Special Envoy to Brussels,
This Tuesday 22/02/2022 in the shape of a palindrome marked the start of not one but two of the biggest tours of the year.
Those of two of the biggest stars of the moment.
At the Zénith de Caen, Orelsan unveiled the scenic counterpart to the triumphant album Civilisation.
In Brussels, his friend and occasional collaborator Stromae gave the first of three warm-up concerts that would take him to Paris and Amsterdam later in the week.
Palais 12, a cold and impersonal hangar in the north of the Belgian capital, was the rallying point for the 9,000 fans who had bought their tickets in just a few minutes.
This would be the first opportunity for them to hear five tracks from the album
Multitude
, which will be released on March 4.
Two of them are already successes:
Santé
and
L'enfer
, sent as scouts, have had their effect.
One hour show
As a preamble, an animated film featuring the avatar of Stromae was broadcast on a large screen in the background.
Images of the desert, a monolith like
2001's Space Odyssey
and a Stromae preparing for the tour that will take it to various points in the world until 2023. An hour of show as a foretaste, after years absence for the most anticipated performer of the year.
The stage is made up of removable blocks on which the four musicians take place, behind Kraftwerk-style desks.
Unbeaten
, which bears the touch of Orelsan in its text and its direct side, opens the evening, quickly chained with
Fils de joie
and its shock refrain
"I am a son of a bitch, as they say"
.
During this time, on screen, a geared down Stromae in army uniform marches to attention.
Soon, his human incarnation speaks.
“Good evening, I'm a little stressed but very happy to be here,” he
says to the cheers of the crowd.
"Tonight, I'm making you discover new titles.
I hope they're not too bad,”
he adds with big strings.
We know that Stromae went through an episode of depression due to overwork, but would he doubt himself so much now?
Read alsoMusical back to school: Stromae, Axel Bauer, Placebo, songs and pop on the agenda in 2022
All the Same
, one of the hits from the album
Racine Carrée
, its author's biggest success, allows the public to sing along with him with rare fervor.
The man paces the stage, his tall, slender body undulating to a choreography by the unmissable Marion Motin.
When it's when it's
next, while the desks are spaced out and the lighting is darker on this evocation of cancer.
An armchair is brought on stage, an accessory for the next two songs, the
Bad Day / Good Day diptych
in the credits of the new album.
Either two ways of seeing life, depending on whether you see your glass half empty or half full, and a thinly veiled allusion to the crisis that the musician has gone through.
White shirt, black pants, Stromae, his collaborators and his avatar are in tune.
On the screen, it goes from showers to sunshine in a flash.
"It's okay, wasn't that too bad?"
he asks.
Is he really asking, anyway?
The other striking accessory of the show is a small robot dog who brings Stromae a green jacket, shows off, jumps in the air and dances on his artificial legs, assistant costumer adding an allusion to the duality of the character, between fiction and reality, human and robot.
Unsurprisingly,
Papaoutai
and
Formidable
are carried in triumph by the room.
The lighting and animation emphasize without highlighting, with great efficiency.
Touching and vulnerable
The tutorial presented at the last Victoires de la Musique is taken up for
Health,
for which Stromae donned pistachio-colored pants.
As an extension of this piece dedicated to workers in the shadows, Stromae takes a long time to present all the musicians and technicians involved in the show, up to his brother and his wife who supports him, including the graphic designers and the production.
First success of the artist,
So, we dance
is slowed down before finding its colors of anthem.
The real surprise comes on the encore with an
a cappella
version of
Mon amour
, another new song that is still fresh.
"We don't know the text well, we repeated it only two days ago"
apologizes Stromae, who proves that he is as touching when he appears vulnerable as when he asserts himself as master of ceremonies of a show not yet perfectly oiled but extremely spectacular