Rock en Seine 2023: Day 2 with Placebo, Fever Ray, Viagra Boys... we were there, we tell you all about it

The weather was much cooler than on Wednesday, when the Protection Civile intervened on several occasions to help festival-goers suffering from heatstroke. On Friday August 25, 2023, for the second day of Rock en Seine, the weather was different, but so was the audience. Teenage girls, present for Billie Eilish's only French date, mostly deserted the Parisian festival site, replaced by an older audience with a rockier sound.

Just take a look at the t-shirts worn by festival-goers on Friday: Metallica, Behemoth, Social Distortion and even Hellfest! In fact, the band we're off to see at 4:15pm on the Scène Cascade has already played at Hellfest. That was in 2018. This Friday afternoon, Turnstile, an American band from Baltimore, arrive at Rock à Seine with an infectious rage, eager to inject a good dose of hardcore into the Parisian venue and provoke some festive pogos and circle pits.

Making no secret of their delight at playing in Paris, it didn't take Turnstile long to get the crowd on board with their devastating tracks, such as " T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection) ", " Alien Love Call ", " Blackout " and " Underwater Boi ", on which friendly singer Brendan Yates was joined on stage by American musician and singer Julien Baker, from Boygenius, scheduled for the Grande Scène a few hours later. Despite an occasionally disjointed set, we applauded this ultra-energetic performance by the Americans, and the incredible drum solo provided with brio by Daniel Fang!

To continue with the rock, the real rock, we stay on the Scène Cascade with the long-awaited Viagra Boys show at 5.40pm. Straight from Stockholm, this band also put on a supercharged set, led by their charismatic and crazy frontman, Sebastian Murphy. With his tattooed torso and back, cigarette in hand and nonchalant gait, wearing black jogging suits and socks, Sebastian Murphy quickly catches everyone's eye and takes over the stage as if live music had been running through his veins since birth.

The result? The lead singer of Viagra Boys dares to hypnotize the audience, mesmerized by the frontman's raspy voice (he even tries his hand at French, aided by his telephone) and the fiery post-punk rock style of this band, which has become a concert must-see! We can't wait to see them live again in Paris.

Another style, another stage with Boygenius on the Grande Scène from 6.40pm. This group, still in its infancy, has what it takes to create a buzz. Three talented American artists are behind this 100% all-femalesupergroup: Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. A fixture on today's rock scene, the three girls had the good idea of combining their talents to offer a catchy indie folk rock sound.

Live, the three artists sing and play, sharing the stage equally and displaying their great complicity. Yet the magic doesn't work. Some tracks clearly lack energy for our taste, and the four other musicians on stage - in addition to Julien, Phoebe and Lucy - tend to lose us. Nevertheless, the Boygenius girls didn't deny themselves the pleasure of playing on the Grande Scène, Phoebe and Lucy going so far as to be carried along by the festival-goers, while Julien was in perfect communion with his guitar.

• To be read
• Rock en Seine 2023: 5 bands not to be missed this Sunday, August 27
• Rock en Seine 2023: 5 bands not to be missed this Saturday, August 26
• Rock en Seine 2023: Day 1 with Billie Elish, Girl in Red, Tove Lo... we were there, we tell you all about it

Back on the Cascade Stage at 9.50pm with Karin Dreijer, aka Fever Ray. Since escaping from The Knife, a band formed with her brother, the Scandinavian artist has pursued her musical career as a solo artist with this bewitching and atypical project. The result? The live show is bewitching, with Karin Dreijer dressed up, surrounded by two other singers and two musicians.

In terms of sound, the haunting, dark-pop electro tracks take us far, far away, all carried by Karin Dreijer's singular, mysterious voice. In short, a successful, captivating and luminous set that we'd have liked to have lasted longer!

Finally, we end this second day of Rock en Seine with the long-awaited return of Placebo. A veritable hit factory and flagship band of the late 90's and early 2000's rock scene, Placebo hit the Grande Scène at 10.55pm, 5 minutes ahead of schedule and after a message from Brian Molko asking the audience to put away their phones so as not to disturb the spectators behind them, and to enjoy the concert to the full.

Fortunately for long-time fans, Placebo didn't shy away from playing some of their older songs, including " For What It's Worth ", " Slave to the Wage ", " Song to Say Goodbye " and " The Bitter End ", creating euphoria in the audience. The absence of " Every You Every Me " and " Special Needs " is regrettable.

But Placebo took full advantage of the occasion to perform new tracks from their latest opus,"Never Let Me Go" (" Beautiful James ", " Forever Chemicals ", " Surrounded by Spies " and " Happy Birthday in the Sky ", dedicated to their recently deceased friend Jane Birkin ), proving that the band, led by the inimitable Brian Molko, still knows what to do when it comes to rock melodies.

More talkative than at his Paris show at the Trianon, the leader also took the opportunity to remind us that Placebo is not a British band, but a European one. For the record, Brian Molko left the English capital in the wake of Brexit.

To end the 1h30 set, Brian Molko chose to perform the sublime Kate Bush cover, " Running Up That Hill ", all carried by his unique voice, which we either love or hate. For our part, we love the voice that has been Placebo 's signature sound for almost 30 years!

Rock en Seine continues on Saturday August 26 with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Cypress Hill, The Chemical Brothers and Tamino and Charlotte de Witte.

Rock en Seine 2024: Ghinzu, Thomas de Pourquery... join the line-up
After a great edition in 2023, the Rock en Seine festival announces its return for five days of not-to-be-missed festivities on Wednesday 21, Thursday 22, Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 August 2024 at the Domaine national du Parc de Saint-Cloud. On the program? Lana Del Rey for a concert-event, the talented PJ Harvey, the duo The Kills and the Italians from Måneskin, as well as The Offspring, The Smile, Massive Attack, LCD Soundsystem, The Hives, Gossip, Kasabian, 2manydjs, Ghinzu, Thomas de Pourquery... Here's the 2024 line-up by day! [Read more]