“The sets are magical. Everything is millimeter. She has outdone herself! In the first rows of the pit at the Vélodrome stadium, Vincent let himself be carried away by wonder. For the 50-year-old Toulonnais, the last-minute cancellation of the two Parisian dates last weekend (postponed to September 27 and 28, with an additional date, October 1) is already forgotten. This early fan, who has been attending all the dates of all of the singer’s tours since 1989, is overwhelmed with emotion. “From the start of the concert, with the clip of “Regrets” projected on a giant screen, a tribute to Jean-Louis Murat, I cried. The older we get, the more sensitive we are,” he quips.
Arrived in the morning, at 10 o’clock, he was able to settle as close as possible to the stage, arranged in a cross and dominated by a giant inflatable crow. “It is so high, we have poor visibility,” he regrets. Never mind, the inverted Gothic cathedral decor, covering the walls and ceiling of the stage, and strangely reminiscent of the series Stranger Things, leaves speechless. We understand better the 90 semi-trailers and the five days of installation required for each performance! Scarecrows with the heads of dead birds springing up from the front stage, a giant crow, a scary reaper and a walking puppet: throughout the evening, the scenic artifices captivate with their excessiveness. A pop opera on an inhuman scale! For Thomas, who came from Montpellier, there is no hesitation: “Visually, she always manages to outdo herself. She allows herself everything, and it works. »
READ ALSOWhy the videos of Mylène Farmer’s concerts disappear from social networks
This audacity has become Mylène Farmer’s trademark for nearly forty years, and it seduces an audience from different backgrounds. Thirteen stadiums in nine cities, between France, Switzerland and Belgium, more than 600,000 seats sold. They are 50,000 waiting for it this Saturday evening in Marseille, where it had not occurred for fourteen years.
This new tour, started in Lille, seven months after the release of The influence, black and mysterious album, as the artist likes since his beginnings. His show is a continuation of this last production, without skimping on hits. No explosive entrance like on the old tours: Mylène Farmer chooses sobriety with “Du temps”, a little-known song. But the two hours that follow more than make up for the minimalism of the introduction. On “Perhaps you”, title of 2006, here she is already giving something to sing to the bubbling floor and the bleachers already standing. On “Libertine”, it’s total unleashing. What deny the first echoes of fans reporting a halftone and dark first part of the concert. Shimmering costume and ponytail from the “Provided they are soft” era, Mylène Farmer plays with references. She will appear a little later in the evening in a suit with large black and white checks, in a nod to her long collaboration with Thierry Mugler.
The bird, common thread of the staging
“She revisits her legend without nostalgia, thanks to a good balance between recent productions and revisited hits”, appreciates Thomas. From the latest album, she has chosen only five titles, including the first single “Forever”, against a background of computer-generated images inspired by the sublime clip. Moments of friendship with the duo Aaron, then with the talented Yvan Cassar, who accompanies him on the piano. The digital creation by Woodkid, who also produced seven tracks on the album and the avatar on the cover, reveals her half-woman, half-raven in a snowy, apocalyptic landscape. Like Ophelia, Shakespeare’s tragic heroine, she seems to be jumping into the void from the tower of a ruined cathedral. The bird is the common thread of the staging, a moving cloud in the opening, a full-fledged character on stage, with the artist installed in place of the heart during an ecstatic “Tristana”.
Another tube, another atmosphere. With “Désanchantée”, the crowd starts screaming and jumping. Alexandra, a young lawyer, cannot believe her eyes and ears: “She pushes sophistication to its climax. No concert in the world, even the big American shows, can compete with her. Ordinary mortals cannot do without this concert. »
READ ALSOMylène Farmer, the artist of all records
The energy of the dancers and the frank smile of Mylène Farmer at each round of applause make you forget the somewhat old-fashioned choreography. But always assumed. The universe is dark, perhaps, but the artist is luminous, incandescent in her sequined sky blue mermaid dress. “Rêver” makes you cry, on stage as well as in the audience, which she lets sing for long minutes. Mylène Farmer, eyelids closed, savors the moment of fusion. “It’s your song,” she whispers.
Could this be the sign of a farewell tour, as connoisseurs sometimes mention? ” I do not believe. I hope not, ”rethinks Vincent, the fan of the first hour. Finally, Mylène Farmer, embarks on an elevator rising towards a starry celestial vault… before dissolving into it. What should we see in its closing song, the disco-pop hit “Reignite the stars” composed by Moby? A triumphant exit from the stage at 62 or the announcement of even more creative and fascinating skies?
2023-07-10 01:00:01
#Marseille #Mylène #Farmer #revisits #legend
