On paper, Grove might have seemed like an unusual choice to open a bill topped by Skunk Anansie and Garbage. In practice, however, the pairing made perfect sense, not only musically but temperamentally. Grove’s furious blend of drum and bass, dancehall and breakbeat carries the same spirit of confrontation and punk rock energy that runs through both headliners, even if the sonic vocabulary is somewhat different. Very British, very political and very unapologetic, the set felt like a modern mutation of the same rebellious lineage that blended pop, rock, dance and electro all those years ago.
Alone onstage with backing tracks, electronics and sheer force of personality, Grove nevertheless managed to get the vast Zénith Paris crowd moving surprisingly quickly, no small feat considering much of the audience consisted of forty- and fifty-somethings who had primarily come for the (relatively) more traditional rock acts still to come. Whatever initial skepticism may have existed in the room did not last very long.
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