No and The Maybes conquered their technical difficulties and played a great show

An audience of almost 400 people – 300 of them industry types and 100 of them paying costumers- attended the third SPOT on Denmark night in Paris January 28. The French delegation, who attended this years SPOT Festival in Aarhus, had hand picked No and The Maybes, The Blue Van, Are We Brothers? and Vincent Van Go Go to perform at la Maroquinerie on the night.

The night's event in Paris was the final of the "industry season's" SPOT on Denmark events organised by MXD - Music Export Denmark and ROSA - The Danish Rock Council. Previuosly, events such as the one in Paris, has been held in the Benelux countries and Germany.   

No and The Maybes
The night began with a performance by No and The Maybes, who unfortunately had to battle some technical problems, before getting the show on the road. However, once the trio got over their initial problems, they filled the room with an airy pop sound with vocal harmonies and disco drums. While playing, the band toke little to no breaks in between songs, instead choosing to let one song take the next. This meant very little interaction with the audience – though that did not matter seeing as the songs were strong enough to carry the show.

-We have talked to two French papers and have been played on French Radio Nova. We have also received some inquiries through David Barat (French organiser of SPOT on Denmark in Paris, ed.), however nothing concrete yet, drummer for No and The Maybes Mikkel Bagge Lange says.

No and The Maybes are hoping for a distribution deal in the French areas, while also hoping to get some of their songs into commercials as well as movies. The band are also hoping to play some showcases in London later this year.

The Blue Van rocked la Maroquinerie

The Blue Van
Next in line to perform were The Blue Van. They took to the stage and, without doubt, delivered the nights most powerful performance. Inspired by bands such as The Kinks and Kings of Leon, The Blue Van gave Paris a lesson in rock'n'roll that they will not soon forget.

Already on their third record release in Denmark, The Blue Van's record label Iceberg Records met with, among others, EMI Publishing France. Having been fairly successful with getting syncs in the US – their tracks have appeared on shows such as Scrubs, CSI New York, and Beverly Hills New Series as well as in a national wide Samsung commercial – hopes are that The Blue Van can get the same kind of deals in France.

The Blue Van are waiting for just the right offer on international distribution and have a temporary record release date set for April in the US.

- Our MySpace plays sky rocketed after the Samsung commercial and we have already sold 7000 downloads on iTunes, even before our record is released, lead singer Steffen Westmark says after the concert.

Shaka Loveless from Are We Brothers?

Are We Brothers?
Up next were Are We Brothers?, who were also faced with some technical problems. However that did not seem to bother the band as such, as they unabashfully continued their high energy performance despite poor sound. Towards the end of the showcase the sound got progressively better, although with only 30 minutes to perform, it was to little to late. Fortunately for the band, their knack at writing good quality songs and their energetic and up beat performances, still managed to create the buzz they sought at the nights showcase in Paris.

-Our next move is to get something going in the UK. We've also got some contacts in France, who we will be talking to in the next couple of days, explains Kristian Leth from Speed of Sound who represents Are We Brothers?

Vincent Van Go Go on stage in Paris.

Vincent Van Go Go
The final performance of the night came from Vincent Van Go Go, who have previously been released in France. The band have toured excessively in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, which means that they are quite the tight live act. Mixing rock and reggae with scratching and synthpads, Vincent Van Go Go are certainly a fun act. Lead singer Johannes Nørrelykke showed off his impressive vocal style, with both technical ingenuity and power. Sadly, the band had to face a tired crowd, where some had decided to call it a night before Vincent Van Go Go's set was over. Ever the professionals, they band did not seem faced by the smaller crowd and continued their great performance on stage.

Judging by the remaining audience, who were so thrilled by Vincent Van Go Go's performance that they demanded an encore, the Parisian SPOT on Denmark night was a success – the best since Popkomm in Berlin last September.

After the show we caught up with some of the French industry people and asked them to comment on the event and the night's performances.

Jimmy Kinast

Jimmy Kinast, 3C, booking company
-The Blue Van were the best. I would love to do something with them and I'll contact Manfred (Zäringer, from the bands record company, ed.) I think The Blue Van would suit the festival circuit and we have plenty of festivals here in France.

Geraldine Eggericky (left), Corinne Lellouche (middle), and Nancy Landzo

Geraldine Eggericky, agent/consultant and Corinne Lellouche, journalist/editor Plan B
-The show was well planed – very professional. There are many record labels present, which is a good thing for the bands performing.

Valli - here with Manfred Zähringer.

Valli, host of the Radio France show “System Disque”
-Are We Brothers? and Vincent Van Go Go were my favorites. Are We Brother? had a great stage presence, though they were a bit to eager to arouse the crowd. I've gotten a copy of their CD and will now try to convince the staff that we should play them on our show.

Matthieu Beauval.

Matthieu Beauvel, vice president, Radio Fip (national radio, ed.)
-All four bands were relevant to me. Though tonight, Vincent Van Go Go and No an The Maybes were, in my opinion, the best. I especially enjoyed Vincent Van Go Go – they were fun and laid back. No and The Maybes were a blast as well – a mix between Beach Boys and The Frank And Walters. Both acts did something to me.

Thierry Langlois.

Thierry Langlois, Uni-T, agent for French and international acts
-I don't know if this is the right way to present music. I never go after which nationality the acts have, I go by what I find interesting. However, I might not have been here tonight if only one Danish band had played.

Olivier Lefebvre (left) and Sylvian Taillet.

Olivier Lefebvre, artistic manager Universal Music France
- I've been to SPOT in Aarhus and have really received a great introduction to Danish music on the bands home turf. It also worked well here, and The Blue Van were probably my favorites. Are We Brothers? were a fun mix of many different genre - they sure knew how to get the party going.