lundi 25 mai 2009

The UK Week

It started in Glasgow, a very unusual venue indeed. We knew from the start that it would be the most difficult one: too small for our production, impossible to get the PA behind the screen and all our lighting equipment. Despite all this we had a warm welcome from the Scots and it was technically a good warm up before London.

LONDON

Even though the audience was good at the Royal Albert Hall last year, I was not entirely satisfied. Too many technical problems and the RAH is always a difficult venue. So the crew, the band and I were really longing for this gig.

I love Wembley Arena, I had already played there and despite its age compared to the O2 arena, the sound and the mood there is great.. We had a serious sound and light check and even if everybody was apparently cool, you could feel the energy growing all day long, no question of missing that one.
Ignace d'Haese our lighting designer came over specially for the concert and we spent two hours checking and cleaning every song. I tuned with Hugo the pace and the textures of the lasers. Then we had a two-hour sound check. You could tell that the sound was amazing already. I rehearsed especially all my solos. The Laser Harp was ok, like the accordion, the moog liberation and the chorus in Fin de Siècle.

I went on stage like on a boxing ring, and instantly I felt it was going to be great. The audience was really hot, the sound was perfect, the light and lasers amazing. Such an energy was coming from the stage and the audience that the whole building was vibrating with the subwoofers and you had such a space in the mix that the audience and ourselves were immersed in a storm of sounds and lights..

I dedicated Oxygene 4 to London because it is where everything started for me, when one evening Radio 1 played the entire album, Oxygene became an instant hit everywhere.. Then I dedicated the next song in the Encore, Fin de Siècle, to my father. It is a song I composed in London after having met him there after many years. I have been moved by the audience which suddenly sat down in a religious silence. Thanks to you all.
The after-show party was great, everybody was very enthusiastic about the show.

My son Barnaby, his wife Chione and their boys Roman and Gabriel were there too. It was so great to see the boys dancing and staring at the stage all along the concert.

The following morning, on Saturday we left London for Manchester by bus. We were stuck for several hours in a huge traffic jam. We arrived very late at the venue and we had the shortest sound check of the tour by far: just a few minutes.
Lots of things went wrong on stage, but apparently nobody really noticed and the audience was great.
Pierre said in our ear monitors that we should do a second Encore, which we did.

This afternoon we arrived in Birmingham, driving all the way long. We had such a great weather, summer-like. We had a lot of fun in the bus, we took some photos for Paris Match. We climbed on the roof of the bus to get some sun. Then I spent some time in my room playing on the Korg PA500, finding new ideas..
I really enjoyed the show tonight, I had a lot of fun on stage with Dominique, Francis and Claude. The audience was receptive and everybody ended the concert dancing and raving....

42 commentaires:

Olivier a dit…

The show in London was amazing Jean Michel !!!!
It was the first time for me after the on in Lyon ... in 1986 .... so I was very excited !!!
Come back next year !!!!!!!

Unknown a dit…

It´s funny. Barnaby is also the name of my wifes favourite teddybear.
Maybe you will see him in Koblenz and Zuriche ;).
I´m looking forward to your concerts.

Unknown a dit…

The show in Birmingham was tremendous. We all had an absolutely fantastic time. What an amazing lighting system!! The lasers had everyone mesmorized.
It was fantastic to hear some of my old favourites and the laser harp looked stunning. Thank you for a great show. Please come back soon!

Unknown a dit…

Flew from Ireland to Glasgow to see the show. It was the best money I have spent in a long time. Strange crowd though! Calypso 3 was absolutely SUPERB, as was Rendezvous 2 (I really want a laser harp, even a mini one that I can plug into my USB port on the computer!)

Tom Chiverton a dit…

Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did when we saw the shows in London and Manchester !
Please come back and play the actual stadium at Wembley again :-)

Nino Auricchio a dit…

I came to see you at Wembley and Birmingham. Both concerts were stunning!

I had my parents with me on Sunday who got me listening to Oxygene when I was a baby, so it was a great way to thank them by bringing them to see you.

The 'invisible' PA was amazing and gave such an open get powerful sound. When you hit the bottom C on the ARP2600 in Variations III, the whole building did shake, you're right.

Fabulous as always and I can't wait for the new album soon.

P.S. What was the screen you had the VCS3 image on all about?

Audio Coffee Productions a dit…

I was the one near the front (block A) that was probably clapping with my arms aloft the longest - ask my shoulders how they feel today!
But it was really worth the numb hands, hot feet and the fact that my hearing returned at approx 2am Sunday morning.... :-D
It was a real blast!
And a big up to the team for a job well done too! :-)

Kanta a dit…
Ce commentaire a été supprimé par l'auteur.
Kanta a dit…

I was at both your concerts, Wembley Arena and the National Indoors Arena. Both concerts were buzzing withs such liveness and the performances were magnificent beyond the very best with your music, the laser lights and the laser harp. I really enjoyed the atmosphere you created on stage. I was very lucky to see you at the National Indoors Arena in the middle, second row from the stage. Wow, what an experience for me. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed jumping up/down and clapping with you. Thank you and the band for coming here to the UK and giving all the concerts. Hope you will come again very soon. Great to know that there will be an article in Paris Match. I will definitely be buying a copy.

Take care.

Love xxx

Lesley a dit…

some great classic tunes at birmingham gig(no teo & tea though!). my ears still hurt from the kick drums! audience seemed a bit shy. come back soon with new album and get rid of the chairs so we can have a mosh pit!

Bod's Blog a dit…

Hey Jean Michel! We went to Wembley on Friday night and enjoyed the fantastic show you and the guys had created. We got back home early Saturday morning and by Saturday evening we had purchased some more tickets to come and see you in Birmingham - we managed to get block 02 (no joke!) - this was the first block stage left as you would see it. We enjoyed the shows and can't wait for you to come back to the UK for more. As Tom C said, perhaps next time you'll consider that building next door! :-)

Merci Jean Michel, Francis, Dom, and Claude - and of course all your back-of-house guys and girls that make your shows how you dream them to be!

QuantumFire a dit…

Never been to a concert ever before as you are the only artist I ever wanted to see. Been a fan for over 20 years and needless to say I have all your albums which I can't say for any other artist. Finally managed to see you at Birmingham and I wasn't disappointed. Great show and you played all my favourite tracks from before 1993. Hope you come back soon to Birmingham and play some of your newer stuff too. Oh I agree with one of the other posters a standing section would have helped the atmosphere but I was right there at the end dancing in the aisles.

Keybasher a dit…

Jean-Michel, thank you for coming to Manchester again, it's a real treat to have seen you in concert twice in just over a year! It was a great show, the lasers - and especially the laser harp - were fantastic, and I was really impressed with your "invisible" sound system. Second Rendez-Vous was my favourite piece of the evening, with Calypso 3 a very close second.

Enjoy the rest of the tour and hope to see you again soon!

Anonyme a dit…

Thank you very much Jean Michel and all the crew.

Wembley was brilliant and Birmingham was even xtra brilliant.

We finally got to meet you at the gate before you left.

My daughter Charlotte thanks you again for signing her T-shirt, and she said that she was absolutely amazed at what was presented during the evening as it was her first concert and to have met you.(she is a good omen), We have a new young fan on board, and my son Jean was pleased with his signed ticket.

Every UK concert you have done, i have always missed the chance of a meeting and an autograph. Yesterday changed all of that.

All in all a brilliant weekend that will be long remembered.

Thanks very much,
All the best. Come back soon.

Steve & Charlotte.

jarre.am a dit…

Dear Jean Michel,

Through this tour I discover new grains of personality of my dream's hero, Jean Michel Jarre!

Thank you for show us your good relationship with your family.

All Your Armenian fans love You very much!

www.jarre.am

Zwoekie a dit…

Bonjour Jean Michel et bien venue en Holande!

I'm happy the UK turned out to be great succes.
As I write this mail on my cellphone at 03:30 am a storm is raging outside. I live some 20 km from Amsterdam and tonight I'll be enjoying your show in the Heineken Music Hall.

You should play "L`Orchestre Sous La Pluie", LOL!
This will be the 2nd time that I see you live.
The first time was in a freakin' cold Paris in the theatre le Marigny.
I sat front row but my poor wife was stuck in the cheap seats in the back!
That will hopefully not happen this time ;-)

I totally love the AX but I think it's a great piece of gear for live gigs, although with the "Fender" options etc. it would give my own music that awesome roaring guitar sound I've been looking for since Vangelis's "The City". I don't know this for sure but shouldn't you be able to get that sound out of the Roland V gt synth, or am I mistaken? The AX is just a more sophisticated version of Novations ReMote SL except you can carry it around and has its own DSP unit, €999, (for who is interested ;-))

I can't wait to see the show tonight. Any ideas how my wife and I can make it to the afterparty, if there is one at all?
It would be a great and an awesome inspirational boost to have the once in a life time oppertunity to really meet you guys in person and talk about music and stuff .
You know you can reach most of the people via MySpace. (myspace.com/zwoekiemusic)
I'm always surprised that you give autographs at gigs in countries like Romania, Poland, Russia etc. while here in the west of Europe its impossible to get anywhere near you guys. After a concert you all go backstage and thats it, thats a shame.

Hey!, my father in law, may he rest in peace, always said if you don't give it a try, you're sure it ain't gonna happen. And you've been my musical rolemodel for over 25 years now, so can you blame a guy for trying?
A question for example, I really want to create organic sounds like "waiting for Cousteau" and other analog beauties, I finally have the equipment now, something I never thought would happen. What literature would you recommend if you would know my gear.

I hope everyone on stage will have a great time in the "Black Box" tonight and that you get a smokin' hot crowd to cheer you guys on.

I hope you get this concert on DVD with a "concert talk through" like you did on the last "Live in China" DVD, I really love that. It makes it that bit personal something that makes a viewer feel very close to you.

Have a great time tonight and of course the rest of the tour.

Au revoir,

Zwoekie

Dinc Arslan a dit…

The show at Wembley was great..Although I have already memorized your concerts, I was still thrilled to see the laser harp on stage..

Cathy a dit…

Thank you so much for coming to the UK. I have had a truly amazing few days touring the UK to see you in Glasgow, London, Manchester, then Birmingham (followed by a wedding on Monday).

I hope you come back and revisit the UK soon and I am very tempted to come and see you in New York if that happens.

In the meantime, enjoy the last few shows on this leg and say hello to my friends when you see them.

love
Cathy
x

JustMe a dit…

How the show must look different from the stage and from the side of the audience...
From my side the concert itself was immaculately good in Glasgow! :=)
And technically wise too! But You seemed to me a bit tired or even sad... Don't know.
But what I know for sure is that fact that almost half of the people from the audience was heavily drunken and some of them hardly could understand where they were... And all this "disco" dancers whom you encouraging to continue to dance were incredibly annoying for calm (but deeply enjoying the concert) part of the spectators...
Yeah... It must be a different view of the concert from the different sides of the view... :=))))))
With the great respect to all you do!

Unknown a dit…

Amazing show Jean Michel… my first “JMJ concert”, and I wasn’t disappointed at all… I loved the set-list, and the sound was great. The crowd was… interesting… very different from my normal indie rock type gigs (in a good way!)

Can’t wait for the next tour ;)

Unknown a dit…

The Birmingham show was amazing, wonderful to see you in my home city!

I really loved the choice of tracks, wonderful surprise to hear Calypso 3 and Third Rendez Vous. The laser harp looked absolutely stunning, as did all the lighting.

Next time you play London, I think "Oxygene at the O2" would have a nice sound to it ;)

malleus bardorum a dit…

I was at Wembley Arena in block N9. I must admit that for Industrial Revolution 2, the sound was awful. Way too high and clipped. Bass overwhelemed everything. Then it settled down for Mag Fields 1. After that, things were great.

Best of version of Magnetic Fields 2 I've ever heard live. Brought a big dumb grin to my face.

Obviously nice to hear things sound more 'old school' again, and for the effects to be stripped back a little to let the musc do the talking. The only thing I missed was the film that goes with O12. Other than that, stellar.

Also a pity there was nothing form Zoolook. Just seemed odd with almost nothing post 1997 either.

Robi a dit…

Jean Michel,

may I recommend a venue?

Los Angeles - Nokia Theatre

Kanta a dit…

2nd time blogging you here on "The UK Week" message.

I found the fans at the NIA concert in Birmingham boisterous and overwhelming including myself!

I would personally like to take this opportunity to thank you Jean Michel, for coming to the loading bay gates at the rear end of the NIA to sign our merchandise. Thank you for not ignoring our begging pleads.

All my best to you and the crew.

See you very soon.

Love xxx

Anonyme a dit…

I'm going to be seeing the show in Amsterdam tonight, first time ever for me. I've been a fan of your work ever since the age of 6 (1978), collected all the works, now I finally get to see things for real.

A bientot Jean Michel!

brgrds,

Lawrence Robinson
The Netherlands

Unknown a dit…

Thank you Jean Michel for a fantastic show on Saturday night at Manchester. The sound system was sounding so sweet. The highlights of the night for me was Magnetic Fields 2 and Chronologie 2. As for the lasers, the best show I've seen in a long time. My self and two fellow laser hobbyist were so imprest that we managed to pay compliments to Hugo Bunk at the end of the show.

Hope the rest of tour go's just as well.

Carl

guirivaud a dit…

Salut Jean Michel,
Merci beaucoup pour un week end extraordinaire !
Je suis venu vous voir a Wembley, Manchester et Birmingham ...
Les shows etaient fantastiques et je suis ravi d'avoir entendu encore mon morceau prefere Oxygene 4 plusieurs fois !
Merci encore d'etre venu nous dire bonjour apres le concert a Birmingham !
J'etais tellement content que j'ai completement oublie de faire signer mes programmes qui etaient dans mon sac mais au moins j'ai pense a faire signer mon billet et de vous serrer la main ... ce qui etait le plus important ...
J'attends avec impatience les nouvelles dates de votre nouveau tour ... Si vous allez a Paris, je serai la bas et ma soeur qui n'a jamais ete a un de vos concerts viendra avec moi car elle habite a Paris ... Et Lee, Cathy et moi probablement iront vous voir a New York si vous allez jouer la bas ! The UK gang ! :-)
Merci encore pour tout Jean Michel et bon courage pour la fin de cette tournee...
A tres bientot,
Much energy,
Gui
www.myspace.com/guirivaud

AdenB a dit…

Thank you Jean Michel for an amazing concert at Birmingham that I will never ever forget. The music was incredible and the visual effects stunning! Will definitely see you again when you return to the UK so see you soon, Good luck with the rest of the tour!!!

Soundswords a dit…

Hi Jean Michel!!
I went to all UK shows except Birmingham and London was my favourite.
Love the sound of the music, great bass, very sharp sound (perhaps a touch too sharp!!), warm sound...loved the songs played - they came thru neat and robust.
The lasers were quite nice but video images would be great! And when do we hear parts of your new album?
I would to see live visual imagery, such as that in the Oxygene 10 in 1997 please!
Overall 8 out of ten from me. It was a pleasure to see you on stage again, and the others too...thank you so much for these concerts, and I am very grateful for the reappearance of Equinoxe 5 & Rendezvous 3!! I love your solos, especially in Fin de Siecle..
Best of luck and see you soon
Harjinder :>
www.reverbnation.com/soundsword

malleus bardorum a dit…

I wrote a review of last Friday's gig on my blog:

http://mantrafilledoompah.blogspot.com/2009/05/jean-michel-jarre-at-wembley-arena-old.html

Unknown a dit…

congratulations for this show Jarre!! it was amazing..i write from Madrid and i'll be waiting for your second concert in this town,i hope it will be feasible!!!

Unknown a dit…

Don't ever retire.

Robi a dit…

Any news on tour continuation ?


Anyway, good luck in Brussels!

Robi a dit…

Sorry for having Asgard used as concert promoter..."promoter"...
Absolute lack of decent advertising, other artist's posters fit "half" of the arena, while JMJ gets a tiny article everywhere!

ASGARD get up and do a decent promotion campaign, this is a non-sense promo for an international name as JMJ !!!

littlesister a dit…

All I can say is WOW !! ... and thank you for a magical night last Friday @ Wembley Arena Jean Michel ... yet another amazing experience to add to the archives of my life ( as your concerts always are for me ).

It started even before I entered the arena ... catching strains of Souvenir de Chine and Rendezvous 2 drifting out on the breeze brought a huge smile to my face when standing in the foyer ... it was beautiful.

As for the show itself - the light show and lasers were stunning ( loved the "equinoxe" lights ) and the music was as beautiful as ever ... I was transfixed by the whole experience, as if I was immersed wholly in the sights and sounds ... and it passed way too fast !!

I hope you enjoyed it as much as those watching in the audience did ( you seemed to , by the smile on your face... ).

Again, thank you to you, Francis, Claude, Domininque and the whole crew for a wonderful night .... hope the rest of the tour is as much of a success for you all ... (and come back soon !)

Jessica x

Anna_Poland a dit…

Jean Michel,

thank you for GDANSK, BERLIN, WARSZAWA and WROCLAW !!!
Thank you for your music !!!
Thank you for hope !!!
Thank you for C. Clarke and Odyssey !!!
Please come back and play in Poland again.
Anna

Sea a dit…

The show in Manchester was my first ever concert of that type, although I have been a fan since Oxygene, back in the 70s. My son came with me, he was fascinated by the laser harp, from a "work" point of view, as well as musical, as he's studying Physics, lasers in particular this year. Thanks for a fantastic evening.

72ckb a dit…

Hi Jean Michel Thanks so so much for a great week of Supurb Music I was at Glasgow and Wembley and Manchester and Birmingham and had the best week ever i managed to meet you at the gate at Birmingham NIA before you left and thank you so much for signing my books cd and photo of you and me in dublin taking in march 2008 oxygene tour what about Newcastle arena next? Are you going to do another gig in Paris? or USA? And i forgot to ask you on sunday do you still have the Keyboard you used in 1986 Rendez-Vous Houston the one where the keys light up?
Please come back soon!!
From Chris Newcastle UK) ps the guy with the special pen last tour Oxygene 2008).
Take Care Jean Michel love Chris.

The Author a dit…

...still waiting, after many years, to see a live show In Situ from this guy...

Robi a dit…

Dates from September ?

LutonStevey a dit…

Wembley was a great gig, really crisp sound, even where I was sitting near the back :) Was going back to work the next day, so thanks for boosting my enthusiasm at the end of my holiday!

Went to Birmingham too, wasn't the audience a bit quiet at first?? When everyone stood up for Oxygene 4, I looked behind me and many in the tiered seating were still sat down! So I persuaded the crowd to get up off their backsides with some gesticulations :D Sitting down is not an option with such a great atmosphere!!

Merci bien a tout l'equipe pour 2 soirees formidables.

dasilva_uk a dit…

The week's flown by since I saw you in Birmingham.

The show was stunning - simpler visually than the huge concerts of years gone by but excellent in quality and the whole band were so tight.

Loved the new sound set-up (Punchy but clean bass and clear in the higher registers. Loud too without being muddy).

Good to hear the old tunes - only sorry that it was early on in the tour so we missed the music you're writing along the way.

Thanks to all the crew - have a great adventure and come back and see us again soon.