The Almighty Oracle

2008 12 05, 5pm : I decided to buy a ticket for the Sarah Bettens show of that same night. The girl at the counter asked me to spell the name but somehow I got used to this by now (I had to spell out Feist back in May – I still can’t understand how someone selling music happens not to even know Feist, oh well).

By 6pm, I was in Lille, in front of the Aéronef, waiting in a line of 6 people, trying not to catch a cold, soon getting some company as members of the street team I know arrive. Of course we scored front row seats. Side note, it was interesting to see l’Aéronef in a seated configuration.

The ticket said the concert was supposed to start at 8pm, which everyone knows is a lie, so Sarah appeared a little after 08:30pm. The concert mainly consists of covers stripped down to pure acoustic bliss : piano and/or guitar + voice.

The setlist was something like that : Continue Reading »

mel :: Dec.15.2008 :: Concert Review, Never Say Goodbye, Sarah Bettens, Tom Kestens :: No Comments »

Project Polyfoon (choir) with Sarah & Gert Bettens.

What did you do this Sunday? I went to Church. In Gent, Belgium. For a concert. A polyphonic choir alternating with the Bettens siblings covering songs with the common theme of travelling or moving.

Gert and Sarah Bettens

Passed the surprise that may come from hearing a polyphonic choir live for the first time, the whole hour and a half was very enjoyable. The crowd was very attentive and the emotions were easily building throughout the songs. The acoustic of the Church is interesting, too. The choir proves that the voice is a powerful instrument.

Setlist : Continue Reading »

mel :: Feb.24.2008 :: Concert Review, Gert Bettens, Photos, Polyfoon, Sarah Bettens :: 2 Comments »

Sarah Bettens and I have quite a history of shared live moments and this November 2007 concert marks another very nice time. The fact that the setlist focused on the more upbeat songs helped because I really am not into the slow stuff Sarah released on Shine.

Continue Reading »

mel :: Dec.29.2007 :: Concert Review, K's Choice, Sarah Bettens :: No Comments »

Sarah Bettens was the voice of K’s Choice, as it’s still stated on the sticker on her second solo effort, Shine. And her foggy voice is the unique mark on the music.

The story behind the surprising cover is explained in the booklet :

“I wanted the album cover to convey the same kind of innocence, optimism and lust for life the song suggests… nothing is more pure than a child’s perspective, so I asked kids at the local elementary school to draw whatever they thought of when they heard the word “shine”. Continue Reading »

mel :: Oct.24.2007 :: CD Review, Sarah Bettens, Shine :: No Comments »

[This post is dedicated to all the K's Choice weirdos I met along the years. You rock!]

There’s a song that brings me back to 1998 and this specific day when I switched on the television with MTV on and saw the video for the first time. 3:35 during which the world around me somehow disappeared. The tune haunted me for a while. [the video is here]

Fast forward to 2002, Continue Reading »

mel :: Sep.24.2007 :: Almost Happy, Cocoon Crash, Comet, Gert Bettens, K's Choice, Sarah Bettens, Shine, Woodface :: No Comments »