Jean-Michel Jarre performs Oxygene live in Dublin, 18th March 2008

Cloud

(My review from http://www.johnbreslin.com/blog/).

I went to see Jean-Michel Jarre perform his first live concert in Dublin at the National Concert Hall (NCH) in Dublin tonight. It was great to see him at last, as I've been a fan of Jarre's ever since I first heard Oxygene 4 on the radio / TV as a child at the end of the seventies, coming across the piece later on in secondary school on one of our "Salut!" French learning tapes in 1985. It was a year or two later that I found out from listening to a DJ called Jock Wilson on Scottish shortwave pirate Radio Stella that the artist who played "doooh, doh-doh-doooh, dooooooooh" was known as Jean-Michel Jarre, and it wasn't long until I managed to get my hands on a copy of the "Essential Jean-Michel Jarre" tape and various other albums and videos including "Zoolook" and "Destination Docklands". (My first music web page some years later had a picture of Jarre's legendary "Music for Supermarkets" one-off album at the top of the page.)

In the National Concert Hall this evening, there were a variety of attendees ranging from devout fans to intermediates to newcomers. Some old-school Oxygene and "Concerts in China" t-shirt wearers were in attendance. "Was he Tubular Bells?", a newcomer to Jarre asked. "No, that was Mike Oldfield...", another replied. Music from the album "Waiting for Cousteau" played in the background as we awaited Jarre's arrival. At about 8:20, the light shone on the stage to reveal a giant white egg shape. "Big chicken", the guy beside me said. The egg turned around to reveal Jean-Michel sitting inside it, and he began an introductory speech with "Good evening, Dublin". I took a blurry photo and a zealous staff member alighted on me waving a disapproving finger.

Jean-Michel told us how glad he was to be in Dublin to share this special concert evening with us at the beginning of his tour (he began in Glasgow two nights ago, see review). He explained that this is the first time that he has played Oxygene entirely with all of these extraordinary instruments, and he described how great the intimate venue of the NCH theatre was in contrast with the outdoor concerts he normally plays. He talked about how the strange and special instruments behind him on stage were the reason that he (and most other electronic musicians) existed today, being the foundations for part of the mythology behind electronic music.

He made an analogy with violin players who often want to play on Stradivariuses created four centuries ago, saying that modern electronic musicians now want to play on the analogue synths of old, and that the secrets and know-how of the "crazy guys" who invented and designed instruments like the Theremin and various analogue synths between the twenties and the seventies was lost when computers became commonplace. He said that they have a very special sound and are obviously a big part of the sound texture for Oxygene.

He then talked a bit about Oxygene itself and the inspiration for the album (see also his interview in the Times; there was a similar article in today's Metro Ireland where the idea of an outdoor Irish concert was touted). About the name, he said that his mum asked: "Why are you calling your music with the name of a gas?". He said that the ideas about Oxygene from thirty years ago were now very much in phase with the thoughts and feelings of people today, and cited this as a reason why he was very happy to perform the album now.

The band was introduced: Dominique Perrier, a regular collaborator and performer at Jarre concerts (I especially remember him dressed in Turkish gear with a very unusual keyboard at the London concert, but he was also in the China video from the early eighties); Claude Samard; and Francis Rimbert, another Jarre veteran.

Jean-Michel said that we could now share the next step with them which was where they would tune these "old ladies", to try and make them work. He explained that this is different from the days when you had lots of computers on stage, creating a "pure, 100% live, plug-and-play experience" with potential accidents that he said they would be happy to share with us. They warmed up for a while and then began the music with Oxygene 1.

Apart from some spots highlighting the various instruments and a light bar floating above the stage, the effects were discreet and low key, culminating in a spinning Oxygene globe logo projected on-screen towards the end of the album. The music performed was longer than the album release, including some segue pieces where the players no doubt had to re-tune their instruments for upcoming pieces. Jean-Michel also performed on the Theremin to much applause from the audience.

After finishing the main Oxygene album, he played a piece from the follow-up album, Oxygene 7-13, with some black-and-white nature shots in the background. The concert ended, and the performers received a standing ovation and calls for an encore.

On returning to the stage, Jean-Michel went on to describe a personal aspect to tonight's performance. His PA and best friend, Fiona Commins, who has worked with him for 20 years, recently lost her dad. His name was Patrick, and Jean-Michel dedicated the next Oxygene piece for him on his journey to heaven.

I also met a few people I knew at the concert: beforehand I met Conrad Gibbons (with some fellow Tangerine Dream fans, David, Geoff and Sean), my old college friend Brendan, and afterwards I also bumped into Brian from Daft.ie. All in all, it was a good evening and I would love to be going again tomorrow night. But I have plenty of Jarre memorabilia to keep me happy until I see him again: some t-shirts, a mug and a print for my wall!

alfagt

Great review Cloud. Just home from it myself, what a night! Have waited 20 years for this and it was worth it. It was hearing Zoolookologie on 2fm that got me into him. I was mesmerised by the distorted voices and the fact that i had never heard anything like it before (or since).

I was only disappointed by the fact that the ushers wouldn't allow any photos to be taken. I can understand that the don't want any bootleg videos doing the rounds, but wheres the harm in a photo or two.

There are a few rumours doing the rounds that he will be playing an outdoor gig here next year, but i'll believe it when i see it. I hope they're true anyway. Maybe the warm reception he got tonight will sway him.........

brianfallon

Great review Cloud, I had never listened to Jarre before last night but was recommened to go to the concert by a friend... This was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The visuals were absolutley incredible. I'm pretty sure I was hypnotised at one stage.

I rang the box office first thing this morning to see if there were any tickets available for tonight as I'm considering going again...

run_Forrest_run

excellent review cloud...I really wanted to go to this gig but it was hard to get time off and make the journey up for it. I must check youtube for any vids

Sellphone

Spot on Cloud, great event, there 3 rows from the front. Found it very annoying about the NCH staff's attitude to cameras, especially when JMJ played the piece dedicated to his Irish PAs Dad, who had died earlier in the week. He asked for people to raise their lighters, mobile phones etc, and what happens? The cameras came out with a vengance. Got a couple of good shots myself.:DAttachment not found.100_0635.JPGAttachment not found.100_0646.JPG

run_Forrest_run

The man walks around Dublin...

Cloud

Some more reviews:

http://www.windsandbreezes.org/?p=991

http://www.johnbreslin.com/blog/2008/03/19/jean-michel-jarre-performs-oxygene-live-in-dublin-18th-march-2008/#comment-473655

http://www.johnbreslin.com/blog/2008/03/19/jean-michel-jarre-performs-oxygene-live-in-dublin-18th-march-2008/#comment-473797

See also:

http://www.jarreblog.com/

Pat Gleeson

Great review, Cloud

I was there myself, and I had the priveledge of attending one of the premiere concerts in Paris on December 13th at the Theatre Marigny as well.

I've been a massive fan for over 25 years, but I have to admit I was getting tired of the open air mime fests of late (Beijing 2004 being a prime example)

When I heard the Oxygene album would be played in it's entirety, totally live without MIDI or synchronisation, and using the original instruments, I had to go.

I brought my young fella (11 years old), and he enjoyed it immensly, a great way to introduce someone to live performance!

BTW, run_Forrest_run, you can get a great idea of the performance on the Oxygene 'Live In Your Living Room' DVD.

run_Forrest_run

Pat Gleeson wrote: »

BTW, run_Forrest_run, you can get a great idea of the performance on the Oxygene 'Live In Your Living Room' DVD.

great, will check it out, thanks Pat!

Pat Gleeson

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

great, will check it out, thanks Pat!

My pleasure , check out this link:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X3kNduZzpw

Pat Gleeson

And here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_7sXxNIrsE

http://www.oxygene3d.com/media.php

Jip

Heads up everyone, the genius himself will be playing the O2 in October, tickets go on sale this Friday !
http://www.aikenpromotions.com/content/view/547/105/

A clip from the current tour, background vid liable to cause travel sickness !
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcf4ch_jean-michel-jarre-w-katowickim-spod_music?start=3

Pat Gleeson

I would assume that Aiken promotions will do a better job than the hopeless Rag Lane did for the NCH shows. Be advised that this show will be quite different in that there will be a lot more visuals up front, and less emphasis on the performers - with a few notable exceptions.



A sample of the setlist:

Oxygene 1, 2, 4, 5, 12
Equinoxe 4, 5, 7
Magnetic Fields 1, 2
Souvenir of China
Rendezvous 2, 3 (Laser Harp), 4
Industrial Revolution 2
Chronologie 2, 6
Calypso 3

This setlist is not set to change too much, if at all. Jarre has been touring since
March this year, and this is the setlist he plays - not in this order, with the addition of a few new pieces.

run_Forrest_run

Jip wrote: »

Heads up everyone, the genius himself will be playing the O2 in October, tickets go on sale this Friday !
http://www.aikenpromotions.com/content/view/547/105/

A clip from the current tour, background vid liable to cause travel sickness !
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcf4ch_jean-michel-jarre-w-katowickim-spod_music?start=3

sweet sweet sweet! I'm not going to miss this. Pity it's a bloody Monday night but hey...

Sellphone

And me and my Buddy will be there!! So looking forward to it

run_Forrest_run

just got my ticket, pricey but great seats and a rare chance to see the man perform.

LadyW

Got my ticket today.. very very excited !!