Stereophonics put the heat on at Les Docks

Unpublished article - Jonas Follonier

On Sunday February 9, Welsh rock band Stereophonics took to the stage at Les Docks, Lausanne. Maybe they never knew it, but we did. What comes out of this wintry evening is a memory of great heat, due to an architectural peculiarity. Here's the story.

7.40pm, I arrive at Les Docks. In the drizzle where it's cold. It's going to be hot inside, I tell myself. But I still don't know how hot. After tattooing my hindquarters appropriately, the establishment tells me that the changing room is full. «So we can't take your jacket.» Yes, because unlike Christophe, I put on a jacket. It's winter. So I'm going to have to carry it around all evening, in a room full to bursting. That's another reason to drink more beers than expected, especially on a Sunday evening. It's hot. Because with one hand holding my California mug and the opposite arm supporting my coat, how am I supposed to write crap down on my overloaded iPhone? It's a good thing my other half was there; our pair suddenly turns into an octopus.

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This locker room affair occupies my mind for a good part of the group's wait. I wonder if I'm the victim of a conspiracy. But a plot against what? Against American beer? Unlikely, given the English-speaking fauna populating the place that evening. Besides, I hadn't even placed my order when I went to see the bearded man. Against Le Regard Libre? Mmmmmno, nobody knows. Against me? Well, I give up on that idea. It's probably early February, when people have ten thousand furs to put in the locker. You know, the same people who, when they're at a restaurant, order a celeriac juice with a splash of Tabasco, when they could be having a Coke like everyone else. No, actually, it's simpler than that: the narrow walls of the Docks leave limited space for the checkroom. It says on their website.

But when the band arrives, right on time, and starts making music, my journalistic fantasies are forgotten! It's the warmth of the music that makes me forget the warmth of my body. The sound is impressive. If the strange lighting device doesn't immediately convince the spectator, the clear, sovereign rendering of the instruments puts everyone in the thing. The first song is carefully chosen, and doesn't sound at all like the album. A more interesting voice than in the studio is offered to us, in Lausanne, within a very rock format, at least at first. Kelly Jones has an interesting grain, similar to many other pop-rock singers, but touching nonetheless. And it's obviously effective, as are the live arrangements.

From the second track onwards, we begin to appreciate the staging too. Original little strings of lights cover the stage and even part of the hall. If not dazzling, at least sympathetic and original. Drummer Jamie Morrison's overhanging position, a habit of rock bands for years, is nonetheless a good idea. Even during his solo, another of the genre's not-to-be-missed events, he doesn't overdo it. Which is just as well, because we couldn't stand it. Because it has to be said that, while the start of the concert was excellent, the rest didn't quite live up to the hype of Stereophonics' visit to French-speaking Switzerland. Although it was still a good time.

This is because the band doesn't seem to attach much importance to the place where they play. «Hello, Lausanne, how are you? Greta can do it, you guys can too. Too bad you can't be bothered to try. I say this with all sympathy. And then, sorry, but I didn't understand the order of the songs from a third of the way through the concert. The contrasts of the beginning are now followed by a succession of «in-between» songs, with no added value compared to the recordings, and without taking advantage of the baritone saxophone's bias on a more regular basis. Why start with almost progressive rock and then surf into romantic 2000s pop? To each his own; it's not bad at all, but a little disappointing.

Nevertheless, the evening is hot. Songs with the same rhythm follow one another, but we follow. It's so much the music and not the lyrics that carry their songs that you could sing «veste veste veste», «chaud chaud chaud». It's also clear that the band's leader is in his element. As a guy next to me would have said, «you can feel the guy is possessed». Plus, you've got to go to the bathroom at some point during the evening, so you can choose your moment of need and come back with hope in your bag. Finally, it has to be said that the band do try something different again in the final tracks, even if it's a little late. In any case, you come away with the impression of having witnessed one of today's finest British rock bands. Basically, I don't blame them; I blame the 2000s.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Cover photo: © Julie Rheme