To those living out there, cut from the continent and more or less impervious to happenings of below the English Channel, I’ll start out by a few hints at who’s been able to rock a good couple hundreds of lads & gents on April 9th.
Benjamin Bocconi is a rising star fresh out from The Voice French’s version of their latest season, in which he only ended as a finalist, but managed to build comfortable fandom for a series of touring dates taking him to all four corners of France and, from now on, out from their borders with a gig in London.
Helped and supported by warm interiors in the venue, full of crimson velvets and golden paint layers on wooden carves of Roman inspiration, Benjamin and his band put up a neat and clean performance, relying on accurate, solid vocals, rehearsed tunes and good understanding between the men on stage; their friendship was radiant to the audience who, for the occasion, never failed to respond to either anthems or games of Q&A peppered through the show. A few treats could pop here and there, such as covers of Britannia’s heroes Muse and Queen (respectively Neutron Star Collision and Somebody to Love, proof of the band’s dexterity in respectable levels of difficulty).
Even though I might be here making an uncommon exception to my classical and operatic preferences, I do recommend Bocconi’s EP to anyone fond of the guitar-and-keyboard rock, French-sung music genre. Switching from aerial arpeggiatures to funk beats and piano songs, Anonyme is a fine starting point EP for a showman and band calling for daring horizons of an album release. These 5 boys seem to enjoy a nice time together, and I wish it for them to last as long as it can.
Last but not least, my warmest regards go to Roselie Niclasson and her performance in the show’s first part, where I think credits are due to her style on acoustic jazz guitar chords and racy melodies.