In going through our archives trying to figure out what to share next, we came upon this complete live show from November 2015 on our first full European tour. It was in Paris at the famed Casino de Paris, where we opened up for Alabama Shakes. Completely filmed with full audio…and I couldn’t recall why this was never shared or released. It had excellent sound and was a monumental show.

That night had been erased from my memory and I finally realized why. This was the show that we played in Paris the night before the Bataclan terrorist attacks.

It’s interesting how memory and trauma are intricately intertwined. We all remember everything very distinctly about the rest of the tour after the 13th of November 2015, but the days and nights leading up to that event have all but disappeared. The night of the attacks we were roughly an hour away in the city of Reims playing a show to a rather dry sounding arts theatre. I recall having just finished playing our set and we were seated backstage. Franklin was looking at his phone somewhat distressed and announced to whoever was in earshot, “There’s something going on in Paris”.

The following days were unlike any that we had ever experienced before. The whole nation and music industry was in a state of shock. A moratorium was placed on all public events in France for the next several days. Other bands were cancelling their tours. We still had three more French shows and then we were to finish with two Swiss shows, ending the European tour supporting our self titled debut.

The tour had been routed and hotels booked well in advance. We could not cancel our hotel reservations, so we still had to travel to each town to stay the night, regardless of whether there was still a show or not. All of the promoters and people who worked at the venues still wanted us to come each night, to talk, drink, commune.

So we continued the tour. It became the ghost tour, as we called it. For the next four days we would wake up, check out of our hotel, drive the 4 or 5 hours to the next town, check into the hotel, drive to the venue, but not load in. We would be greeted by the staff, promoter, and sometimes the owner. We would all sit down at the bar or on the ground in the center of the venue, and instead of performing to an audience, we would all just share stories and talk with the staff about friends or colleagues that had been lost or affected by the events from the previous days. Then we would go back to the hotel, wake up the next morning, and drive to the next town and repeat.

This happened everyday until the 17th, when we became the first live show back in the country after we played a free show at Le Ninkasi Cafe in Lyon. The Foo Fighters had canceled their concert that same evening in Lyon and the French promoter, venue staff, as well as a number of fans in town pushed for our show to happen. That afternoon was spent negotiating for extra security. The show itself was one of the most intense experiences that any of us have ever felt. I could write another very long entry about that evening and if I can find a recording of that night, perhaps I will.

But this is about that night that had been erased from memory. The night before any of this. It’s all slowly coming back. We were excited, also kind of annoyed. We joked backstage. It was very crowded back there with four bands and crew and other various folks spread out amongst multiple floors with a shared catering area. I remember we thought that the Alabama Shakes bass player gave us the evil eye. We drank beers on the balcony as the opening bands played. We went out and met friends in the foyer of the venue. When we played, the crowd was courteous and kind, but clearly were biding their time until the headliner came on after us. We played hard, as this was our biggest show to date. A full house in Paris! We tested early versions of Walk Like A Panther, Cleveland, and even some Nun Gun material. For some reason we chose to end with a solo version of Franklin doing Games. It worked really well but was a bit out of the ordinary. We felt triumphant after we finished our set, only to hear the volume of the crowd double when Alabama Shakes started their first song.

So here it is. A night that was innocently taken for granted. It was fun and boring and important but not important and everything and nothing all at the same time.

Lee -12 Feb, 21