Plini @ Le Trianon, Paris - May 19th, 2026


Plini has been playing Paris regularly for roughly a decade now, but this jump from Petit Bain to Le Trianon feels significant. Instrumental progressive music, especially the hyper-technical variety, is usually treated as a niche concern, the domain of guitar obsessives and musicians studying odd time signatures from the back of the room. Yet something about this audience immediately stood out. Not only was the crowd noticeably younger than what one usually encounters at this sort of show, there were also far more women present than is customary for an evening built around instrumental prog and fusion-inflected metal. Whether this points toward a broader shift or simply reflects Plini’s particular appeal is difficult to say, but the contrast was impossible to miss.

Musically, the level was predictably absurd, although Sungazer had already set the bar alarmingly high beforehand. Plini’s music draws equally from progressive metal, fusion, ambient music and new age textures, with the occasional flash of almost Zappa-like eccentricity cutting through the pristine musicianship. The playing is, of course, outrageously technical, but the striking thing is how direct much of the material actually is beneath the complexity. These are not endless exercises in instrumental acrobatics. The songs are concise, melodic and, most importantly, memorable.

The recent album An Unnamable Desire provides the backbone of the setlist, though the evening regularly detours across the broader catalogue. Predictably, “Pan” and closing piece “Electric Sunrise” receive the biggest reactions from the crowd, both songs having already acquired something close to anthem status among his audience.

What ultimately makes a Plini show work so well is that, despite the frightening level of musicianship on display, there is very little sense of self-seriousness about it. The atmosphere remains warm, loose and surprisingly joyful throughout the evening. For music this intricate to also feel this welcoming and genuinely fun is rarer than it should be.

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