An Eventful Night in Paris: Libs, PJ Done?
It's been a somewhat interesting weekend in Paris, as Carl Barat may have finally put THE LIBERTINES to bed.
It's been no secret that this has been a trying year for The Libertines, given that co-founder Pete Doherty has been MIA from the Libs for pretty much the entire year. Barat soldiered on with the rest of the band, doing promotional tour stops in support of the band's self-titled sophomore album.
This weekend's gig in Paris was long-rumoured to be Barat's final gig under the Libertines' moniker (barring the unlikely return of a rehabilitated Doherty.) Barat seemed to hold true to his word, telling music journos and the crowd that the Libs were through.
However, the news that no one was expecting came not from the Libertines, but from P.J. HARVEY, who was also on board for the Parisian gig. Polly Jean shocked the crowd by announcing simply, "This is the last show I will ever play." Whether she's retiring from recording or from simply the live arena has yet to be explained.
Meanwhile, addled former Libs co-frontman Pete Doherty ended his BABYSHAMBLES tour on the same night in the usual fashion -- that fashion being not showing up, not taking the stage, and causing fans at the London Astoria to riot. This comes after last week's shambolic performances where, at one point, security had to drag a near-incoherent Doherty off-stage in a headlock.