©Sean McManus - www.sean.co.uk
Twitter RSS www.sean.co.uk

UK freelance journalist and author Sean McManus

Home > Blog

Jean-Michel Jarre live in Lint, Belgium

29 March 2007


Jean-Michel JarreYesterday I was one of 128 lucky fans to witness a private showcase of Jean-Michel Jarre's new album 'Teo & Tea'. The event took place in a TV studio in Lint, about an hour's train ride from Brussels. Going out on the first Eurostar and returning on the last made for a long day, but it was fantastic. Docklands in '88 was the first concert I went to, and Zoolook and Rendez-Vous were the first albums I bought. I got Revolutions, Cousteau, Chronologie and Metamorphoses on the day of issue and they have soundtracked my life. I still dip into them all today.

I've seen JMJ three times in concert, but never like this. Usually it's a massive spectacular, or at least an arena gig. There were only a couple of hundred people at this gig and JMJ was able to get in among the crowd and really interact with them.

I had only heard the album twice before the show. It didn't strike me at first (I was probably too distracted trying to work out where Kontich station was), but it has a subtle beauty as well as some stomping rhythms. It's all the more special now that it reminds me of the gig. After seven relatively quiet years, it's good to have JMJ back.

We were allowed to take photos, provided no flash was used, which I thought was an enlightened attitude. I wonder whether bands are realising that the benefits of having their photos all over the internet and sustaining a buzz among fans far outweigh the risk that some might end up on unauthorised merchandise.

You can see my photos and review here. Please leave any feedback in the comments below.

Labels: ,


Bookmark and Share
Permanent link for this post

Comments

Sean, great report from the showcase. Thanks for posting it. Which I could be there, I have been to 8 outdoor gigs and 4 indoors of Jarre's since 1990.

Greetings from Glenn
of jarretribute.com
 
Your blog is very interesting, Sean. I´d like to say that Jarre had a good performance, full of vitality. This show was my first indoor concert by him (my previous concerts were Gdansk and Merzouga) and I must admit he surprised me!!! On the other hand, this experience was also special because it allowed me to meet wonderful people like Sean, Dunkie, Alexandre,...and many more (I´m not good remembering names...).

Best,

Pepe.
 
Hi Sean

Nice to read about your experiences of the showcase. Glad to see you had a good time.

Take care

~Cathy~
x
 
Thank you all for your comments.

Glenn: you must have travelled a fair bit to see all those shows. I would have liked to have seen the Cousteau shows around 1990 particularly.

Pepe: It was nice to meet you in Lint. One of the best things about the day was the friendly atmosphere among the fans, and the organisers of the day come to that. I hope to see some familiar faces at the next JMJ event I go to.
 
Sean,

Many thanks for the review and pictures! As a Belgian and huge fan, I feel I've missed a unique opportunity. It is only by accident I stumbled upon this. I work too many hours and didn't follow anything about Jarre or any other musician I appreciate.
In the past I saw Jarre in Paris, La Défense (twice), in Zermatt (Switserland) a concert for Swatch (truly a unique concert back in '92!) and twice in Brussels. Ahh those memories...
A quick correction if you don't mind. It is true, Jarre holds the Guinness World Record for the largest live concert audience, but it was the concert in Paris on 14th July, 1990 with an audience of +/- 2.5 million(!) people. I was 16y/o and found a way to sneak into the VIP's, the best spot on earth on that day! I made pictures, unfortunately they all failed but one, the one I took during day-time from the stage...
He's giving 10 concerts next month in Paris. Thinking about going, but it will be hard with my crazy schedule.
 
Hi Fred.

Thanks for your comment. It looks like Jarre's repeatedly smashed his own record in the Guinness Book, including the one I mentioned in my article. According to Wikipedia, he even beat his 1990 performance in Moscow in 1997. I'll fix it in my article.

I was lucky enough to see the Docklands show (my first concert ever), Chronologie tour, Oxygene tour (1997) and Teo & Tea showcase. I'll be going to one of the Paris shows.

You've got to go to Paris if it's possible for you. You know you'll remember it for a lifetime if you do...

Sean
 
Post a Comment

Blog Home | Website Home

Dip into the blog archive

June 2005 | July 2005 | August 2005 | September 2005 | October 2005 | November 2005 | December 2005 | January 2006 | February 2006 | March 2006 | April 2006 | May 2006 | June 2006 | July 2006 | August 2006 | September 2006 | October 2006 | November 2006 | December 2006 | January 2007 | February 2007 | March 2007 | April 2007 | May 2007 | June 2007 | July 2007 | August 2007 | September 2007 | October 2007 | November 2007 | December 2007 | January 2008 | February 2008 | March 2008 | April 2008 | May 2008 | June 2008 | July 2008 | August 2008 | September 2008 | October 2008 | November 2008 | December 2008 | January 2009 | February 2009 | March 2009 | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009 | October 2009 | November 2009 | December 2009 | January 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 | Top of this page | RSS