The Saturdays follow each other, but do not resemble the summer festival. A week after the Foo Fighters’ explosive rock concert, indie-pop princess Lana Del Rey brought “Lanamania” to the Plains of Abraham with her melancholic songs everyone knew by heart.
• Also read: July 15 at FEQ: Quebecers steal the show at Parc de la Francophonie
Oh that she was expected, the tragedy of the American song, the first performance of her career was in Quebec.
As soon as the doors opened at 5:45 p.m., thousands of festival-goers – we estimate they were in their early twenties on average – rushed to the front of the stage to be as close as possible to their idol.
In the long pause before his arrival, cheers rang out whenever the technicians went on stage to place standards.
When the lights went out after an “excusable” 20-minute delay, thousands of cellphones were waved and the 38-year-old star, who appeared in a princess dress, a tiara on his head and surrounded by three singers, was greeted with approving cheers, six Dancers and four musicians.
The giant screen, which displayed images of his youth throughout the evening, read: “May God bless Quebec.”
Get your hair done while singing
The show started smoothly. In a sumptuous Eden setting consisting of a tree, veils, chandeliers and swings, Lana Del Rey relaxed without rushing anything and even had her admirers sing a few lines from Young and Beautiful for her.
A dancer even combed her hair while she sang “Bartender.”
His performance really picked up speed and momentum as Cherry’s guitars took over. “Pretty When You Cry,” which she sang lying on the floor, was also a highlight of the first half of the concert, as were “Born To Die” and “Blue Jeans,” whose opening chords again set for a noticeable increase in decibels in the Plains worried.
A conversation with Lana
Rather distant and with a sluggish gait, Lana Del Rey finally got closer and nowhere near her admirers, descending to meet them, as is her wont, after singing “Ultraviolence.”
With the mic closed, she took the time to speak to a few viewers. One lucky person even had a photo of him and Lana on his cell phone.
Otherwise, she spoke a few times, only that her speeches were barely audible–at least from our location–due to an unusually poor sound system on the Plains.
By the end of the course, she seemed to grasp the zeal of Quebecers. After another moment of noisy communion on “Summertime Sadness,” she looked out at the crowd and asked if it was normal that we had so many people. “It’s our biggest concert in years, even in life,” she said, thanking Quebecers for their hospitality over the past few days.
She then swingingly sang her classic “video games” to an audience who didn’t want to see their new Princess of the Plains go.
The war on drugs: successful transition to the big stage
Following The Smile at Parc de la Francophonie on Friday, American collective The War on Drugs delivered the best musical performance we’ve heard since the Festival d’été began, before Lana Del Rey arrived in the Plains of Abraham.
Five years after a headlining performance at Parc Franco, the septet specializing in epic and haunting psychedelic rock, led by Adam Granduciel, have graduated on FEQ’s biggest stage.
At first we felt that “The War on Drugs” didn’t sit well ahead of Del Rey’s more mellow indie pop. Luckily, a large segment of the audience let themselves be seduced by their soaring melodies, deeply rooted in American music culture, especially down the stretch, where an impressive “Under The Pressure” awaited us, a piece of resistance executed to perfection.
The War on Drugs in action on the Plains of Abraham, Saturday night. Photo Didier Debusschere/Le Journal de Quebec
Allan Rayman: musical chameleon
After dancing to the beats of Mr. Worldwide on Friday, festival-goers started Saturday night in good hands at Mr. Roadhouse, nicknamed Toronto native Allan Rayman.
A great discovery for some, a reunion for others or a long-awaited first meeting – the young people gathered in front of the stage chanted his name – Rayman is a chameleon performer who prefers to put his rich, grainy voice at the service of all the styles that seduce him instead of locking himself into a box.
Photo Didier Debusschere/Le Journal de Quebec
He went from the rock of Gun to the soul R&B of Graceland and through the dirty blues of Hello To Me and Mascara with ease. Rayman is theatrical on stage and also dabbles in hip-hop and folk.
A real chameleon, as I said, with beautiful musical colors.