It is not in Corsica, where they both have taken up residence, but in Courbevoie that the Dutroncs and Dutroncs launched their first joint tour on Tuesday April 12, which will take them at least until the end of the year.
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Before returning to the Casino de Paris, where they will perform on April 14 and 15, Jacques, 78, and Thomas, 48, walked the boards for the first time in their lives together.
On stage, the decor is that of a recording studio in the colors of the clan: map of the Isle of Beauty, plastic cactus, Tintin rocket, Mexican sombreros, portable television... At 8:15 p.m., the introduction of '
Et moi, et moi et moi
resonates in the sound system, accompanied by a surprising electro loop.
Father and son then come forward to perform the hit that revealed Jacques in 1966.
Both dressed in black, leather jacket and boots for dad, jacket and dress shoes for the son, the Dutroncs look good.
The voice of Jacques Dutronc is assured and in place, that of Thomas more fragile.
We share the roles equally, with one verse each, in order of appearance, until the collective finale “
And us, and us, and us.
The sound is biting, very rock, nervous as hell.
During rehearsals, Thomas confided to us that he wanted to rediscover the dryness of the 45s recorded by his father in the sixties: it's done.
Jacques Dutronc has never benefited from such a good group, neither at the Casino de Paris in 1992 where the very 1980s arrangements weighed down the affair, nor in 2010, for lack of character.
There, the sound is sharp and unadorned.
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“
Thank you for not putting on a walker,
” says Jacques.
“
Thomas forced me to be there.
"
It's a gift from heaven to be on stage with you, like a Christmas present,
" his son replies, a not very subtle way of launching
Santa's Daughter
.
“
We are working on the sequences
” he apologizes.
"
Yes, it looks like Drucker
" replies the eldest.
We hide everything we tell us nothing
is perhaps the song in the repertoire that benefits most from the qualities of the group led by Belgian pianist Éric Legnini.
Bassist Julien Herné plays glissandi worthy of those of Bill Wyman on 1
9th Nervous Breakdown
of the Stones, Thomas plays fluid choruses on his Stratocaster, guitarist Fred Chapellier is not to be outdone, in a "duel" with the gypsy Rocky Gresset, and drummer Maxime Zampieri is all about his business.
Very impressive, with a Jacques Dutronc who gets younger as the concert progresses.
"I'm going to make my own songs too,"
says Thomas.
There is no reason."
In effect.
Except that we hoped that the duo formula would also apply to Thomas's titles, and that he would sing them alone, with the exception of
Like a gypsy without a guitar
.
And that apart from
J'aime plus Paris
, a certified hit from 2007, no composition by Thomas has the notoriety of those of his father... Result: Jacques is sitting at the bar while Thomas defends his repertoire like a handsome devil , sometimes for two consecutive songs, which slows down the evening.
There is no doubt that at the end of this first date, the singers will be able to remedy this small defect.
Moving sequence
We greet and savor an acoustic passage that allows the two artists, seated side by side on high stools, to play in more moderato.
First with a guitarist, then gradually with the rest of the very slightly amplified accompanists, Jacques and Thomas deliver a gallery of portraits: Arsène Lupin (
Gentleman Cambrioleur
), a trader sketched by Thomas (
Nasdaq
),
L'aventurier
- a song that Dutronc has not sung on stage for fifty years - and "Monsieur" the real estate developer of the delicate
Le petit Jardin
, an eco-friendly manifesto before its time.
This is where the complicity between father and son is most significant, especially since they end this sequence by evoking Françoise Hardy.
"
I love her very much and you too
" launches the son to the father, who says that he met this one when she decided to take over
Le temps de l'amour
, composition by Jacques Dutronc which he had recorded in version instrumental.
It was then that the group embarked on a wild version of this piece, very much in the manner of the early sixties, close to the compositions of Shadows, composed by Jacques for
Les Fantômes
in 1962. During this moving sequence, Jacques and Thomas are seated in front of a photo of Françoise Hardy signed Jean-Marie Périer.
It is then that the Sol chord resounds, introducing what remains perhaps Jacques Dutronc's best song,
L'opportuniste
, embellished with a new guitar riff that gives it a welcome freshness.
"
In addition, it is still topical
" comments Jacques, acid.
The man has not lost his humor and causticity.
Later, he will return to the stage in slippers to resume
Les Cactus
after Thomas sang two titles of his bill.
“
I was in my dressing room, I thought it was over for me
”.