With an open-air concert out of question given the rather low temperatures and heavy rain that night, MIDEM had raised a big top for the event: Chapiteau Croisette, set in the beautiful location (on a sunny day that is) of Palm Beach and next to the casino.
First to hit the stage were French indie rock band, Stuck In The Sound, and to be honest unless you had been told, you would have absolutely no idea that the lads are French. Their name would not help you either in guessing, nor with any of their songs being in the language of William Shakespeare.
Fitting between the repertoires of The Rolling Stones, Muse and Franz Ferdinand, Stuck In The Sound are all about authentic rock: heavy guitars, pumping drums and engaging lyrics as if borrowed from the most notorious British rock bands.
Even though he was hidden under his hoodie for the entire set, lead singer José Reis Fontao certainly did not show any signs of shyness and was full of energy, exposing an incredible on stage presence.
Highlights included the brand new and irresistibly delightful ‘Tender’, as well as their signature and stupendous track ‘Toy Boy’ which the guys wrapped up on stage with some frozen poses under the spotlights.
It was a perfect timing and an excellent marketing coup for the young Parisians, whose latest album Pursuit was released the next day (30/01/12).
Manchester’s alternative-pop duo The Ting Tings were up next. As lead-singer Katie White made her entrance, she grabbed a piece of paper out of her pocket and started to read out in French her introduction speech, concluding with and shouting something along that line: “Maintenant on vous laisse danser comme des oufs!” – understand, “Now we let you dance like freaks!”.
Altering between guitars and keyboards, Katie was in great shape, utilising every space available on stage, sometimes knocking down the mic stands on her way.
The Tings‘ set list revealed some new tracks from their upcoming album Sounds From Nowheresville and older ones like ‘Shut Up And Let Me Go’ or ‘Great DJ’. Just in case her message had not been understood earlier, White shouted “I don’t care if you’re f*ck*ing music industry or general public, f*ck*ing dance!”, before offering a Berlin-ish minimal remixed version of 2010’s single ‘Hands’.
At this time of the night, the outside minus temperatures where far from being felt inside the big top, it was hot! Acclaimed tittle ‘That’s Not My Name’ peaked and set the stage for the finale of a fast-paced and bustling performance from The Ting Tings.
The Ting Tings (Photo taken with Instagram)
As the night came to an end, and after a massive dance warm up from the first two acts, punters were more than ready to party. For Belgian duo 2manydjs, it was relatively a piece of cake to mix, as they were served with a crowd of delirious dancers on a silver platter.
Also known as Soulwax, 2manydjs plunged Chapiteau Croisette into the dark, transforming it into a dance floor and got absolutely everyone in the right mood, with the sweet sounds of rock-electronica, drum and bass, and progressive trance. A great way to end the night…
2manydjs (Photo taken with Instagram)
