#03 Paris

Well it's Saturday afternoon now, and I've really only just recovered from Thursday and Friday... or as they'll become known, the best 24 hours of my life!

After getting up at half past five and a quick breakfast, I had to walk down to Dartford station for the seven o'clock to London Waterloo East. Or at least, that was the plan. Adèle and Mark's taxi was late, so there was a worrying moment when we thought we might not make the train!! Luckily we managed to catch the next one, so we arrived at the station with plenty of time to spare! From Waterloo East, it was just a quick walk to Waterloo to meet up with Elyse. From there, the excitement grew and grew as we sped our way through the tunnel to Paris...

In true tourist style, we headed straight for the obvious places. The cathedral at Notre Dame is awe-inspiring, and the atmosphere inside (especially when compared to the hustle and bustle outside) is amazing. Next, we headed for the Eiffel Tower. At first, we weren't sure whether to pay the full €10.50 (about £7) to visit the top, but I'm so glad we did. The view is unbelievable, even from the first level only; Paris looks so elegant from up there, and as the river snakes around the parks and streets of the city, you wonder how they managed to mess up London so spectacularly. If you ever get the chance, you must see that view!

The Champs d'Elysée is a big old street, and decked out in it's best gear to back the Paris 2012 Olympic bid. The Arc de Triomphe is your reward for an exhausting walk, but worth seeing, if only on a tourist level. There's an amazing mix of shops down that street - a Mercedes Benz showroom sits next to a Quick restaurant (think Little Chef!). And the roads round Paris: it's like playing Russian Roulette, but with zebra crossings. I still haven't worked it out, but I'm pretty sure that red lights are optional for drivers, and zebra crossings are only safe when cars don't need to turn right into them. But don't take my word for that, I cannot be held responsible for any injuries you pick up from following my advice!!

I can't remember any other day I've spent where I've enjoyed the day so much. I honestly didn't stop smiling from arrival at Gare du Nord to the pavement cafés along, erm, the road outside Gare du Nord. In those 24 hours, we squeezed in a visit to a pavement café, looked in the window of a cheese shop, bought a mini-Eiffel Tower, caught the Metro at rush hour (not such a highlight!), advised a French waiter about Maroon 5, and seen the most amazing gig ever...

Yes, we had a reason for our visit, you know: to see the incredible Damien Rice in concert. The venue (the Trianon) itself is a beautiful little place, absolutely perfect for such an intimate, emotional roller-coaster of a gig. We were sitting in the stalls, fairly close to the back (in fact I was sitting just behind the sound mixing desk) but still with a great view of the stage...

Set List
- Delicate
- I Remember
- The Blower’s Daughter (Part 2)
- Cannonball
- Woman Like A Man
- Accidental Babies
- Professor Et La Fille Danse
- Childish
- Eskimo
- Volcano
- The Blower’s Daughter
- Aime
- Glory Box
- Hallelujah
- Unplayed Piano (video)
- Cold Water (with Kate Earl)
- Older Chests


After a few sneak-peeks at Damien as he peered around the curtains, Kate Earl kicked off the night with her fantastic set. She's real pretty, and she's got the songs to match. It was the perfect introduction, and her appearance in the theatre at the "interval" to hand out some promo CDs was nice. One American lady made me smile, shouting across the stalls "Hey! She's got CDs! And they're FREE!!". I know I took my copy because I liked the music, not just because there was free music on offer!

It struck me about 15 minutes in to Earl's set that - oh my God! - I was about to witness not only my first proper gig, but also see the amazing Damien Rice live. I knew at that point that the rest of the night would be incredible...

Just as with "O", the night opened with Delicate. Mark, Adèle, Elyse and myself all went into the gig hoping to hear our own favourites: playing so many songs from "O" or "B-Sides" (his two released albums), none of us left disappointed. I Remember was amazing, and Childish was a nice surprise for those only acquainted with the album tracks...

Damien's attempts at French were gallant, if not entirely accurate! But they made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere couldn't have been more friendly (especially with so many Irish in the crowd!!). But it's testament to Damien's ability and presence that he can move from joking and laughing to such amazingly moving songs as Cannonball and (the tear-jerking) Accidental Babies... the guitar solo on Woman Like A Man was simply amazing!

The Blower's Daughter is for me one of Damien's greatest songs, and he didn't let me down. After the London gig (which Tom Ford, Nicola and Garner went to), we were worried that he wouldn't have time to play it... our collective sigh of relief on hearing the opening notes was well justified!

Taking Aime into When Doves Cry and Hallelujah was again, heart-stopping. The whole hall fell into silence and wonder as Damien took us all to places we never expected to go. Just incredible. Kate Earl rejoined the stage for Cold Water, and by this point there was no holding back the tears! Older Chests ended the perfect day.


The night was still young for us though! With the gig over by about 10h30, we still had until 6h46 the next morning before we could check-in for the train home! The Sacré Coeur is another beautiful building - Paris is full of them! - and although it was raining and cloudy, the view across the city was still amazing. Spending the rest of the evening in the very friendly (and very useful) Maison Blanche opposite the Gare du Nord, over hot chocolate and a truck-load of amazing memories... bliss!

Thank you so much to Mark, Adèle and Elyse for making the day so special (and going back over a year, thanks to Elyse for introducing me to Damien's music in the first place). I hope that isn't the last time we do something that cool together again.

A bientôt!