BlahBlahCafe - Jean-Michel Jarre forum

A review of the Glasgow concert courtesy of Herald Scotland-

The Pyramids, the Champs-Elysees and Braehead Arena. Jean Michel Jarre has now done them all. And whilst our own venue in a shopping mall may not have had quite the same atmosphere as the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, it certainly provided a warm welcome for Jarre and his troops on this, the second leg of his 2010 arena tour.

In his recent Herald interview Jarre made it clear that he was not a great fan of modern digital instruments. The stage was, therefore, crammed with a huge range of vintage, analogue synthesisers, the only concession to modernity being various digital cymbal pads and an electronic drum kit. Jarre made his entrance through the crowd and launched straight into Oxygene 1. That album, of course, was the break-through recording for Jarre and it received a good airing here, together with the rest of the back catalogue. Various bits of Equinox, Rendezvous and Chronologie were featured and whilst the crowd lapped it up, to the uninitiated, it did all start to sound a little samey in a eurobeat, sub-Kraftwerky kind of way. The most effective pieces were the slower ones, such as Souvenir from China, where the music had some space to breathe.

The staging was terrific. Lasers pinged around the arena and the show featured a 30-metre wide HD screen, which played some rather disconcertingly involving images. Familiar tunes did emerge, of course. Rendezvous 4, for example, has been used frequently on television and romped along at a fair old pace, bringing the crowd to its feet and triggering a wave of frantic, ill-advised, raving.

One for the fans only, I suspect, but a magnificent spectacle, nonetheless

Don't like the phrase "ill-advised."

The Standard-

Gig review: Jean Michel Jarre
By MALCOLM JACK
JEAN MICHEL JARRE
BRAEHEAD ARENA, GLASGOW ***
FRENCH synthesizer boffin Jean Michel Jarre has three times broken his own world record for most-attended concerts, the biggest to date being in front of 3.5 million people in Moscow. Watching him in the aircraft hangar-sized Braehead Arena could rel
ADVERTISEMENTatively be described as intimate.
Empty seats suggested his popularity has waned after 30 years.

The fanfare-like strains of Rendez-Vous had the crowd on their feet, but it was a rare moment of euphoria in a show strangely lacking atmosphere, despite the endearingly energetic efforts of an eccentric tartan trews-sporting Jarre. His once-futuristic sounds have undoubtedly dated.

Some of his speedy, rudimentary synth-pop numbers still felt vaguely relevant, yet all of his glacially slow 1980s ambient tunes – performed on that iconic instrument of the age, the keytar – were astonishingly dull.

Recalling his 1981 Tiananmen Square gig – the first by a western musician in communist China – he described it as being "like a trip to the Moon".

The space references continued when a huge planet Earth descended on to a giant screen during distinctive minimalist classic Oxygène (Part IV). There were plenty more trademark visual gimmicks. Twice Jarre's signature "laser harp" – with which he created different notes by breaking vertical beams of green light – came out.

At one point we were treated to a CGI roller-coaster ride across the surface of a massive synth. For a final spectacle, Jarre asked the audience to flash mobiles, digital cameras and iPhones – one of which, ironically, probably contains more technology than has gone into his entire back-catalogue

Phil J. wrote:The Standard-

Gig review: Jean Michel Jarre
By MALCOLM JACK
JEAN MICHEL JARRE
BRAEHEAD ARENA, GLASGOW ***
FRENCH synthesizer boffin Jean Michel Jarre has three times broken his own world record for most-attended concerts, the biggest to date being in front of 3.5 million people in Moscow. Watching him in the aircraft hangar-sized Braehead Arena could rel
ADVERTISEMENTatively be described as intimate.
Empty seats suggested his popularity has waned after 30 years.

The fanfare-like strains of Rendez-Vous had the crowd on their feet, but it was a rare moment of euphoria in a show strangely lacking atmosphere, despite the endearingly energetic efforts of an eccentric tartan trews-sporting Jarre. His once-futuristic sounds have undoubtedly dated.

Some of his speedy, rudimentary synth-pop numbers still felt vaguely relevant, yet all of his glacially slow 1980s ambient tunes – performed on that iconic instrument of the age, the keytar – were astonishingly dull.

Recalling his 1981 Tiananmen Square gig – the first by a western musician in communist China – he described it as being "like a trip to the Moon".

The space references continued when a huge planet Earth descended on to a giant screen during distinctive minimalist classic Oxygène (Part IV). There were plenty more trademark visual gimmicks. Twice Jarre's signature "laser harp" – with which he created different notes by breaking vertical beams of green light – came out.

At one point we were treated to a CGI roller-coaster ride across the surface of a massive synth. For a final spectacle, Jarre asked the audience to flash mobiles, digital cameras and iPhones – one of which, ironically, probably contains more technology than has gone into his entire back-catalogue

Quite harsh review!

I suppose reading reviews are some what interesting but some reviewers do not have a clue.

Kanta wrote:I suppose reading reviews are some what interesting but some reviewers do not have a clue.

"empty seats Popularity fading".....I find that so laughable when you consider 80+million albums sales! this is Jarre not fucking lady Gaga,
I really detest some of these Reviewers,its almost as if they don't want to admit to liking what he does because it not considered trendy to Like someone whos (a)French (b)noone else like him (c)from the 70s (d)Not your typical pin up popstar mainstream artist.

they'll be the same idiots who will praise him to the hills as a legend after he departs from this world.

I couldn't give a hoot about any reviewers opinion anyway,its kind of like they actually beleive People will take what they say as gospel in a kind of "lets have a dig at Jarre to change public Opinion" the only people to take an interest to read such reviews would be Fans anyway hardly a majority party to gain votes with is it

It's always the same - talentless hacks getting in for nothing so they have no financial investment, and not wanting to be there so they have no emotional investment. It's just a job to them so they feel they have to justify their wages - plonkers, the lot of them ..

Equinoxe wrote:

Kanta wrote:I suppose reading reviews are some what interesting but some reviewers do not have a clue.

"empty seats Popularity fading".....I find that so laughable when you consider 80+million albums sales! this is Jarre not fucking lady Gaga,
I really detest some of these Reviewers,its almost as if they don't want to admit to liking what he does because it not considered trendy to Like someone whos (a)French (b)noone else like him (c)from the 70s (d)Not your typical pin up popstar mainstream artist.

they'll be the same idiots who will praise him to the hills as a legend after he departs from this world.

I couldn't give a hoot about any reviewers opinion anyway,its kind of like they actually beleive People will take what they say as gospel in a kind of "lets have a dig at Jarre to change public Opinion" the only people to take an interest to read such reviews would be Fans anyway hardly a majority party to gain votes with is it

Though I hate to defend them, Critics are just doing their job. Critics criticize that's what they do. If they didn't criticize they wouldn't be critics

Phil J. wrote:

Equinoxe wrote:

Kanta wrote:I suppose reading reviews are some what interesting but some reviewers do not have a clue.

"empty seats Popularity fading".....I find that so laughable when you consider 80+million albums sales! this is Jarre not fucking lady Gaga,
I really detest some of these Reviewers,its almost as if they don't want to admit to liking what he does because it not considered trendy to Like someone whos (a)French (b)noone else like him (c)from the 70s (d)Not your typical pin up popstar mainstream artist.

they'll be the same idiots who will praise him to the hills as a legend after he departs from this world.

I couldn't give a hoot about any reviewers opinion anyway,its kind of like they actually beleive People will take what they say as gospel in a kind of "lets have a dig at Jarre to change public Opinion" the only people to take an interest to read such reviews would be Fans anyway hardly a majority party to gain votes with is it

Though I hate to defend them, Critics are just doing their job. Critics criticize that's what they do. If they didn't criticize they wouldn't be critics

Wine wouldn't be wine if it didn't whine?

Oh waitasecond.

Jarre's performances are not as original, striking and impressive as they once were. Ok, these are small, more intimate affairs but compare some of the tracks to the original album versions and they sound poor.
Let's face it, Jarre has only just started to play live and still a lot comes from tape, he has obviously resigned to the fact that without tape, it's gonna sound rubbish ( Oxygene live ).

The solo's sound naff and he rarely sticks to the original ( and best notation ) which I find dissapointing as it's SO critical to the overall result.

Ok, to Jarre, this back to analogue is a great experiment on stage, but there are a hell of a lot of people out there that adored playing those records and couldn't care less what machines made them - just THAT SOUND. He just seems to be thinking of how HE can enjoy himself, rather than what the majority would like to see and hear.

We are all diehard fans and find interest in everything he does, but to a layman, who's been used to hearing the album versions, what is going to be that impressive?

I think actually one of the better reviews I've been reading about JMJ.

Live concert is live concert - studio album is studio album. Hard it is to compare these two imho.

matt222 wrote: . He just seems to be thinking of how HE can enjoy himself, rather than what the majority would like to see and hear.

The day a musician starts thinking how everyone else should benefit from their art will be the day they become totally detached from what the whole emotion is within music and what they are trying to project in their artistic directions.
unless an artist is enjoying what they do there is no point to doing it,the main reason why there is so much shit music out there is that its targeted for a purpose audience rather than emotional connection.Artists Like Jarre will always connect with others because they beleive in their art from a personal perspective,rather than a financial or audience reason even though they doubt what they do is good enough which is why they continue to develop the same ideas throughout their career

Being a musician is about subconsciously indulging yourself into emotions and channelling them into your art and how you connect with your artform both on stage and in the studio,its part of the songwriting process,you never write or perform with the intention of making an audience happy,because until you've conceived it or performed it Live you don't know how people will react by which time you'd already have lost focus on it.


I think the whole reason why Jarre never goes back to the basics of his music and stays true is simply resigned to the way in which he originally recorded them perhaps working more with improvisation and no second chance recording or happy accidents in the studio,something you can't replicate again and again,and even harder some decades later and this shows with previous concerts and how the tracks sound as opposed to hearing the more Live stuff and also the way he let the others improvise rather than play note for note perfect its like reading from a textbook rather than allowing for imagination or expansion to the themes

You see how less focussed on the playing he is during this tour in comparison to his mood on things like LIYLR or the Oxygene tour,which has more emotional value because he's actually channelling himself on the instruments he's playing rather simply being Like a conductor on this tour playing only minimally

Touring with all these original analogues is more of a statement than an artistic move,when most other artists of his era seem to go for the pratical Logistic approach using more reliable alternatives it like he's trying to be a sort of pioneer all again by somehow showing off his tools rather than for actual performing purposes after all in this last tour,he plays relatively little parts and doesn't even touch some of the vintage synths within his area,prefering to bash away at some rubber cymbals and triggering some fx on the Roland Drum pads.

In the same way if he armed himself with a couple of VA and played note for note exact like the album version he'd be ridiculed for not staying true to his roots with the analogs ,If he feels happy and enjoys what he does then there is nothing more he can do your not going to please everyone,I dare say that most of what he gets fedback to him is positive otherwise I doubt he'd tour as consistently as he has done for the last 3 years its not like he needs The finances.

Equinoxe wrote:the fact he sticks to a rigid setlist shows the lack of his experimentation in his playing and approach to his music

I respect your opinion, but I think you are wrong. It's the fact Jarre's interest at the moment was his Jarre Technologies thing (which is a technical success) and the loss of his father, mother, producer that explains the fact there is nothing new in the track-list. The man has had a bad time these past years, and strange enough, the deaths have occured while he was paused touring (and supposely working on new material).

Why doesn't he change some tracks from one show to another ? Maybe he wants the audience who will buy the Blu-Ray to see the exact thing he performed in front of them. Kind of "Andy Warhol-like" approach to the live performance.

Plus when Dominique draw back, that seemed very relevant to get Jérome Gueguen in the mood right away.

Having attended 2 UK concerts,Both apart from the Venue were identical Musically its not like he hasn't got plenty to choose from,It not about expectations of what we would like to see,to me any track of Jarre's is worthy for Concerts having that tension of what will come next is part of the suspense of the show,certainly its more for convenience from Jarre and the others perspective as perhaps there was not enough time to work on additional stuff to include,especially with Jerome coming in fresh to have to learn his parts(although I would suspect he already knew most of the stuff,its not like hes coming in alien to Jarre's music)

I don't deny the fact recent events in his life would have an effect on his mood/Thought process etc and delay his new album material if he has other projects not connected to the tour or his Music,I doubt that even without the deaths to deal with emotionally,trying to work on new material in between tour dates is demanding and has added to the delay to do so,but he's a pro and the show must go on as is evident to his commitment to the Tour.

Whether he has technical or artistic reasons not to change the setlist because it may affect a future Media release of the show is not really challenging the boundaries,there are plenty of artists who rotate a setlist on tour with the intention of releasing it on DVD.Those rotating setlists could only be a good thing for those who happened to be at an event where they didn't get the chance to hear different additions.

I love the concept of the show and would see it everynight if I had the opportunity,I'm not talking about totally changing the set list for seperate venues just throwing in the odd different number part way through a structured set.like having a rigid List with a few additional numbers in the wings to play now and then,even his encores are set in stone.
Visually the show has seen changes since the First Leg so why not include some variety in the Tracks listings each night there are a couple of other tracks in there not originally in the Indoors concept the first time around so its was perfectly feasible for him to prepare prior to the 2010 leg

I asked Claude a while ago about why he doesn't change the setlist - there's simply no time to arrange. Most of it is played live, so all the scores have to be worked out and patches have to be created. There's no time for that now.