It was Interpol that got me to Brittany. They announced that they’d be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Turn on the Bright Lights by playing it in its entirety all over the world. I’d initially contemplated some of the other venues but a friend of mine said if he could pick one it’d be Saint-Malo. A quick google search revealed it was a city in Brittany, a place very special to my mom. From there everything just fell into place and my mom and I embarked on our Breton roadtrip.

When the day finally arrived (the exact release date of TOTBL in fact) I was so excited, and hopped on a shuttle bus to the Fort de Saint-Père. The festival was really cool, I’m sorry I couldn’t have enjoyed more of it, but seeing Interpol and hearing those songs was so special and something for which I’ll be eternally grateful.

  

The road to the entrance of the festival featured a mini photo exhibition of historic bands and moments in CBGBs.

  

Inside the festival grounds a few things became immediately obvious: there were 2 stages, it was nice and small and surprisingly dusty. I’m a big fan of smaller capacity festivals so really enjoyed the vibe.

  

Angel Olsen was playing when I arrived.

  

I love people-watching and enjoyed seeing the French counterparts for festival photographers (stereotypically chic and quirky – one guy even carried his own collapsible camping stool on his belt) and security (silver fox with Wayfarers and a cigarette who’d fill the water bottles of thirsty revelers).

  

  

Over on the second stage YAK performed above the most crowded photo pit I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even try to get closer, it was just crazy.

  

   

  

  

Mac Demarco was very entertaining. I’m not the biggest fan of his music but he was so laid-back and funny and I really enjoyed his set. His trademark quirkiness manifested in the form of a stage-side ‘bistro’ where some of his friends enjoyed la picnique while watching the show. Another amusing moment came when someone in the crowd threw an ear of corn onto the stage. My first thought was that it was an abusive gesture but it was the opposite: a delighted Mac picked up the corn and said a hearty thank you. He then explained that he’d had a conversation with someone on the bus to the fest about the corn that grew along the road and was surprised to hear it could be eaten raw.

Dutifully he then took a bite to the delight of the crowd.

  

  

  

  

  

Interpol were on just before 11. I didn’t know what to expect other than that they’d be playing Bright Lights so was pleasantly surprised when they kicked things off with Not even jail, and at 6 minutes it also meant slightly longer in the pit, which was an added bonus! Another 2 Antics tracks followed,  Take you on a cruise and Slow Hands.  

Lighting conditions were pretty awful but the red lights were thematically fitting. I left the pit with a huge smile plastered on my face to the sounds of All the Rage back home and then enjoyed the majesty and beauty of Bright Lights from the crowd.

I must say that the crowd was more subdued than I’d expected. Personally I was in a happy bubble – TOTBL is such an introspective and personal album to me and I think most people that I guess the lack of intensive and energetic dancing makes sense, but I still felt like the audience was a bit underwhelming. No raucous applause came after the last shimmering notes of Leif Erikson, which marked the end of the set, for example.

“Uh, so that was Bright Lights…” said Paul Banks, and he sounded like how I felt. But I’m really glad we still got an encore, even though other shows on the tour got 2… Evil ended things off.

  

  

  

  

  

  

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and setup at La Route du Rock and would definitely recommend a visit if you like smaller festivals and want to enjoy a musical weekend in Saint-Malo.

– – –

BZH 2017: Intro  |  Pt 1  |  Pt 2  |  Pt 3  |  Pt 4  |  Paimpol 2017 – Festival du Chant de Marin 
Pt 5  |  Pt 6  |  Pt 7  |  Pt 8  |  Pt 9 |  Pt 10  | Pt 11  |  Pt 12  |  Saint-Malo: La Route du Rock Festival
Pt 13  |  Pt 14  |  Pt 15  |  pt 16  |  Pt 17  |  Pt 18

If you travel and you don’t use Booking.com you really should it’s the best! I’m not 100% sure how the referral codes work but try mine if you haven’t used one before for a discount after your first trip: https://www.booking.com/s/35_6/rattsi32