RIO Festival confirms first six bands

[Steve F.]

If landing in Paris the high-speed train TGV to Toulouse is relatively fast (three hours max)... and if reserved well ahead of time, it can be relatively cheap..

I took the train (NOT the TGV) from Paris to Carmaux in 2007 and it was lovely scenery, but it was also at least 8 or 9 hours travel (I don't remember, but it was a full day) and - iirc - it wasn't inexpensive.

[calyx]

If landing in Paris the high-speed train TGV to Toulouse is relatively fast (three hours max)...

Are you joking ? The fastest ones take 5 1/2 hours.

[boilk]

If I can afford it, I would love to land in Paris, spend a few days there and then rent a car and drive through France to get to Carmaux. I have heard that the tolls for driving highways between Paris and Southern France are very high. Is this true?

neil

[Soleilzeuhl]

I have heard that the tolls for driving highways between Paris and Southern France are very high. Is this true?
neil

Paris - Carmaux : 29,50 euros one way for a car (no matter how many people are in).
Probably the 2013 rate will be higher by 3 - 4%.
The trip last 7 hours + the breaks (lunch, rest...).

A.

[Trane]

Are you joking ? The fastest ones take 5 1/2 hours.

Sorry, three hours to Bordeaux... count another hour to Tpoulouse, plus transfer (if there are no direct lines)... can'rt remember exactly... Never went to Carmaux other than by car...

I took the train (NOT the TGV) from Paris to Carmaux in 2007 and it was lovely scenery, but it was also at least 8 or 9 hours travel (I don't remember, but it was a full day) and - iirc - it wasn't inexpensive.

Relatively average sceneries on the highways until you get to Clermont Ferrand, but it's awesome all the way after... And if you overpass the first few exits towards Rodez (then Carmaux), you end up going over the longest bridge in Europe (world maybe) >> the Viaduc de Millau >> definitely worth driving over it once in your life...

[Soleilzeuhl]

Relatively average sceneries on the huighways until Clermont Ferrand, but it's awesome all the way after... And if you overpass the first few exits towards Rodez (then Carmaux), you end up going over the longest bridghe in Europe (world maybe) >> the Viaduc de Millau >> definitely worth driving over it once in your life...

When going to the RIO last time I drove on it while listening (LOUD) to Zappa's Apostrophe - the long track with the HUGE fuzz bass played by Jack Bruce. A great moment!

[flytomars]

Yes, it is necessary to fly to Paris. But for cutting the cost, several people can rent a car together for driving to Carmaux (7 hours) the day after (or, best, on friday). On SZ side, renting a hall in Toulouse/Albi/Carmaux would be more expensive & also expenses paid to the bands would be higher (3 of the 5 bands live not far from Paris & not much difference for the 2 others).
I guess that from the US (or from anywhere else, in fact) it's easier, and possibly even cheaper, flying to Paris than to Toulouse ??

A.

For some strange reason, it is cheaper to fly to Toulouse from London or Milan than it is from Paris-
Cant understand the logic behind it...
Anyway if just the toll for driving by car stands on 30 euro, flight is not a bad option-
If you book today, from easyjet for example, it costs 60 euro and even less if you buy a return ticket (about 50 euro each way).

[Levgan]

Would the investment be worth IF, a couple of days earlier in Paris, you can attend a one day Soleil Zeuhl festival ?

Now we're talking! That surely sounds way more tempting, and I'd likely need to fly via Paris anyway - no direct flights to Toulouse from Moscow that I'm aware of. The only time I was on RIO festival (and had a pleasure meeting you and buying a few CDs from the Soleil Zeuhl table!), my route was Moscow - Paris - Toulouse - Albi - Cap Decouverte. So Alain, that's definitely a great idea!

A bit of an exageration here

If you're referring to the bit that you highlighted - 1500 Euros - I'll tell you it's more of an understatement unfortunately. For some reason, last time I checked there were NO cheaper budget flights to France at all. From Moscow it is possible to fly to Germany (various cities), Italy (Bologna) or Spain (Barcelona) for 100-150 Euros especially if you're lucky to catch a discount. But sadly, not to France.

How difficult/easy for Englsh only speakers? In Germany, Japan etc, most people providing services (cab, hotels etc.) are at least bi-lingual. I'm unsure of how France is in this regard.

From my experience not everyone speaks English in France, especially in smaller cities. But this is compensated by the hospitality of the people. Misled by Google maps, we went astray in the middle of the night in the city of Cahors and ended up actually driving into some folks' backyard in search of our hotel. The owners of the house did not speak English at all, and based on their appearance they were about to go to sleep, but instead of that they actually studied our maps, got into their own car and led us all the way to the hotel on the other end of the city. That was amazing.

[Trane]

If you're referring to the bit that you highlighted - 1500 Euros - I'll tell you it's more of an understatement unfortunately. For some reason, last time I checked there were NO cheaper budget flights to France at all. From Moscow it is possible to fly to Germany (various cities), Italy (Bologna) or Spain (Barcelona) for 100-150 Euros especially if you're lucky to catch a discount. But sadly, not to France.

Wowwww... how about combined tickets with a stopover in Germany or Italy???

That was amazing.

And a bit unusual, IMHO...

[Udi Koomran]

L'ENFANCE ROUGE (F/IT)
NULLSTELLENSATZ (F)
.

So does anyone here know about these acts ?
I never heard of them ...
LYDIA LUNCH I have heard the name but ...

[Levgan]

Wowwww...

Well, I read what I wrote again and realized that I clearly have problems with expressing myself correctly D'oh. To make it clear, of course it's not just the flight that costs 1500 Euros, this price also includes food, accomodation, car rental and so on. Besides, it does not make sense for me to fly just for the festival. If I'm lucky enough to get to this beautiful part of Europe, I naturally wanna do some extra sightseeing too, so add at least three or four days for checking all the old Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals and abbeys around! As for the airplane tickets per se, they were about 500-600 Euros two years ago - still not cheap, but not breathtakingly expensive either.

how about combined tickets with a stopover in Germany or Italy???

Yep, that's how it usually goes for me. I just checked the dates, and it seems currently there are even ticket offers for around 300 Euros available. Sadly I can't have my life planned so very much in advance.

[Udi Koomran]

UNIVERS ZERO (B)
NULLSTELLENSATZ (F)
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

Trio with superb ex Art Zoyd trumpeter Jean-Pierre Soarez

[NogbadTheBad]

Potential line-up : UNIT WAIL / SETNA / NEOM / SCHERZOO / ONE SHOT

Definitely interested in this. I'd probably fly into Paris and rent a car to get to Carmaux. I'm in the same boat as Lev on the cost element, it has probably cost me between $1500 - $2000 each festival for the last two years. But it's been worth it.

[B D]

So does anyone here know about these acts ?
I never heard of them ...
LYDIA LUNCH I have heard the name but ...

Hi Udi, try a search for "Teenage Jesus and the Jerks" on Youtube. They used to call this sort of thing "No Wave" back in the late 70's and I liked it, there were a lot of funny young groups sprouting up with the inspiration of punk and new wave, a very interesting time. The early Thinking Plague and lots of other bands I was in back then were definitely inspired by that and felt a part of it somehow.

[flytomars]

Hi Udi, try a search for "Teenage Jesus and the Jerks" on Youtube. They used to call this sort of thing "No Wave" back in the late 70's and I liked it, there were a lot of funny young groups sprouting up with the inspiration of punk and new wave, a very interesting time. The early Thinking Plague and lots of other bands I was in back then were definitely inspired by that and felt a part of it somehow.

While youre at it, get the collection "no new york" that Brian Eno compiled-
Some fine moments there, I especially like Arto Lindsays band, DNA

[Trane]

BTW, some of you that have been in RIOF will recognize Soarez... he's been to at least a couple of them as a spectator...

Definitely interested in this. I'd probably fly into Paris and rent a car to get to Carmaux. I'm in the same boat as Lev on the cost element, it has probably cost me between $1500 - $2000 each festival for the last two years. But it's been worth it.

OK, now I get Lev and you, Ian... Yeah, transatlantic flight are never cheap... And Lev might have to get a visa too.... I think Putin didn't resolve the problem in Brussels last week...

That's also why I was saying that it would be better to amortize the costs through a longer stay...

[willythepimp]

Always the same bands.... i won't go this year.

Toujours les memes groupes.... je n'irai pas à cette édition. A croire que le "rock in opposition" se limite à une dizaine de groupes....

[Prog Lives]

About $1000 round trip airfare from the East Coast

[NogbadTheBad]

BTW, some of you that have been in RIOF will recognize Soarez... he's been to at least a couple of them as a spectator...




OK, now I get Lev and you, Ian... Yeah, transatlantic flight are never cheap... And Lev might have to get a visa too.... I think Putin didn't resolve the problem in Brussels last week...

That's also why I was saying that it would be better to amortize the costs through a longer stay...

I have a tough enough time convincing the wife I should spend a week of my annual vacation in France seeing bands without her, stretching it to 12 days plus ain't going to happen.

[GreenD]

Nullstellensatz (France, Paris, Lille)

http://www.myspace.com/nullstellensatz
http://www.facebook.com/nullstellensatzmusik
http://www.last.fm/music/Nullstellensatz
https://soundcloud.com/nullstellensatz
http://nullstellensatz.bandcamp.com/

Lydia Lunch's Putan Club (USA/France/Belgium/Italy)

https://www.facebook.com/lydialunchputanclub
http://www.putanclub.org/
http://www.lydia-lunch.org/
https://soundcloud.com/putanclub
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Lunch

L'Enfance Rouge (France/Italy)

http://www.enfancerouge.net
http://www.last.fm/music/L%27Enfance+Rouge
http://www.myspace.com/enfancerouge
http://www.wallacerecords.com/artists/lenfance-rouge
http://www.discogs.com/artist/L%27Enfance+Rouge

[adewolf]

Great stuff. Very happy to see new music being a part of this. Lydia Lunch is great, but not the average PE'rs cuppa Sorry I can't be there.

[Levgan]

And Lev might have to get a visa too....

Yup, that's correct. Fortunately, French visa is way easier to get than, say, a German one (even if it's basically same thing under Schengen regulations). At least you don't have to drive to the outskirts of Moscow in the heavy morning traffic, collect thousands of official papers, wait 1.5 hours on the cold wind and then get treated like a potential spy.

I think Putin didn't resolve the problem in Brussels last week...

He himself is a problem that needs to be resolved

[Trane]

Yup, that's correct. Fortunately, French visa is way easier to get than, say, a German one (even if it's basically same thing under Schengen regulations). At least you don't have to drive to the outskirts of Moscow in the heavy morning traffic, collect thousands of official papers, wait 1.5 hours on the cold wind and then get treated like a potential spy.

Or a terrorist... After all, you sound like a Chechen

Yeah, I know what you mean.... giving fingerprints and ADN to travel to some countries have dampened my spirits about travelling... Not that I have anything to hide, but it's the very principle of being filed in a dossier that irritates me

He himself is a problem that needs to be resolved

Careful... you know what happened to Pussy Riot ..

or some of these Polonium victims....

That's astounding too... I mean it's such a powerful message... the only lab in the world where it's possible to produce such a lethal isotope is Russian.... Yet to produce 1 gr (way more than enough to kill a few persons) costs tens of millions... Not only is it a clear terrorist message openly signed by the Russian gov't, but it's so clear that they're ready to uselessly spend a few millions to get rid of you (in an incredibly sadist manner), while a few cents spending with some kalashnikov bullets would produce the same results (painful death)...

===============

Anyway, for the RIO Fest, hopefully Aranis will have the sequel of Song From Mirage (currently busy on it) ready, and they'll play it entirely... Cos the three singers they had on that "mirage" tour were just as cute as the women remaining in the group (as years goes on, that ratehas been reduced >> t's a 3/3 ratio of late, instead of 2/5 at first >>> but I had foreseen that right away, because most of these girls/young women were at the age of being mothers) ...

I'll ask them about it in late April when I will see them in the Prog-Resiste festival in Soignies

[NogbadTheBad]

Anyway, for the RIO Fest, hopefully Aranis will have the sequel of Song From Mirage (currently busy on it) ready, and they'll play it entirely

That's my hope

[Ludovico]

alain, that would be an excellent idea (are you serious?? in Le Triton??) .... It would allow me to go to Souffle Continu...

Very good record shop but more jazz/free/experimental orientated