My first experience of a Mélanie Pain solo show took place at the Duke of York’s cinema way back in 2012, as part of the much-missed Vive La France festival. She has returned to Brighton many times, both as a member of Nouvelle Vague and her own project Kill The Pain, and this week, accompanied by Calexico and Giant Sand’s Brian Lopez on guitar, she performed an exquisite show at Shoreham-by-Sea’s Ropetackle Centre.
LED candles placed around the stage turned the venue into an intimate Parisian cellar club and there was a respectful silence as the three-piece band took to the stage. The two acoustic guitarists, Brian Lopez (who played his own support slot earlier) and Jérôme Pichon and electric bass player Sébastien Collinet began to play, then there was a big cheer as Mélanie Pain entered barefoot singing in English.
Her instantly recognisable voice, light and breathy, sailed through Same, from her latest album How And Why, accompanying herself on a small keyboard. When the applause subsided she told us this was her first time in “Shore Ham” and that it was lovely despite the rain.
There was a dreamy 60s feel to the more upbeat Dreamloop, with the band adding backing vocals. We were asked if we spoke Turkish before Pain gave us the background to the next song, Senden Daha Guzel. Her shoes were stolen at a show in Istanbul, but were later returned to Paris with an apology and a CD containing the song. It began with finger snaps as she sang first in Turkish, then French, with the bass coming to the fore as the guitars softly picked underneath.
Of course, several songs had a very French sound such as 2009’s Celle De Mes 20 Ans which began with a jazzed up Stand By Me bass line and Here Comes The Sun “little darling” guitar lines that combined to produce a classic 60s Yé-yé sound. A Brigitte Bardot film quote en Francais led into Cigarette, a sultry ode to smoking, that saw Pain dancing with a shaker as the band played on. The band created a very exotic sound with the guitars building as Pain shook and slapped her tambourine before kneeling on the floor as the music took a trippy psychedelic turn with bird tweets carrying into the next song, a cover of Echo & The Bunnymen’s Killing Moon, first recorded in her early days with Nouvelle Vague.
Magnolia featured Pain on trumpet kazoo as Collinet took to centre stage for an intoxicating reminiscence of Tangier. She then asked if we knew what the most important word in French was, which she answered with an emphatic “Non”. Accompanying herself with finger cymbals, this song from 2012 featured Pichon on cabasa with Lopez adding electric sounding licks via his acoustic.
For Kraftwerk’s The Model, Pichon played a 100 year old tenor guitar, adding to the amazing sound the ensemble created throughout the show, with Pain hitting a vibraslap for added effect as she danced, clearly having fun.
Pain explained how she met Brian Lopez and asked him to join the tour, then they stood back-to-back for Cold Hands with Lopez lowering his voice to give the song a Lee Hazlewood feel. With the stage now bathed in soft blue lights, Pain sang Bluer Than Blue solo, accompanying herself on keys, totally exposed. This was clearly an emotional song for her to perform.
On Bye Bye Manchester, sung in French, Pain gently caressed the microphone, played her keyboard and produced another shaker from her percussion collection. The band continued playing as she introduced them, then conducted the crowd as we clapped along. A standing ovation called them back for an encore to which Pain exclaimed “so we didn’t drive eight hours for nothing!”
The final two selections, The Bare Truth Of Me and How And Why, were both reflective with Pain sitting on a stool as she duetted with Pinchon’s guitar. The band provided the perfect accompaniment throughout the show, not overcrowding the songs and letting her voice work its magic and melt the hearts of us all. Mélanie Pain reste une magnifique chanteuse.
Brian Lopez, who would return as part of the band, opened the show. From Tucson, Arizona with wild curly hair, like a young Tim Buckley or Dylan, his soft tenor voice and beautiful guitar playing delivered a short set in the classic American folk singer tradition.
Utilising vocal effects on pedals, his gently picked guitar, leading to a jazz chords’ finish, made Black Mountain Memory a promising opener. Clearly a caring, political animal, his 3000 Stories told of the 3000 Mexican immigrants who failed to make it to Arizona, his guitar melody and vocal delivery reminiscent of America’s Tinman.
He told us he’d played in Brighton before with Howe Gelb’s Giant Sand and at The Great Escape with KT Tunstall, who he wrote Road To Avalon for, which had an exciting but fleeting success on Spotify. Given his soft voice and skilful guitar playing it was no surprise that he’d include a Nick Drake cover, a beautiful rendition of Pink Moon.
Vagabondo, sung in Spanish, was a gorgeous treat and conjured up images of life on the Mexican/United States border. He praised the respectfully quiet audience and said “I’m one of the good Americans“, a comment on the current administration.
He ended with I Pray For Rain, a metaphor for living in the Sonoran Desert, using guitar loops sparingly but effectively. The whole set was an absolute delight and hopefully he will return to Sussex soon, either as a solo act or as part of one of his many collaborations.
Mélanie Pain, Ropetackle Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
Wednesday 11th February 2026.
Photos by Fran Moore.
