A few hours before going on stage, Michel Polnareff engaged in the rare exercise of the press conference to give some details on the content of his show. Accompanied by Danyellah, the man, relaxed, was delighted to introduce his musicians. British recruits recruited in London by his manager Serge Khalifa, whom he met a week earlier for rehearsals of the show. "They're outstanding, and they play like a real band. Their energy reminds me of my beginnings in London, "explained the singer, visibly happy to return to the stage, more than six years after his concert. With a new producer – the very experienced Pierre-Alexandre Vertadier, of Décibels Productions – and brand new accompanists too, Michel Polnareff intended to stand out from the disappointing tour of 2016, and the intervention of American virtuosos who played a little too much for themselves. If he explained that he had prepared a repertoire of 18 songs, Michel Polnareff specified that he had not yet sung any of them in rehearsal.
Large stage, central piano, musicians arranged at the four corners, the scenography is beautiful and elegant. Accompanied by two keyboardists, a drummer, a bassist and a guitarist, Michel Polnareff lets himself be carried away by the orchestra's arrangements. Danyellah sits next to him, at the edge of the piano, in a posture reminiscent of Yoko Ono's images with John Lennon at the end of The Beatles. After a departure on the funk shores with an instrumental version of Kama Sutra, which disconcerted an audience who came to hear the hits, the singer tells his joy to be there. "I know, I promised acoustics," he says before kicking the musicians out to deliver a short piano/vocals set. Âme câline warms the atmosphere, just like Holidays, before the return of the musicians, which he presents. Michel Polnareff relies a lot on them, to the point of playing very little of the piano, and very little singing too. Instead of the twirling melodies that made his reputation, he uses a way of spoken-sung that suits him less well than Serge Gainsbourg. The hits scroll, with an emphasis on those of the 1980s, such as the delirious Tam Tam, or Love with you with the deliciously sixties orchestration. Too bad she is interrupted by the singer, who complains about not getting along. It is feared for a moment that he will leave the stage. A few titles later, a connection problem will spoil Under which star was I born, pearl of his repertoire. Too often we have the impression of attending a rehearsal, even if it is of course a first performance and we imagine that the show will become more fluid after five concerts.
False start
The accompanists give the best of their vocal harmonies on Who Killed Grandma, always a great moment of Polnareff's concerts for 16 years. The tubes scroll: The doll, of course, All for my darling too, In the street. Surprise, the group plays the theme of The madness of greatness while the credits of the film scroll on the screens. "Are you ready for a little square dance?" then throws the star to the crowd, before trying Y a qu'un hair sur la tête à Mathieu, and his false start. "We are in what tone, I do not know anymore," says the boss to his employees who do not speak a word of French. An angel passes. The song is like a joke that lasts a little too long. This does not spoil Radio, more spoken than sung, Le bal des Laze, On ira tous au paradis and Goodbye Marylou, which closes the concert after an hour and a half of music.
