Review: Jeans Wilder + Jemek Jemowit

There is a lot that I love about Madame Claude: The fact that it is entirely underground, the French receptionists at the door, the prices at the bar and in particular the concert room. It must have been a coal cellar or similar at some point and you get a slightly eerie feel when you descend the steps into the room. And usually the dark underground atmosphere suits the artists that play perfectly.

The opening act Jemek Jemowit was previously unknown to me but I realised before the gig that many people had shown up to see that band and not Jeans Wilder. Naturally, I was curious.
"80s. We're living in the 80s."
Jemek Jemowit creates dance music with a variety of electronic equipment and is clearly influenced by New Wave music from the 80s. He dresses the part, wears face paint, and really gets into his act. It was extreme fun to watch and the songs were danceable. And that's what people did - dancing.

Jeans Wilder were a lot more mellow in contrast. And that was a little unfortunate. By then, people were up for dancing. Some of their songs are danceable and there were a couple of songs when we really got into it. But there were also a few songs that seemed to fill the gaps in-between ("I just wrote this song on the train"). They were brilliant for hanging out in a bar to, and that's what we did, but they didn't grip and move people enough to bind the audience. Many people left after a few songs.
Well, we didn't. We stayed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves to the at times slightly melancholic, rhythmic ambient tunes. But maybe I was hoping to dance a little more.

Here is a video of their gig in Lyon a few days ago and this reflects very nicely the beauty of Jeans Wilder while maybe also showing that you need to be in the mood for this type of music to truly appreciate it: