Out in the banlieue de Paris, whilst pre-pubescent testosterone is untapped occasionally rather gruesomely amidst the burning bins of Reading Festival's Richfield Avenue, a rather special 8th birthday's taking place; that of France's leading weekend of musically-lilted hedonism,
Rock en Seine. Taking place over the August bank holiday weekend from Friday 27th to Sunday 29th, it's effectively one of those scenarios that feels too God-darn quixotic to be tangible. And then taking into account the wondrously esoteric acts on offer this year, well as Yazz once said, The Only Way Is Up. Focusing on a somewhat retrospective spread of phenomenal artists past and present, this year's run-down dips into the waters of adolescence and pretense, with quintessentially influential forerunners very much carrying the torch and setting alight your wildest of festival wish lists. Headlining Friday night are reformed brat punks
Blink-182, before they head for the hills of Blighty for Reading & Leeds, who will be backed up on Rock en Seine's opening day by the likes of cult cross-pollinating hip-hop collective
Cypress Hill, Trainspotting rave behemoths
Underworld and reveling in their immortally excellent Total Life Forever,
Foals. Saturday sees estranged Sigur Rós sweetie
Jónsi return to the land of the Loire with his celestial Go in tow, an LP capable of igniting the most sublime of daydreams, expect smoke-piercing lasers from Bristolian trip-hop founders
Massive Attack and Josh Homme puts Them Crooked Vultures on the back-burner to do what he does best; churning out the apocalyptic angst contained within the likes of Sick, Sick, Sick and No One Knows through gurning chops with
Queens Of The Stone Age. And if that weren't enough to quench the most acquiring of thirsts, glam veterans
Roxy Music, feral folkster
Beirut and (one of) everyone's fave P4k pairings, Win & Régine headline with their smoldering
Arcade Fire.
Rock en Seine will now feature the subdued house melancholia of Deadmau5 and gumball pop duo The Ting Tings.
The full line up thus far spanning three stages is thus:
Blink-182 * Massive Attack * Arcade Fire * Roxy Music * Cypress Hill * Queens Of The Stone Age * Beirut * The Kooks * Paolo Nutini * Black Rebel Motorcycle Club * LCD Soundsystem * Eels * Skunk Anansie * 2manydjs * Foals * Deadmau5 * Wave Machines * The Ting Tings * Two Door Cinema Club * Underworld * Kele * Jónsi * Chew Lips * Minus The Bear * K'Naan * Fat Freddy's Drop * Crystal Castles * Band Of Horses * Stereophonics * Beast * Jello Biafra * Rox * All Time Low * Wayne Beckford * Plan B
What with it being a skipping stone's throw across la manche, Rock en Seine's about as hassle-free as a price comparison website ought to be, with the Eurostar whisking thousands from St. Pancras to the heart of Gay Paree daily and a whole host of airlines jetting towards Parisian air space come August. And it's bound to be as frazzling as the innards of a baked potato. Three-day passes are priced at €99, whereas individual day tickets set you back a mere €45. Camping costs an extra €22.50 and entry for kids under 10's absolutely free. Quite right too. For more info, visit Rock en Seine's official site
here, whilst tickets are currently available from
Lastminute.com, including hotel packages and the like if the thought of camping's about as appealing as a shower with Fred Durst.
