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Jean Michel Jarre, MEN Arena, Manchester 23/05/09
THE sheer scale of music, effects and lighting here almost resulted in a sensory overload.
Known for his spectacular live performances, Jean Michel has decided, for his first World Tour, to give the concertgoers everything he's got.
First of all, even before he took to the stage, you notice a distinct lack of a PA system. This is because it's hidden behind the backcloth and therefore everyone in the arena got the full sound quality and could see everything.
The amount of electrical hardware on stage (some 70 instruments, played by just four musicians) made it look more like an IT department than a rock concert.
The lights dimmed, and the man appeared through a curtain of laser light to the song Industrial Revolution, very apt for Manchester.
The French keyboard wizard has cherry-picked the best of his repertoire for this tour and with the lighting effects, it really was more of a 'son et lumiere'.
The music cascaded through the audience as many watched open-mouthed at the visual feast of lights and lasers.
His legendary laser harp was in evidence on a couple of numbers, most notably on Rendez-vous 2.
It is an instrument unique to Jean Michel. Laser beams shone upwards, and as he placed his (gloved) hand over the beam, a note seared through the hushed arena. He then played each beam as a keyboard.
It was an incongruous sight however when during Chronologie, with all the computerised and futuristic hardware he had at his beck and call, be played…. the accordion.
Other numbers which deserve mention are the amazing Equinoxe Pt 5, his second UK hit single, which was played about halfway through the concert which incidentally had no interval, Oxygene Pt2, Calypso 3 and of course the track that started it all off, Oxygene Pt 4.
In fact Jean Michel is so proud of this particular number that he ended the show with a repeat. And nobody minded.
Sometimes, on record, Monsieur Jarre can be a little hard to get into, but live he's a different animal.
Of course, the stunning visuals help, but in a live setting, the music takes on a new life. It is both breathtaking and uplifting.
Jean Michel Jarre apparently has a fondness for English toast. Well he was certainly the toast of Manchester as thousands of his fans went home happy, having seen and heard true musical genius.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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