A “major sore throat”? So what ! It would have taken a lot more than an unwelcome virus to prevent Charlotte Cardin from giving her loyal admirers a pleasant evening of pop on Thursday night at the first of two sold-out concerts at the Agora in Quebec.
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“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” said the St-RochXP festival headliner after informing the public about his health and asking them for vocal support if needed.
Although he experienced a few coughing fits and minor scratches toward the end of his trip, he felt no need. Charlotte Cardin covered the distance without failing.
Her dangerous escapes during “Puppy” and the dramatic rise of “Daddy’s a Psycho,” as well as her mid-concert performance of the challenging “Anyone Who Loves Me,” confirmed that she’s not the type to shy away from adversity.
Questionable decisions
A year after her triumphant concert in front of 60,000 people on the opening night of the summer festival, Charlotte Cardin returned to the city with her latest album, 99 Nights, released two weeks ago.
She performed all 12 songs on the album. A questionable choice. Despite 99 Nights’ obvious qualities, we would have preferred if she had cut a track or two to keep crowd favorites on the program, such as her cover of Fous n’tout là by Daniel Bélanger or Dirty Dirty, which invariably have strong moments about her concerts and what else she’s been doing lately.
It would also have been possible to record another song in French. The only words in Vigneault’s language sounded in the chorus of Enfer, a bilingual novelty. We would have had more in Quebec, especially since his French singing is wonderful.
Pop magnet
Despite these drawbacks, one has to admit that Charlotte Cardin has become an incomparable pop magnet. Whether she sways sensually during “Looping,” accompanies herself on the guitar during “Daddy,” or at the piano in the glow of cell phones during “Next To You,” her charisma works every time.
The simple staging, which consisted solely of a series of lights in the background, and the discretion of the musicians ensured that all attention was always focused on the 28-year-old artist.
The concert also made it possible to measure the popularity of the songs from “99 Nights”, and although the energetic Jim Carrey or the enveloping groove of “How High” were strong contenders, it was Confetti who won by far.
After greeting her parents, Charlotte Cardin ended the evening in the most beautiful way by dedicating “Main Girl”, her oldest song on the menu, to little Rosalie, 9 years old, one of her many young admirers who gave permission received for the performance. Sleep late on a school night.
- Charlotte Cardin will be back on stage at the Agora on Friday evening. She will then leave Quebec until February for a world tour that will take her to Europe, the United States, Canada and as far as Cairo, Egypt.