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Album review


Dionysos

Whatever the weather / acoustic and electric concert


Paris 

13/02/2004 - 

Over the past ten years of their existence, Dionysos have carved out a solid reputation as live performers. But it was only with their last album, Western sous la neige, that they really hit the big time on the back of two hit singles, Don Diego 2000 and Song For A Jedi. Naturals on stage, where the weird poetry of their act works best, the group led by the energetic Mathias Malzieu have just released their first live album, Whatever the Weather. It features two different sets, acoustic and electric, which amply demonstrate the two sides of their "dirty" rock sound.

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Say it live and loud!

The "electric" set proves once and for all Dionysos's true rock credentials, with the band cranking up the volume to the max. The screaming guitars and total sound saturation demonstrate the raw energy of this act. They open the set with a searing, ear-splitting rendition of I Love You that somehow avoids the sterile cliché of "noisy" rock.


Dionysos's take-no-prisoners rock attitude is hugely appealing and comes off best on stage. Often enough, live albums sound like they've been released purely to fulfil contractual obligations. That's hardly the case with the electric set of Whatever The Weather, where the sheer pleasure of live performance bleeds out of the speakers, with its saturated, thrashing guitars and tortured, loping rhythms. Dionysos never just go through the motions and replicate the studio versions of their songs; they breathe new life into them, with inventive new versions that are often incredibly inspired.

Song For A Jedi is a good example: the band are not content to simply reproduce their radio hit; here they rock out with a new and totally deranged finale. The same goes for the covers on Whatever the Weather (I Put A Spell On You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Léo Ferré's majestic Thank You Satin which they carry off perfectly). The English-language tracks, which seem more downbeat in their studio versions, are very much larger than life here – in particular Frog with its hypnotic bass and the Pixies-influenced John McEnroe. There is absolutely nothing academic or tedious about this pounding electric live album (also released as a DVD) by a band at the top of their game led by a rabble-rousing Mathias Malzieu. Those who didn't get around to seeing them in concert on the last tour will get more of a taste here of Dionysos at their hard-rocking best.

Rock in a hard place


It's difficult to imagine Dionysos and their bad-boy lead singer Mathias Malzieu – a performer more at home diving into the mosh pit – playing an acoustic set to a seated audience in a theatre. And yet that's exactly what they did for ten dates in the middle of their Western Tour. The results can be heard on the acoustic set of Whatever The Weather. Although ballads are favoured over the more regular fare of rock anthems, this acoustic version is less like the familiar unplugged live albums and more a radical change of style. Dionysos not only strip down their songs to their bare essentials, they also deliver a raw sound that is very much up close and personal.

This acoustic set features the velvety tones of the double bass, unadorned strings and a capella moments, brewing up a bluesy sound that sits well with the recent singles from this Valence-based group (there's a country-flavoured version of the spirited Don Diego 2000; and a Song For Jedi with the dramatic addition of minor chords). It's another way of exploring their work without falling into a routine. The songs feel intimate and yet still hold their interest; acoustic without being too quiet about it. This version of Whatever The Weather changes the tone but not the content. There is a restrained power to these versions and their trademark saturated sound is never too far away (Liquid Princess is a good example). This acoustic version of the hard-rocking Dionysos never sounds forced, though, and demonstrates the flexibility of their oeuvre, which works just as well toned down as it does with the volume cranked up to the max!

Loïc  Bussières