The last time Cheb Khaled sang in Montreal was 10 years ago at CEPSUM. He was eagerly awaited and received like a king at the Olympia on Friday. He honored this reception with a generous and musically demanding concert.
Published at 12:10 am.
There is always a moment in a concert when the audience, in collective enthusiasm, begins to sing a melody from the first notes or even the rudiments of a familiar rhythm. It is these moments that make a concert so valuable, because they embody its essence: a moment of sharing, even community, around songs known and loved.
Outbursts like this occurred often on Friday, during the first of two Cheb Khaled concerts scheduled at Montreal’s Olympia this weekend – the second taking place this Saturday. The whole room shouted Hiya Hiya, like Bakhta before, with the King of Raï himself on the accordion.
The whole room actually sang and danced from start to finish in a movement full of happiness and pride.
There was a party atmosphere long before the star of the evening took the stage. We could see flags of Morocco, Tunisia and of course Algeria, Khaled’s home country, dancing on the floor while a DJ entertained the crowd. In fact, the author of these lines was apparently one of the few audience members in the room who did not understand Arabic.
Journey in songs
In front of this enthusiastic audience, the singer and his group of six musicians (including an indispensable derbouka player and a great bassist) reviewed songs from 40 years and more. In addition to performing his well-known successes in the West such as Didi, N’Ssi N’Ssi and the indispensable Aïcha (which the audience practically sang in his place), he revisited his history to bring back Trygue Lycée, one of his very first Songs that were recently remixed and performed some Algerian classics.
This journey in songs was also a journey exclusively in music. Raï, as characterized by the Algerian icon, has long since freed itself from its Oranese folk origins. The accordion is of course basically replaced by keyboards, but beyond that Cheb Khaled mixes his music with that of many other cultures: a flirtation with West Africa here, a touch of flamenco and salsa there, a little rock and funk lust. All in one dance package.
With his eternal smile on his face, Cheb Khaled was generous and grateful.
He was playful – we demonstrably do not suspect him to be a fool – a good leader of the crowd, and he had a good voice.
At the end of the concert he of course started C’est la vie, undoubtedly his poppiest hit, which made the room shake. And he walked across the stage and thanked his audience without being asked to take the flags that had been presented to him and present them to the public.
“Long live Algeria, long live Tunisia, long live Morocco!” he said, pointing at them one after the other. And long live us! I wish you a long life! » After that, he could afford to leave the stage without offering an encore, and no one held it against him.