We were there. Oh, how we were there.
We (me, FransS, Maks), we were exchanging profanities. Glances. Smiles. We were there when Béatrice Martin of Montréal Canada, smiled her million dollar smile. When she and her band (four guys who looked like French nephews of the Followill-family) r-o-c-k-e-d the Bruxelles AB venue. The first two songs, Verseau and Adieu, kicked serious ass. Bé’s voice was strong, confident, on top of things. We Dutchies, we had to adjust. We knew she could sing, but we only saw her play the grand piano, on several live-in-the-studio-clips. Here, in the big red box of the AB, we saw a bandleader.
Who was moved to tears, a few times. That, or La Martin needs to get an Oscar for “Most convincing watery eyes while doing a concert”. Was it because the audience (beautiful girls in dresses, parents, kids, rockers, us) were singing along to her lyrics, to songs like Francis and Comme des Enfants? Could be. These songs, from her début, were written when she wasn’t as confident as she looked. When we was a teen, struggling with her emotions, trying to find the right words. Is what I’m guessing.
The genuine emotions of Béatrice, who smiled and laughed and joked a lot during the concert, were icing on a sweet, sticky musical cake. When she took it down a few notches, playing Cap Diamant from Blonde, inédit La Reine or (big surprise) Bedouin Soundclash’s Brutal Hearts, one could not help falling in love with her charm, her voice and the sheer quality of these songs. Halfway I could hear a booming American dj-voice in my head going ‘And the hits just keep on a-coming’: Place de la République, Les Amours Dévouées, Le Long du Large, the singalong Pour un infidèle…what an amazing body of work, already. There were nice surprises (one of the French Followills changed from guitar to violin, his bass-playing cousin sometimes used a bow on his upright bass), but playing Adieu twice (second, and last song before the encore) and Comme des Enfants twice (as the very last song) annoyed me a little. Why no covers? I would’ve loved her version of, say, Lana del Rey’s Video Games. Or another Rihanna-take. Something. Anything.
But we were there. We were in the moment, like the rest of audience, like B. and her band. See for yourself.
(Picture was taken at the Bruxelles-show by @kmeron)
Hopes are up high for a new albums by Barbara Carlotti, Céline Mastrorelli (pictured), La Fiancée, Adrienne Pauly, Coralie Clément, Vanessa Paradis, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rose, Valérie Leulliot, Pauline Croze, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Carmen Maria Vega, Amylie, Ariane Moffatt, La Femme and a whole bunch of fresh faces.
