Black Bomb A & Tagada Jones & Dagoba, 9.4.2025, Le Transbordeur, Villeurbanne

The schedule is tight tonight, but everything runs like clockwork. Next band: Black Bomb A. The room fills almost as the Parisians open with two tracks from their new album Comfortable Hate: the title intro and “On Fire”. Back on vocals, Arno replaces Shaun and clearly makes the difference. His deeper voice gives the band a heavier, more powerful sound. The set focuses on the new album, with classics like “Mary”, “Police Stopped Da Way” and “Look at the Pain”, plus a few older tracks Arno sang on before. Hervé is rock solid on drums, Jacou brings a strong groove on bass. A very effective and convincing set — and with such a big crowd in front of the stage, they couldn't afford to fail.

Dagoba. Well...Dagoba stays Dagoba. For those who saw them a few months ago or at Hellfest: almost nothing new. Same setlist, same moves, same lines, except for one new song, “Born Twice”. I have given up on waiting for originality from them, sadly. The crowd is smaller this time, although the pit is still active, with a bold circle pit around the sound desk. Still efficient, yes — but in Lyon tonight, they did not fully convince me.

Tagada Jones clearly drew the biggest crowd of the evening. They deliver exactly what people expect: pure Tagada Jones. Their political views are well known and often create stronger reactions than the music itself. Surprisingly, Niko talks very little tonight. Only “Je Suis Démocratie” and “Karim et Juliette” get longer introductions. No long speeches, just the music and a packed pit ready for chaos. Most of the set comes from Dissident with at least seven songs played. In the end: a great concert, no stress, good sound, and an excellent atmosphere. Well done.