TREPONEM PAL (Fr) & GONOKOX (Fr) - 12.05.2023 - Le 106 - Rouen (Fr)

Very first time for me at LE 106 in Rouen, a very beautiful place with all the required conditions for some full of decibels evenings. Tonight is the second date of the legendary TREPONEM PAL, which after Paris the week before, comes to Normandy, to defend his latest album "Screamers", released in March 2023.. I just can't wait !!

As support band, the GONOKOX...I apologize for my lack of knowledge, but this is the very first time I hear of them...From what I understand , the GONOKOX are rather a real local figure, a local Punk-Rock legend from the 80's/90's... whose reformation is very recent... Nevertheless, on stage, they don't ask superfluous questions. .. The guys deliver, it's edgy, catchy, electric, done with a lot of humor, playing titles in-between energetic punk-rock and pumped-up rock'n'roll... Really very appreciable and very appreciated by the public who - them, not like me - seemed to know the band well, singing along the lyrics and taking up the choruses with great pleasure! Well-heated public, the mission was accomplished for the GONOKOX!

Short break... and it's TREPONEM PAL's turn to storm the stage... They open the concert as they open the last album, with "The Fall" which surprises us with its power and its heaviness. We feel a band that has the DESIRE to go to the front, to defend its music at all costs, with an imposing stage presence... and for about 90 minutes (I didn't really look at the duration, i was too much caught up in this LIVE whirlwind), TREPONEM PAL will blast us relentlessly, covering 30 years of career, with titles from - if I'm not mistaken - all the albums.. Judge for yourself... "The Fall", "Badass Sound System", "Screamers", "Too Late" (impressive performance on stage! I loved it!), "Earthquake" from the latest album "Screamers", but also "In-Out" from the very first opus, a " Rest Is A War" from "Aggravation" in a very dark and leaden version, "Planet Crash" from "Weird machine" which laminated everything, "Fighter" and "Planet Claire" (yes the B52's cover, which set the venue on fire) of "Rockers'Vibes", the inevitable "Pushing You Too Far", "Crimson Garden" of "Excess & Overdrive", without forgetting the excellent "Higher" album with the titles "Panorama" and "Renegade"... A set-list of madness that makes everyone agree ! This performance is a real slap in the face, the machine is well-oiled, ready to wreak havoc... The musicians play with guts and heart, it oozes sincerity, it doesn't cheat for a second... The presence alone of the musicians on stage is enough, no need for artifices or whatever to be catchy, there is a feeling of power in front of which we remain speechless ! They give everything and even more, since as an "encore", we will savor an as heavy as a column of Bulldozers version of "Excess & Overdrive" .. and icing on the cake .. "Funk Me" in a hyper-boosted version ! That show left me without words... After 30 years, TREPONEM PAL are more impressive as ever... CRAZY AS F**K !



All pics used with kind permission from BARZUK Photos Concerts - thank you very much !