LadyDot Review: Jive Me Gig Report

LadyDot Review: Jive Me – Gig Report

Report From The Jive Me Gig In Menthières (France)

I love gigs! It’s a great feeling when you get to see a live show by one of your favourite bands. That energy, that emotion, that feeling of oneness with the people you meet in front of the stage… Although it wasn’t easy at all, we went by car together with my husband for a short holiday to France. You don’t even know how happy I was that very close to where we were staying for a few days, the band Jive Me would be performing.

So we went to Menthières for the Cri de la Goutte festival and spent two days having a fantastic time with great music. And today I will write you a report on this gig. Of course, I will also mention the festival itself, because I would really like to wholeheartedly recommend this event to you! 😊

Cri De La Goutte – The Best Line-Up I Could Have Dreamed Up!

When I saw the news that Jive Me were going to play a gig at the festival, of course I checked the whole line-up first. But at the time, I still didn’t expect that apart from Jive Me, Voilaaa Sound System (whose music I discovered three years ago and fell in love with!) and Synapson would also be performing!

It’s very rare that you buy a ticket to a festival thinking that most of the line-up performing on the day are artists whose music you listen to every day. I was delighted and on my way to the festival I decided that I would also listen to the songs of the other artists performing on Friday. And I liked their music so much that it turned out I was also looking forward to a gig by Lass (one of my best musical discoveries in recent years!) and Soom T, all artists scheduled for Friday night, haha! 😊

Already after the first moments spent at the Cri de la Goutte, I felt that the atmosphere was wonderful. That’s why we bought tickets for Saturday as well, because La Caravane Passe was playing then (you might associate them with the banger “T’as la touche Manouche”). But let’s focus on that first day, because it was Jive Me who opened the whole event with their performance!

Jive Me Gig – Another Dream Come True!

My adventure with the songs of the band Jive Me began, of course, with the album ‘Jive Me’, released in 2019 (I discovered it a year later when the covid pandemic was going on). From the moment I listened to all the songs I longed to see them perform live. At the time, I still didn’t expect to be interviewed on the occasion of the release of their second album, “Welcome To The World” (you can read it HERE).

Okay, but let’s get back to the gig coverage. Jive Me started their show with “How I Miss U”. A very tranquil song for a start (although I have to admit that, despite everything, it was very fitting for the mountain scenery and the reflecting rays of the slowly setting sun!), but after a while the atmosphere momentarily changed, because the next song was “Karma”. Oh really, I love this banger, and Tara’s vocals sounded just perfect (although I don’t think anything beats how much she opened up and showed us all her emotions in ‘Strange Man’). I also really, really enjoyed the clarinettist and guitarist solos in ‘Strange Man’. Okay, really, this song is just brilliant and there’s no other way to describe it – you have to listen to it, preferably live, haha!

Tara, Tara, I could talk a lot about you. :) I love your voice, your emotions and the fact that you feel so great and at ease on stage (in “Fantasy” and “Welcome To The World” you really rocked!). I may have missed a little better contact between the band and the audience during the show, but I could still feel your message and emotion, which I really appreciate in live performances.

Clarinet + Guitar = Perfect Combination

Yoann (the clarinettist) has delighted me on many occasions, especially on the tracks from the Jive Me album – ‘Lesson’ and ‘Fantasy’. The sound of the clarinet fits so wonderfully with this unique Jive Me sound and makes them stand out even more from other Electro Swing and electronic bands. Chapeau-bas! In my opinion, Jive Me should play at least one more song from their previous album – I think they would then showcase the two different energies that lie within. And apart from that, Jive Me is simply a brilliant album worth listening to.
A huge surprise for me was Arnaud (guitarist) – I can’t recall in which song he played a long solo (I think it was a song “Rhum & Cola”) that literally knocked me off my feet, enthralled me and enchanted me. Something perfect. In fact, in every song he had a moment to present his short solos and I really enjoyed it.

Jive Me – The Power Of Music And Friendship

I was very pleased that, in fact, every song that Jive Me played allowed each member of the band to showcase their skills. This way I didn’t just see the band simply, but also the individual artists. It’s great! I felt like I was watching a show created by people who, as well as having a similar vision in making music, are additionally great friends to each other. Wonderful.

And finally, I was left with my thoughts on Baptiste. He is an excellent composer, a great keyboard player who loves electronic music with all his heart and I could feel it from the first bars of the opening track of the gig. Every sound, every effect he played was full of passion and emotion. It was a pleasure to watch and listen to how he built up the tension with each successive piece. And the electronic improvisation at the end only strengthened my conviction that it was worth travelling almost 2,000 kilometres to see their gig live. And I’m sure we’ll see them again. 😊

Written & reviewed by LadyDot (Ja, Wizeruk) Date: 2023-08-21

Bio – LadyDot

Anna (LadyDot) was born in ’94, but always felt she came from the Golden Twenties. “Polka” in Polish means “girl from Poland”, so she’s “Polka in polka dots”. She loves vintage style and spontaneous travels around Europe. But her greatest love (apart from her husband) is of course music, especially Electro Swing, Funk, Swing Hop and French Electronic Music.

Anna works at a Polish music label, where she coordinates the physical production of CDs and vinyl records. Music is therefore not only her passion, but also her job!