why i’m playing @ bataclan instead of a normal theater in paris this saturday (+ dresden dolls photos).
(public post)
hola my loves.
greetings from a coffeeshop in leipzig, where i’m nursing an oatmilk latte during a hardcore work party with judith holofernes (from Wir Sind Helden) and jack, my foreign tour correspondent.
(photo by johannes christ, a stranger we just put in the guest list for the show tonight)
i just gave judith a two-hour patreon lesson/pep-talk/deep-dive and we looked over what she’s trying to put together with her community here in germany. crowdfunding women of the world FUCKING UNITE. fuck the system, do the people.
if you are new here: thank you so much for joining the patreon, i know that we’ve added hundreds of new faces since hitting the road in europe, and it’s always on the road when i have the least amount of time to connect with you here in internet land. but i see you all coming in, and THANK YOU. what we are creating here is revolutionary and i am so grateful for your patronage.
…………
i just wanted to say a quick word about my venue choice in paris. you may have noticed that in every other city on this UK/ireland/europe tour i’m playing in grand fancy ol’ seated theaters with all the fancy rigamarole that goes along with them.
the only exception to this is bataclan, for my paris show, and it was a very deliberate decision – my european booking agent (bex majors, at UTA), was given instructions to the book the show there, even though it’s an odd fit.
the dresden dolls played a historic paris show in 2006 at bataclan on our “Yes, Virginia” tour…and we felt wonderfully taken care of by the venue.
here’s a blast from the past….this is us, that night in bataclan, playing “half jack” with our friend, the french performance artist emilie bera, doing sign-language interpretation like you’ve never seen it done before. really. it’s old footage but it still gives me goosebumps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcPAgFXoVz0
if you wanna go further down the dresden dolls @ bataclan rabbit hole, here’s footage of war pigs and sex changes.
was that really 13 years ago? fuck me.
i just googled and came across this photoset by parisian rock photogpher robert gil of that show…and i have to say, this is one of the best sets of pictures i’ve seen of the dresden dolls in our bizarro heyday.
so i’m posting them here. many of you have never gotten to SEE the dresden dolls. but fuckin hell, we are one heck of a crazy-ass live band.
especially when playing to a bataclan full of weirdos in paris.
you can see the whole set here, and it’s worth a gander…here are some of the very best:
https://www.photosconcerts.com/the-dresden-dolls-paris-bataclan-2006-05-18-831
(this is marie harveline, one of our fave parisian dolls fans)
…..
then, as i sure many of you know, there was an unthinkable tragedy. on november 13, 2015, there was a city-wide set of terrorist attacks in paris. and during an eagles of death metal concert at bataclan, a mass-shooting and hostage-taking occurred, midway through the concert in this venue that fits about 1,500 people. my size venue.
the papers.
it shook the entire world, but it shook the music community particularly violently. i had friends who lost friends, everybody was a few degrees away from someone at that concert.
i had crew pals who knew people working for the band. it wasn’t a difficult leap to imagine that it easily could have been our band, our night, our community.
i could not fathom what the members of the band are still dealing with in the wake of surviving a night like that.
if you want to see something incredibly human and important, watch their first interview about what happened, with vice…. i remember watching this when it aired and being very humbled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n74HBrrFnIc
……..
was that really four years ago?
what has and hasn’t changed.
smh.
…..
so when i was looking into venues in europe with bex, i requested that we bring the show to bataclan even though it isn‘t totally set up for what we need: we are having to truck in 1,000 chairs… we are closing down the bar in the venue, it’s going to be a little messy and a little weird. you’ll feel it.
but it was important to me to come back here, especially given the content of the show and the stories that i tell: about the boston marathon bombing, about fear, about trauma, about compassion, and about the importance of standing unafraid in the face of the darkness that this world brings to our doorsteps on the daily.
art heals and transforms. light into darkness.
i can’t imagine what the staff and neighborhood surrounding this venue went through. i can start to imagine. we all can.
playing in their venue – when i have a choice to go elsewhere – seems like a good form of solidarity….
so let’s pour tears and light all over that fucking stage, all over that floor where so many people felt so much pain. maybe we can help erase some of the dark still hiding in the cracks there.
…………
for those of you coming to the show, i thank you for your understanding that the set-up may be a little unusual, but know you know why.
the show (this saturday) is nearly sold out, but you can grab the last remaining tickets here:
DOORS ARE VERY EARLY: 6pm
THE SHOW ITSELF BEGINS AT 7pm sharp.
https://www.topbillet.com/fr/meeting/9590/amanda-palmer/le-bataclan/28-09-2019/19h00
the rest of the european tour dates are rolling along…
ALL TICKETS ARE HERE: http://amandapalmer.net/shows/
PRAGUE – at hybernia on sept 26th – is SOLD OUT. (hooray).
LUXEMBOURG – at conservatoire on sept 27th – has a god amount of tickets left. (ALSO HEADS UP, WE ARE GOING TO JOIN THE CLIMATE MARCH ON FRIDAY in LUXEMBOURG, starting around 2:30 if you can make it – meet-up info to come!!!).
COPENHAGEN – at bremen theater on oct 11th – is ALMOST SOLD OUT.
STOCKHOLM – at sodra teatern on oct 12th – is SOLD OUT.
BRAGA, PORTUGAL – at teatro circo on feb 26th – still has TONS of tickets. (get on it, portugal people. car-share from lisbon and porto! – here’s the FB event link for that show if you wanna rideshare, spread word, etc)
……….
the remaining UK / ireland dates all have tickets except LONDON, which is nearly ALL SOLD OUT (there are a few tickets left for dec 14th). NEWCASTLE and the ireland dates need the biggest help. they’re all between 20-40% sold. everything is doing great.
Wed Oct 16 – UK – Bexhill – De La Warr Pavilion
Sat Oct 19 – UK – Cardiff – St David’s Hall
Sun Oct 20 – UK – Cambridge – Corn Exchange
Wed Oct 23 – Ireland – Cork – Opera House
Thu Oct 24 – Ireland – Dublin – National Concert Hall
Sat Oct 26 – Ireland – Belfast – Ulster Hall
Sun Oct 27 – Ireland – Limerick – University Hall
Frin Nov 1 – UK – Dunfermline – Carnegie Hall
Sat Nov 2 – UK – Glasgow – City Halls
Sun Nov 3 – UK – Manchester – Albert Hall
Mon Nov 4 – UK – York – Opera House
Thu Nov 7 – UK – Newcastle – Tyne Theatre
Thu Dec 5 – UK – London – Union Chapel (SOLD OUT)
Fri Dec 6 – UK – London – Union Chapel (SOLD OUT)
Fri Dec 13th – UK – London – Union Chapel (SOLD OUT)
Sat Dec 14th – UK – London – Union Chapel (ALMOST SOLD OUT)
………………….
i love you all.
see many of you tonight in leipzig…you’ve got one hour left to claim free guest list :).
x
x
a
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