasn't the only one. I only knew Léa Cuny-Bret, the saxophon player, as I already saw her onstage earlier this year with Incendié Volontaire - something hip-hop / slam / jazz (and BTW, she did a study in musicology about Blackjazz. Shining were happy enough to post it on their website even if it's only in French - find it here). Anyway, their set was really interesting; both vocalists - whether singing or reciting - did perform with an obvious theatrical flair, their vocals empowered by some quite heavy riffing, and the whole being sustained by this mostly jazzy bass line - and that oh-so-swinging sax.

While their peculiar mix of genres wasn't to everyone's tastes it seems, most of the audience enjoyed their show anyway. I know I sure did, and I'm pretty happy of this opportunity to discover them!

Here's their website with their first EP Avant l'Asphyxie - note that their new album should be dropping soon!




Alithia

I was warned beforehand that the Aussies Alithia were weird. Not in the avant- style of weird, but definitely bizarre in their mix of styles and attitudes. Now they define themselves as Progressive Psychedelic Tribal Rock, so... yeah (then again, they previously dubbed their stuff Astral Space Core, so... yeah again). And indeed, theirs is a weird mix - lots of alternative elements, some tribal groove, almost dance-music moments, clean vocals bordering on cheesy at times, loads of keyboards, some trendy metalcore bits, all that and more fused in an almost prog way but in a - let's be honest - slightly awkward whole.

Does that sound bizarre? Indeed it is, and for sure the band were received politely but not really with enthousiam. That said, the guys sure believe in their music; there's still a youthful exuberence and genuine passion coming from them, as they moved, cheered, and enjoyed every moment - yep, even the two keyboard players who were both hidden in the shadows on each side of the stage (BTW, I guess that, as far as lights were concerned, we reached a new low in this Le Rex venue with Alithia's set - no, it wasn't that dismal, just clearly not luminous enough... but maybe it was the band's wishes?).

In the end, it was both perplexing and really decent. I can totally imagine drunk/stoned metalheads having fun dancing and moshing on a beach with Alithia jamming in the background, and while I can't say I'm a fan, I had a nice moment. Now, check by yourselves their BandCamp!




Shining (NOR)

So, the much-awaited-for headliner. I already saw them two years ago in Paris, so I was sure they would be good. And good they were!

Of course, the old songs - well, relatively old, as they obviously didn't play anything older than Blackjazz - were bloody damn well received, especially the Blackjazz ones ("Healter Skelter", "The Madness And The Damage Done", and... read on ), and in gerenal all the fast, aggressive, catchy songs (that includes the new "Smash It Up!"). Same goes for each and every song in which Jurgen took his sax, of course. As for the new ones, "Animal" works nicely as an opener, and catchy "My Church" works really well onstage too. However, having mellow "Hole In The Sky" followed by meh-low "When The Lights Go Out" must have been a nice respite for the band, but audience-wise it was clearly too much - and without surprise we cheered much less than previously (seeing more recent setlists, it seems the band didn't make this very mistake again)

As for the band themselves, even they if they seemed a bit disappointed by the mediocre turnout, they quickly warmed to the cheering and supportive audience and went pretty active onstage. I know for sure that, in the end, they were pleased enough, as we cheered loudly enough to get a unplanned encore. We - three of us at least - asked for "Exit Sun", we got "Fisheye" instead. I'm not complaining, as this already great song was further enhanced by a long, excellent, playing sax solo. Awesome!

All in all, that was a good, really good show, yet... yet it lacked the furious energy they displayed on the International Blackjazz Society tour. And as such, well, I felt... no, not disappointed, but still wanting for something more...



Setlist:
1. "Animal"
2. "My Church"
3. "Last Day"
4. "Everything Dies"
5. "Fight Song"
6. "Healter Skelter"
7. "My Dying Drive"
8. "Hole In The Sky"
9. "When The Lights Go Out"
10. "I Won't Forget"
11. "The One Inside"
12. "Smash It Up!"
13. "The Madness And The Damage Done"
14. "Fisheye" (encore)


Many thanks to the Noiser Crew for booking and organizing the show, and especially to Clément for the accreditation! Keep it up!