DISLIKE FOR FRANCE
For years and years, it has been repeated hundreds of times that The Sisters Of Mercy would never play France, so many rumours of concerts have been denied in the past like in La Locomotive (Paris), Rock en Seine Festival (Paris) ... These rumours were also emphasized by Eldritch's words over different interviews saying he disliked our country despite his admiration for our actors (Isabelle Adjani), writers (Alain Robbe-Grillet, Balzac) and poets (Nerval) ... We have always known Eldritch's sense of humor and irony, so no way he could never play in France. That's why I decided that my first The Sisters Of Mercy concert would be the one in France and nowhere else, it took me 16 years, but I managed to keep my faith in Eldritch over these long long years ...
The 14th of april 2006 will remain an historical day for all French Sisters fans ...
And don't forget what Andrew Eldritch said in 1991:
"In 1991 I really must learn to be kinder to the French. After all, my intense dislike of this noble race of men and women, who have, after all, produced Napoleon, Jean-Paul Sartre and Jean-Michel Jarre is based on nothing but arbitrary callousness and also the fact that I used to have difficulty with my subjunctives in French at school and frequently had to stay in after the bell to learn them by heart. Now, however, with 1992 and the Chunnel, as it were, around the corner, I feel it is time to dispense with my petty Francophobic obsession and say "Salut mes amis français !" "

HISTORICAL DAY
For this special day, I decided to go to the venue at 11h00. When I arrived at the venue, the tourbus and merchandising were already there.
Merchandising and tourbus

But Eldritch and his musicians were not there, they arrived at the venue at 15h10 in a small grey Mercedes van, and they said hello to me and my friend who were waiting at the backdoors.

The Sisters Of Mercy's arrival at Le Zenith

Then the soundcheck started, half an hour later precisely at 15h46 sharp and ended at 16h35. Here is a list of the tracks played during the soundcheck. Some like "First And Last And Always" and "Neverland", would not be played during the concert, so we were lucky to be there:
15h46: First And Last And Always
15h54: Giving Ground
15h59: We Are The Same, Susanne
16h04: I Was Wrong
16h06: Temple Of Love
16h15: This Corrosion
16h17: Dominion / Mother Russia
16h21: Something Fast
16h24: Neverland
16h27: Lucretia My Reflection
16h31 Crash And Burn
This soundcheck already indicated that the sound of the show was going to be loud and clear, perfect for this special event.
Half an hour after the end of the soundcheck, the new guitarist Ben Christo came to see us to discuss a little bit, he was a little bit tired but really happy to talk with us, I gave him the now famous tee-shirt "Sisters Bite Paris 2006" and he immediatly tried it on in front of us, he also told us he would really enjoy to work on a new Sisters album, so let's all cross our fingers for this miracle to happen some day, never say never, that was always our state of mind in hope for a concert in France ...