6.3.2007 - Concert Josh Groban
Hier j'ai été voir Josh Groban en concert à Bruxelles et c'était tout simplement fabuleux! J'ai écrit une review pour mes amis anglophones et fans sur LiveJournal mais je n'ai vraiment pas le courage d'en refaire une en fançais! Je vous mets donc la V.O. au cas où il y aurait des fans ici...
So yesterday I went to see Josh Groban at Le Cirque Royal in Brussels and like my previous entries indicated it was freaking amazing! I have to get a couple of rants out of the way though before mentionning the good stuff. ;) First of all I really really wish that venue would considered building a parking space or something. We were there 1h30 before the concert and almost didn't find a parking place! We got very lucky, just when we took the street of the venue, a guy was leaving. It's really annoying to be there that much time in advance. Secondly, you, yes I am talking to you, the fan or just person interested in seeing live that singer called Josh Groban, when you leave the house why do you think you're going to the beach or something? It's a theatre like venue and yet you are dressed in shorts and wife beater. WTF? OK, It was hot, but there were a lot of innapropriate outfits. I am old-fashioned, aren't I? LOL Anyway, the concert started at 8:30pm instead of 8pm. I was starting to freak out that there was a problem or something. We were in the third row dead center (sweeeeeeeeeeeet!). There was a huge white curtain masking the scene and when it starts you can only see Josh's silhouette and voice (of course) and then the curtain drops to reveal the man! ;) He was dressed in jeans, jacket and possibly the ugliest t-shirt known to exist. The fans (lots and lots of German and Dutch) went mad. My mom couldn't believe it. I admit, I couldn't believe either. They were crazier than at a Robbie Williams' concert. After the opening song he greeted us in French, German and a poor attempt at Flemish but I don't blame him. ;) -- I think that was more or less the setlist... Don't Give Up Mai Un Dia Llegra I's Now Or Never So She Dances February Song Alla Luce del Sole Lucia, the violonist, did an amazing solo while Josh was preparing to enter the venue from the back. He then sang In Her Eyes walking his way up to the stage while hugging people, shaking hands,... Very brave I think! In Her Eyes L'ultima Notte Remember When It Rained Lullaby Weeping To Where You Are (*dies*) Machine Canto Alla Vita You Raise Me Up -- The audience really didn't want him to leave so he came back and said they didn't have any more reheased song. He called back piano man and decided to sing... wait for it... L'Hymne à l'Amour! You know how much I wanted to see him perform that song? THAT MUCH! LOL It was just magical. People were snapping pictures like crazy but I just couldn't take my eyes of him. He left again after a standing ovation and... came back! He talked about his love for theatre and sang Smile. Again amazing! Those two were my favourite songs of the concert because since it was just him and the piano you could appreciate his voice much more. The other songs were good but the orchestra often overpowered his voice, the sound was also incredibly loud. Too loud at times. It's the first time I get out of a concert with buzzing ears! Maybe it was just a problem with the accoustic of the venue or maybe I am getting old! LOL
Funny moments:
At one point (I think it was after In Her Eyes) people started giving out gifts and just wouldn't stop. The first one he got was a framed collage: "Mmmm a collage! Nice!" and puts it on the piano with that "I already have a thousand of them look!" LOL "Oh a dog toy... Wait! That makes sense I have a dog!"
He also got a t-shirt with "drop dead gorgeous" written on it: "Just what I need. Another layer of clothes tonight." It was incredibly hot and he was sweating buckets.
There were some really excited girls at the second row and he singled them out asking if they had drunk too much coffee before the show and then he made that super funny gesture and overexcited sound.
He talked how much of a cheeseball (his word) he was for romantic songs and that when he was singing them it was time for the men to make their move, and then made that movie or putting his arm around someone. He also said it was easier for him to sing to the ladies than talk and then spoke like a real dork. After singing "So She Dances" he talked about how it was such a romantic song when he first heard it. But he said he laughed at the title of the song. He was like, "The title of the song I thought was kinda funny. I thought maybe it should be 'So comma She Dances' or 'So....She Dances?' or (low voice) 'So...She Dances'." Then he talked about how it reminded him of some old man with a mustache sitting on a balcony watching a girl dance and then he said in a low French voice "So She Dances....No. No. Let her dance!" That was just hilarious but I don't think half of the audience understood was he was saying!
Oh I almost forgot! When he saw the glowsticks he said that it gave him bad idea because it reminded him of the different music coming from Belgium and one of them was techno music. He then started to beatbox and sing this really popular techno/dance song which was hilarious.
So yeah I had a great time and I'd totally see him again but probably not at that venue unless they can fix the sound. I really loved the connection he had with the audience and how he deals with the crazier fans. It's hard to explain but he has that way of kindly making fun of them and yet I think they feel special but he singles them out. LOL I wasn't sure how he'd be in concert but I wasn't expecting him to be that relaxed, funny and the fans so enthusiastic. Maybe it's a Europe thing. It was his first concert in Brussels so I suppose it's easier to be at ease when noone really "knows" you.
Here are some pictures. They kinda suck but it's better than nothing. I didn't want to use my flash even though everyone was doing it. *rolls eyes* But with the amount of people who had a camera I am sure better ones will pop up online this week. No zoom I was that close... Hey I can brag for once. ;)
       
I am kinda sad this one is blurry because he had the cuttest grin! 
Oh wait! There are already some here and here.
Bonus (cuz I love you guys! LOL):
Smile: hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=59EK6VQK
Hymne à l'Amour: hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=CY5RNRX8
I normally don't boot concerts because my mp3 player is not powerful enough to record through electric guitars,... but I was hoping they'd be a couple of quiet songs. If I manage to save more songs from my recorder I'd add them next week. I am just happy that those two turned out near perfect. :)
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