In more than forty years of existence, the Briochin festival had never hosted Étienne Daho. The adopted Rennais was happy to perform there on Sunday evening, as part of carte blanche offered by the event programming team. On May 15 and 16, the singer gave, at the Zénith in Paris, the last two concerts of an indoor tour which has crisscrossed the entire country since the fall of 2023.
With this first festival date before many others, Daho released a slightly different formula for his new show, the stage culmination of his album Tirer la nuit sur lesétoiles, released last year. Rarely have we seen the singer of “First day of the rest of your life” as sunny as on the big stage located in the very center of Saint-Brieuc. In the middle of an evening devoted to many of his protégés (François
Very well accompanied by top-flight musicians (François Poggio on guitar, Jean Louis Piérot on keyboards, Marcello Giuliani on bass and Colin Sureil on drums, as well as 4 strings), Étienne Daho, very vocal, capsized a family and intergenerational audience. As if the child of the country came to collect armfuls of love from a crowd of faithful. Very warm, communicating willingly with the public, he is a fulfilled Daho who provided a meticulously organized show, without neglecting spontaneity. A striking summary of the best that pop made in France has to offer.
After him, Eddy de Pretto drew the contours of the current French scene. The thirty-year-old, revealed less than ten years ago, is now a heavyweight. On the heels of a successful third album, the singer presents the most ambitious of his shows. A sophisticated scenography, which innovates a lot and establishes a unique relationship between the artist and his audience. In a tank top, jeans worn high and big shoes, Pretto strolls on an evolving metal structure centered around a screen in the format of an advertising billboard. Alone on stage, he presents the musicians present behind him on the screen, filmed and recorded a few weeks previously. The trick is confusing: we really believe we are hearing the singer accompanied by live musicians.
During a tonic “set”, with careful and quite virtuoso sequences, the singer will play most of his three records. Brave pieces like Kid, written in 2007 and still as impactful in its denunciation of abusive virility. The text, full of vitriol, has lost none of its power and insolence. The arrangements veer a little jazz-rock in this title which Pretto boasts is now studied in school textbooks. Another choice piece, Papa Sucre is the subject of cringeworthy false advertisements, featuring a Sugar Daddy 2.0. “Give me some cash, daddy” chants the artist, titillating the audience by asking if there are any sugar daddies in the audience. Quite theatrical in his gestures, Eddy de Pretto does not need high technology to be impactful. With a simple wooden chair, the man has a charisma that hits the mark. But the presence of a drone which films it from every angle gives a modernity to the show. With a very confident voice, Pretto is capable of moving people as much in a piano/vocal piece as with a loud sound system. “A concert hall is a bit like GrindR or Tinder,” he says. We know straight away if we will have things to say to each other,” he declares, a sort of implicit compliment to the audience who cheers him. A real triumph which redeems the disappointment of his third album. On stage, the songs are embodied, become readable and give Eddy de Pretto all the dimension he has.