At the Théâtre Antoine-Watteau, a performance hall in Nogent-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne), this Thursday, November 28, these are the final adjustments, the fine-tuning of multiple details before Louis Chedid, his musicians and his team does not hit the road for a tour planned, for the moment, until the beginning of June. After around twenty days of rehearsals, from the end of October to mid-November at Studio Luna Rossa in Paris, the show has been refined since November 25 at the theater, with the often low lights at the back of the stage. large projectors, the placements on stage of each person, notably on pebble-shaped structures, some visual effects on a large curtain. The first concert of the tour took place at the same location on Friday November 29.
On the program, extracts from the new album, Dreamer, dreamerreleased on November 15, successes from a career that began in the early 1970s, more secret titles. “With Emmanuelle [son épouse], who is a musician, and knows my world very well, we first selected around forty songs”specifies Louis Chedid, at the start of the afternoon, before the two filmings of the show. In what order, with desires for contrasts, which ones to ultimately keep…
Chinese shadows
“We resume, at the end of the guitar solo”announces the drummer, Mathias Fisch, musical director for this tour. This involves deciding the ideal number of drum calls (two, three, four) before silence followed by a final chord. With Fisch, guitarist Laurent Guillet, keyboardist and guitarist Ludovic Leleu and bassist Oliver Smith replay this short part. Microphone positions are reviewed, that of a mini drum too, a few millimeters or centimeters which will make the difference, voice pitches specified − all the musicians have choir parts. “I think it’s better this way, less confusing”approves Louis Chedid, attentive, who asks for a light when he has to get up to leave the stage.
Without revealing everything, there is in the show of this group tour – in 2023, Louis Chedid gave several concerts with Yvan Cassar alone on the piano – an acoustic part, another electric, the appearance of Chinese shadows, trumpet interventions by Julien Bourdin, the sound engineer. Among the songs from the new album, the quiet Lawn dancersthe lively ones I am herewhich was chosen as the first single, and Happiness makes me happyamong yesterday’s successes, So be it (1981), and today, Everything we want in life (2020), the autobiographical intimacy of Bouc-Bel-Air (2001).
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