Seven years after equally shambolic performances on the pitch and in the boardroom left the proud but wounded FC Grenoble facing life in Fed 1, the third tier of French rugby, the club has risen from its ashes and claimed a place back in the elite. Continue reading
So claims their official website. And they’re not kidding. They’re not the most loquacious band out there, indeed barely speaking a word until the end of their concert in Zurich when they thanked the audience rather profusely for turning up, but instead they played with fierce concentration and ferocious intensity, pausing between songs only to change guitars and catch their breath for a few seconds. It was noisy, it was brutal, it was exhausting – and it was excellent. Continue reading
Last year I listened to and bought far more new stuff than I had for several years. I’m not really sure why that should have been, but I found myself in the unfamiliar position of looking at the music sections in the newspapers and actively looking forward for new releases by my favourite bands. Most of them lived up to expectations. Continue reading
It’s been an unusually musical end to the year for me, at least in terms of going to concerts. I rather got out of the habit for a few years as a result of wretched time planning and an unwillingness (read inability) to stand up for a whole evening, but circumstances combined this autumn to present me with several opportunities that I couldn’t resist. Continue reading
It’s been a long time since I was really enthusiastic about a gig, but I am now. On 25 November intense Swedish metallers Opeth will be playing at Les Docks in Lausanne and I have my ticket. This is going to be as metal as it can possibly get.
Well, what a shambles that all was. The writing was on the wall for more than a season but in the end no workable solutions could be found and GF38 as a professional club is no more. From CFA1 to the heights of Ligue 1 (and for a fleeting instant, the top of Ligue 1) in little more than a decade always seemed to be the stuff of fairy tales, and in the end it proved to be little more than a brief illusion. No solid structures, no realistic financial management, no long-term planning: the decline and fall was even quicker than the rise and was accordingly spectacular. Continue reading
We’ve reached halfway in the ProD2 season and things are looking good for FCG. After a bit of a dodgy start, the team is now sitting in third place in the table, part of a group of five teams in the play-off places that has slowly but consistently pulled away from the chasing pack. Continue reading
