This is where it all started, on May 22, 2000. And this is where it all starts again, with each tour. “Faithful to his friends”, as he sings in “Faithful”, Calogero is also faithful to L’Européen. It was in the small Parisian hall in the Clichy district (17th century) that he therefore made his return on Wednesday, Thursday and this Friday, in front of 350 fans as happy as him with this intimate and warm reunion. He didn’t hide it from them for long, either. “What a pleasure to find you, he launched all smiles during the second evening, which we attended. You can’t imagine the joy of saying goodnight to you. I missed you ! »
The European could have been renamed the South American as the room was transformed into an oven Thursday at 8:15 p.m. when Calogero appeared in a blue jumpsuit that looked like work overalls. First surprise on this stage without decor, his group has been enriched by two new musicians, his former accomplice of the Circus project Elsa Fourlon – who plays guitar, cello, ukulele, keyboard here –, and two strangers , guitarist Élise Masliah and leaping saxophonist Victor Raimondeau. For the first time on stage, he is accompanied by Christophe Deschamps, one of the best French drummers.
Also faithful to the keyboards of Cyrille Nobilet and the guitars of Jan-Pham Huu Tri, the 50-year-old singer-bassist spent more than two hours lapping up the show he will give this summer in around twenty festivals, from Nancy to Montauban, d’Essonne on Stage in La Rochelle. Prevented by the pandemic from touring last year, he played for the first time on stage songs from his latest album, “Centre Ville”, released in December 2020 in full confinement. A magnificent record that sold 300,000 copies despite everything.
Nice moments of communion with the public
He interprets seven out of twelve, the most “punchy”, “Video”, “City Center”, “It was better after”, “The one from below” and “Rumeur”. It introduces most of them. On the fourth, he says: “Last night (Wednesday) au Wepler (famous brewery located very close to the European), it seems that we saw the pope in civilian clothes with Anne Hidalgo. It’s a rumour. Each one benefits from a dynamic, electric treatment and gains in scale with the contribution of the saxophone and the vocal accompaniment of the fans who know the words by heart.
If we regret the absence, during this run-in, of his splendid ballad “Le temps”, “On fait comme si” and “Stylo Vert” provoke beautiful moments of communion. The first had been composed during the first confinement, for the benefit of “those who saved us”. “We” answer two caregivers, who are applauded for a long time. There was also great emotion when he brought his daughter Romy on stage to accompany her on the piano on “Stylo vert”, a poignant song about his father.
Another nice surprise, he pays tribute to keyboardist Andrew Fletcher, who just passed away, by covering “Shake The Disease” by Depeche Mode, a magnificent, somewhat forgotten song by one of his favorite bands. “I believe in superstitions and music, to death,” he says in the introduction. I believe in the Beatles – I have a picture of Abbey Road that I carry everywhere – and in the almighty Depeche Mode. »
In his repertoire, the tubes are also picked up in spades. Apart from “La vrai vie”, an extract from “Liberté Chérie” which kicks off the concert with a bang, he only offers that: “I play music” in the introduction, “Face à la mer”, “Les fireworks”, “One day in the wrong place” with a nod to Abba on the chorus, “The portrait”, “Yalla”, “In weightlessness” in conclusion… At the second encore, he returns in his drenched blue greet the audience with a guitar-vocal version of the hit that changed everything. “Twenty years ago, I had a second birth thanks to you,” he says moved before slipping away. Thank you for this life. »