There was a lot of France in Isabelle Boulay’s concert “From America and France” presented at Francos on Saturday. We talk about the repertoire, but also about the style. But more than anything, this show was an opportunity to see just how much Bashung’s songs change an artist we thought we knew all about.
Posted at 12:15 am.
Something happened when Isabelle Boulay, after singing a dozen of the sentimental songs that made her famous, sang “Ma petite entreprise,” a song by unclassifiable poet, crooner, cowboy-rocker Alain Bashung. Suddenly the playing of his musicians became more nervous and the pulsations became more insidious. The singer herself literally metamorphosed before our eyes, abandoning the restraint she had hitherto limited to moving in a more level-headed, carnal way.
It wasn’t just a passing. As if Isabelle Boulay, who has just dedicated a very successful album to Bashung’s songs, would break free in contact with this refined rock with a country twist. It was amazing with Madame rêve, a piece swollen with erotic undertones, which she performed with restless, almost theatrical elegance while her five musicians gingerly weaved a strange and sensual soundscape. It was also great during Osez Joséphine, I’m going for a caravan and I’ve missed you, performed with aplomb and a perfect mastery of the text. Which is no small feat when we’re talking about Bashung’s disturbing poetry.
This section, which occupied much of the last third of the concert that Isabelle Boulay presented at the Théâtre Maisonneuve, was in such stark contrast to the rest of her repertoire that we had the impression that one show was being inserted into another.
It was almost a moment of grace, more pronounced than ever, leading one to say that if Isabelle Boulay dared to continue down this path, the “great danger” (that’s her words) could be with Getting up close and personal with Bashung was a turning point in what was already a long and successful career.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Isabelle Boulay
The other show we saw was the side of the singer that we know: the one who loves sad songs, which she renders in her deep, warm voice that waves full of soul but with a restraint that also speaks to hers naturally imposed on five musicians . Hence the contrast between the tense playing of the bashung part and the classic arrangements, timid folk-rock, his great successes like Je t’oublierai, Et mon cœur en prize la gueule, Parle-moi or this very nice song by Benjamin Biolay, don’t tell me you have to smile
We had to leave the room as the singer introduced her musicians: Philippe Marcotte (keyboards and musical direction), Jocelyn Tellier (guitar), Olivier Laroche (guitar), Alex Kirouac (drums) and Frédéric Beauséjour (bass and double bass). Isabelle Boulay then sang Between Matane and Baton Rouge, a very beautiful song written for her by Michel Rivard. The tension had eased a little, but we still left the Théâtre Maisonneuve with the image of a new Isabelle Boulay. I hope to see her more often.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Maude Audet, who recently released her fifth album We Must Leave Now, provided the first part of Isabelle Boulay.
Seen with the Francos
Kanen
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Kanen
Kanen already made a very strong impression on Mitshuap, his album released earlier this spring. Dare: On stage, the young Innu singer-songwriter is a revelation. Not only has she demonstrated a joyful naturalness in her way of occupying the space, but above all she has a remarkable quality of presence that allows emotions to pass directly between her and her audience. Chills were not uncommon during the hour she spent on stage showcasing her often raucous rock, but also marked by some amazing atmospheric work performed by her four accompanists, including guitarist and keyboardist Jérémie Essiambre and bassist Agathe Dupéré , was generated. Just give her a little time and the opportunity to perform often, and Kanen, a young artist with a strong temper, becomes a key figure in local Aboriginal music and Quebec rock.
Lilison di Kinara
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Lilison di Kinara
Right at the beginning of the evening we stopped at Lilison di Kinara’s concert, long rare in our latitudes, hoping to reconnect with the magic of Bambatulu, her very beautiful 1999 album – the sound system was on the public side not optimal – but after fifteen minutes he and his group installed a languid groove on which the Bissau-Guinean singer raised his voice high and sometimes whispered. Lilison was surrounded by five musicians, including Bruno Rouyère and Jean-Marc Hébert on guitars and Daniel Bellegarde on drums. It wasn’t the reunion we’d expected, but it was poignant enough to inspire hope for something new from the singer who defined mixed music in Quebec at the turn of the millennium.