Paris pt 4: Diamanda Galas

I anchored my Paris trip to a concert on Saturday night by Diamanda Galas, the brilliant Greek American performer and pianist, at the Maison de la Musique in Nanterre, a few minutes out of Paris on the A line of the RER.


Me and the French goths (and a couple of English ones that I could hear) made our way from the sunny streets outside to the blackened auditorium inside for a rare and quite intimate show. With a set heavily leaning towards her favourite French inspirations (Brel and Piaf), and speaking pretty good French throughout, she pleased the crowd and came back for three encores - no mean feat, this being the town that no doubt invented them (with encore being a French word and all innit).


My favourite was Fernand, sung with a particular beauty that night. See a performance from last year in Copenhagen below.

Spencer Bewley

We saw, and loved, Hope Sandoval last night at beautiful Bush Hall. We especially loved the projections by Spencer Bewley, a projection artist who works with 'found and prepared 16mm films' which he overlays over one another using multiple projectors, slowed down, sometimes with colour filters. It made us think of Kenneth Anger, or even Derek Jarman, and the work he did providing super 8 backdrops for shows in the late 80s. Photos by Luz Gallardo and Voss

Billy Childish at the ICA

We like the Billy Childish exhibition on at the ICA. Unkknowable But Certain catalogues his musical work to date, with a wall of old record sleeves (some of the design just amazing), his entire back catalogue playable on a computer in the gallery space, zines and other publications, and my favourite, a short film which shows Childish (born Steven John Hamper) exploring his home of many years just prior to leaving it in 1997 - crammed full of paintings and objects - Childish revealing a sentimentality you would never guess was there - though he is quick to point out that he doesn't believe in reviving anything that is past... thoughtful and nice. On the lower floor an exhibition of paintings by Childish gives some idea of where his interests lie now - great colours and surprisingly gripping.

All images from Roland magazine, available at the ICA for a £1 donation.