As I thanked Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West for one of the most incredible shows I’d ever witnessed, on March 12th, 2020, I didn’t think for a second that it would be the last time. The last time meeting artists in person, the last time getting out of a venue buzzing with excitement and high on dopamine, the last time enjoying what is, to me, one of the most beautiful things to experience in life: live music. Hopefully, there will be an occasion for myself and fellow gig lovers to experience that again once the pandemic is over. In Australia and New Zealand, live shows <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/so-jealous-the-images-that-have-made-the-world-envious-of-australia-and-new-zealand-092600411.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANWOj2r7HiiJn4e8qCG6qR27T8JVshwR5h4olnREozfl2U0OzZoZFmfwQQFVdSlNbiVtcoc-8wLd9CuaRxAHoaQ3pIL-_u-eIT62hBDPtdWsN8BfoGQJZvVrnaIsH0jYIZKBOor7NWFVQEwrL7TECgo46hE8o1RlkSi9qIMnhWUD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are back</a> already, and safely so, it seems.



Unlike for the people working in the industry itself, the loss of concerts is not that dramatic for us, attendees. But in retrospect, if I learned anything from it all, thinking back to that specific evening. You, indeed, only live once.



I actually almost didn’t attend that show; I had night classes after work, and I have a need to be a good student deeply rooted in me, back from my schoolgirl days. But I loved the British duo’s latest album so much that I decided that seeing them live for the first time was more important than a 3-hour after-work class that I could catch up on later. I’ve heard it said before by many people, and I even said it to myself: “There will be other shows.” But what if there aren’t?



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="http://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ohwonder-7-2-1024x683.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2346" srcset="https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ohwonder-7-2-1024x683.png 1024w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ohwonder-7-2-300x200.png 300w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ohwonder-7-2-768x512.png 768w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ohwonder-7-2-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ohwonder-7-2.png 1620w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Oh Wonder on stage in the Alhambra, in Paris. March 2020. (© Ahlem Khattab)</figcaption></figure>



Every concert is unique. You could see a show by the same musicians, with the same setlist, two days in a row (and I have), and it wouldn’t be the same at all. Just like it goes with baking, change one single ingredient, and the result will be different. You can get pretty close, but no matter how closely you follow the recipe, you’ll never make the exact same cake twice. With shows, it’s even harder to replicate the same experience. You have different venues, different crowds. These two parameters on their own have the greatest effect on how a live performance turns out. And on that Thursday night, last year in March, it felt like everything just clicked together for an unforgettable evening.



Prior even to the first beat, the first note, as the stage was still being set up, I remember feeling and seeing the excitement all around me. The crowd was just ready for it all. Perhaps the fact that the end of the week was nearing played a role in it, or maybe deep down, we all had this inexplicable sense that we might be looking at our very last days of “freedom”. Back then, no lockdown had been issued yet (that happened five days later in France), but we were hearing about this new Coronavirus more and more. And in the couple of days leading up to that night, the threat of it had seemed to be getting more present, but was still being minimized by officials (remember when we were being told that it was similar to the flu?).



Had we known how serious it actually was, I don’t think some of us, myself included, would’ve even been in that room, to begin with. But what’s done is done now. We were then unaware, and the energy was running high, and as soon as Oh Wonder and their band (Yves Fernandez on bass and George Lindsay on drums) took the stage, it only ran higher. The atmosphere was electric throughout the whole show, even at times when the duo sang softly as Josephine Vander Gucht played the keys and Anthony West the guitar. Each performance was on point, and the atmosphere felt so intimate and friendly in some way. As if it was all but a meet-up between a group of long-time friends to let off some steam. And whenever the duo of real-life partners talked between songs, the closeness only grew.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="TIME CAPSULE – Oh Wonder, I Wish I Never Met You (Live in Paris, March 2020)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ocX7Nw-s12Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



Twenty minutes into the set, Vander Gucht couldn’t help but point out, with a nervous giggle: “I keep laughing because the last two songs- The first one, the opening lyrics are – and it’s very Coronavirus current – ‘Hands up for a miracle’.” Joining gestures to words, she laughed along with the audience. “And the second one,” she continued, “‘What a way to wake up like I’m overexposed’”. At which point West chimed in: “Wait ‘til the end of the set…” She turned to him. “What’s the end of the set?” He went on to explain: “A lot of the songs have the word ‘crown’ in them, which in Spanish is…” He paused, turning to the crowd that audibly got to where he was going with his sentence. “Corona, right?” Vander Gucht rested her hands on her hips, acting comically resigned. “The whole theme of our show is… Corona.”



In reality, there was no escaping such a twist of fate. The London-based pair had released their third album titled No One Else Can Wear Your Crown in February that year. And it actually had no relations to the virus, in case that needed clarifying. But the timing of it couldn’t be helped. Humor being one of humanity’s favorite coping mechanisms, the joke had to be made. And it provided a welcome release in the moment, as proven by the general reaction in the room: laughter.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="http://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ow-en-2-1024x682.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2334" srcset="https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ow-en-2-1024x682.png 1024w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ow-en-2-300x200.png 300w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ow-en-2-768x512.png 768w, https://popgoesthemusic.tk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ow-en-2.png 1250w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West on stage in the Alhambra, in Paris. March 2020. (© Ahlem Khattab)</figcaption></figure>



Despite the “Corona” talk, that evening felt like it stood out of time and place. As if we had exited it all, for one last hurrah. We danced, we sang, we laughed, managing to forget about the world that awaited us outside the walls of the Alhambra. For a long time, the slight thought of that concert used to make my eyes water. It was unbearable for me to look back on it and reminisce, because I didn’t know if there would be a next time. I avoided going through the pictures and videos I had taken, left them untouched in a folder for months and months. But more than a year later, I decided to give it another try. And it turned out to be not so bad. It’s bittersweet, still, but more sweet than bitter, all in all. I smiled at the sight of the joy that I captured in some of these photographs, and laughed all over again at the jokes. And although I can’t get rid of my worries about the future, this shift in perspective towards the past is making it a little easier to get through this difficult present we’re living through. Happier times will come again, sooner or later. I think… acceptance, is what this feeling is called.



If you haven’t already, I hope you, too, find some of it soon.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">No One Else Can Wear Your Crown (2020) by Oh Wonder / Island Records</h6>

March 12th, 2020: When Oh Wonder Electrified the Alhambra in Paris

Meet… blond

Meet… Silvie

Meet… Ask Elliot

Playlist: Women of 2k21

Family Is at the Root of It All: Jackie Marchal Often Finds Herself Reflecting on That in Music

Recs Sunday : notre sélection de nouveautés musicales du 26 septembre 2021

Recs Sunday: Our September 26th, 2021 Songs Picks

Recs Sunday: Our September 19th, 2021 Songs Picks

Recs Sunday : notre sélection de nouveautés musicales du 19 septembre 2021

Let Mouad Soothe Your Soul With His Melancholic and Dreamy “Lorraine”

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 3 septembre 2021

#RecsFriday: our September 3rd, 2021 song picks

“Feels So Easy” Is the Perfect Post-Lockdown Song: Meet Ber, the Singer Behind It

#RecsFriday: our August 27th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 27 août 2021

#RecsFriday: our August 20th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 20 août 2021

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 13 août 2021

#RecsFriday: our August 13th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 6 août 2021

#RecsFriday: our August 6th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 30 juillet 2021

#RecsFriday: our July 30th, 2021 song picks

“Dream Through Music” Is What June Cocó Aims to Help Listeners Do

Rencontre avec June Cocó : “Je reste une optimiste qui aime créer de la musique réconfortante”

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 23 juillet 2021

#RecsFriday: our July 23rd, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 16 juillet 2021

#RecsFriday: our July 16th, 2021 song picks

Playlist: Calming Tunes

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 9 juillet 2021

#RecsFriday: our July 9th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 2 juillet 2021

#RecsFriday: our July 2nd, 2021 song picks

Regardez notre quatrième episode de “ChillChat”, avec Tiphanie Doucet

#RecsFriday: our June 25th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 25 juin 2021

Hope Tala face à ses fantômes dans l’ensorcelant clip de “Mad”

Hope Tala Is Bewitchingly “Mad” in Her New Music Video

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 18 juin 2021

#RecsFriday: our June 18th, 2021 song picks

Tim Dup et Aurélie Saada nous font goûter l’été à l’italienne avec “Montecalvario”

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 11 juin 2021

#RecsFriday: our June 11th, 2021 song picks

Musicienne multifacette, Sarah Kinsley veut rendre “hommage à la jeunesse” avec son disque “The King”

Sarah Kinsley: “I Wanted to Write a Sort of Tribute to Youth”

#RecsFriday: our June 4th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 4 juin 2021

Meet Adèle & Robin: “In Music, There’s a Lot of Luck”

Adèle & Robin : “On ne veut plus attendre pour faire les choses qu’on a envie de faire”

#RecsFriday: our May 28th, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 28 mai 2021

Zak Abel rejoint la vague de “kindness” avec un clip dansant et rayonnant

Zak Abel’s “Be Kind” Is an Invitation to Dance and Think

#RecsFriday: our May 21st, 2021 song picks

#RecsFriday : notre sélection de nouveautés du 21 mai 2021

slenderbodies’ “Heartbeat” Music Video Is an Ode to Life

Les peines et les joies d’un frère et une soeur dans le nouveau clip de slenderbodies

#RecsFriday: May 14th, 2021

#RecsFriday : 14 mai 2021

Tai Verdes Will Enhance Your Mood by More Than 2% With “A-O-K”

Tai Verdes et la bonne humeur contagieuse de “A-O-K”

#RecsFriday: May 7th, 2021

#RecsFriday : 7 mai 2021

Adam Melchor et Lennon Stella vous feront voyager avec “Light Year”

Adam Melchor and Lennon Stella Will Take You a “Light Year” Away in Their New Music Video

#RecsFriday : 30 avril, 2021

#RecsFriday: April 30th, 2021

“Zombie!”: Orla Gartland fights off toxic masculinity with male (zombie) tears

Orla Gartland sauve des hommes-zombies de la masculinité toxique dans la vidéo de “Zombie!”

Tessa Violet Revamps “Games” in a “Twilight”-Inspired Music Video

Tessa Violet recrée la scène de baseball de “Twilight” dans son nouveau clip “Games”

“Fearless” 2.0 : Taylor Swift se réapproprie son passé entre nostalgie et renouveau

Playlist: Escapade

12 mars 2020 : Oh Wonder faisait vivre à Paris l’un de ses derniers concerts

Watch our third episode of “ChillChat”, with Easha

Playlist: Ladies, From A to Z

Hayley Williams fait rimer musique et thérapie dans “Flowers for Vases”

How to Write a Heartbreak Song, a Recipe by Rhys Lewis

Écrire la parfaite chanson de rupture en 7 étapes : une recette de Rhys Lewis

Playlist: Dance It All Away

Comment TikTok a transformé “Ratatouille” en comédie musicale Broadway

2020, l’année de l’escapade musicale de Taylor Swift

Playlist: Women of 2k20

Playlist: Soft & Cozy

Playlist: A 2020 Quarantine Mix

Watch our second episode of “ChillChat”, with Rhys Lewis

Playlist: Embracing All the Feels

Playlist: Summer, a concept

Watch the first episode of our new series “ChillChat”, with Reuben James

Reuben James nous raconte le making-of de son EP “Slow Down”

The Making of “Slow Down”, the EP by Reuben James: “These were the best peaches I ever had”

Gigs from Home: 6 Musicians You Can Watch Live During Coronavirus Quarantine

Playlist: Retro Feel-Good Vibes

Une île fictive (Eroda), de faux comptes et des poissons : la recette de la promo de “Adore You”, d’Harry Styles

Playlist: More Chill Vibes

Eroda: The Non-Existent Island that Is Driving the Internet Mad… And It Might Be Harry Styles’ Fault

Playlist: Chill Vibes