Spectacles

This past week I went to two concerts: The XX at La Cigale in the 18th arrondissement and Beach House at La Maroquinerie in the 20th arrondissement. Both times we had to scalp tickets at the door since both shows were sold out... we were lucky to get in!

The XX: They played a long set, the lineup almost matching the order of their new CD exactly. I was a little disappointed that the pace was too slow in the beginning for some of my favorite songs like "Crystalised," but they made up for it by the end of the show when they seemed much more warmed up. They wrapped up a great set with "Night Time" and "Stars" in the encore. La Cigale is a great venue -- the theatre is very old and charming and not too big. It was a great place to see a show.

Beach House: La Maroquinerie is a much smaller, kind of dingier venue but so much more personal. Victoria Legrand was born in France and speaks French, so her talking to the crowd in between songs and the size of the venue made it a very unique show. Her voice is so deep and rich and sounds even better live. My favorite song of the night was probably "Heart of Chambers."