- Any Parisian will be happy to complain about the lack of edge in the city's nightlife. Haunted by a persistent fantasy of decadent Berlin-like clubbing, the Parisian club-goer has been craving a decent afterparty with the smell of hardcore hedonism. And that's where the monthly day-long parties known as Concrete met a crucial need since they appeared a couple of years ago.
Set on a barge upon the Seine opposite the mutant building of the Cité de la Mode et du Design, the now ritual event gathers a faithful clientele aware that the general atmosphere is at least as important as the quality of the beats. A third of it is composed of hispters, another third of well-off kids from the Parisian bourgeoisie and the last the odd freak or unsuspecting techno lovers. It's a motley crowd unafraid of queuing for up to two hours or risking being turned away by increasingly rude bouncers, since it adds the necessary touch of authenticity and danger to the experience.
Running from 7 AM to 2 AM, the marathon serves as an after-party in the morning, but really kicks off in mid-afternoon. Experimental techno talent Xhin, known for his output on the Stroboscopic Artefacts label, brought a very welcome tension into the rather easygoing vibe of the day. In contrast with the bright crowd enjoying themselves on the upper terrace of the boat at the sound of a light disco mix by Virginia, the Singaporean producer took us on a dynamic and often dizzying DJ set mostly composed of non-4/4 techno with a metallic and sometimes oppressive feel. From Aphex Twin's "Start As You Mean to Go On" to the humoruous inclusion of Depeche Mode's "Strange Love," we were treated to the sharpest IDM and most off-centered contemporary techno, plus a couple of detours into vintage acid territory, for more than four hours. It was clear that the Parisian audience, although very rarely exposed to that kind of sound, was more than ready to receive such bleak industrial assaults.
Later, the sunny loveboat euphoria on the terrace was still going on, as Spencer Parker juggled disco cuts and retro tunes such as Yazoo's "Situation," and punctuated his set with funny goodies such as Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. After sunset, the terrace was closed and we moved back downstairs for the home stretch with Mathias Kaden. The German producer provided a muscular set with straighter tech house complete with spectacular effects—the necessary adrenaline to feed the clubbers still united in an intoxicating air of friendly mindlessness.