Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Jean Michel Jarre live in Athens June 2010

I had wanted to see Jean Michel Jarre in concert ever since the late 80's. Having seen on television excerpts from his concerts in Houston, Lyon and other cities with the incredible - at least for that era - laser shows and the musical instruments that he had created, I decided that this was an experience I would like to have! And I was actually ready to do that since I was in London when he announced that he would organize similar concerts at the Docklands. Of course, the English, being as usual spoilsports set several obstacles concerning safety reasons and what have you and so the concerts were postponed only to take place later marred by the worst kind of English weather as well as reduced ticket numbers. As a result, I couldn't make it.  However, back in 2010 I got my chance to make up for it. Seeing as the concert was taking place at an indoor venue (as was the whole of that year's tour), I was doubtful as to whether he could reproduce all those special effects. I needn't have worried! He performed a bit of everything. Including the musical instrument with the laser beams which played a different note depending on which beam he was touching. He even treated us to some 3D effects... and he played the theremin as well!

The theremin is one of the first electronic instrument invented almost a century ago by a soviet scientist.




One funny thing that happened was when I realized that the two people sitting next to me were talking about their visit to Busch Gardens, the amusement park I was working at back in 2000 in the USA. All in all, this was a night to remember, and what was more important was that the venue was full. And keep this in mind: for those that listen to synth-pop, Jean Michel Jarre (together with our very own Vangelis) is their classical music! 

SETLIST:
01. Oxygène 2
02. Magnetic Fields 1
03. Équinoxe 7
04. Équinoxe 5
05. Troisième Rendez-Vous
06. Magnetic Fields 2
07. Souvenirs Of China
08. Oxygène 5
09. Variation 3
10. Theremin Memories
11. Équinoxe 4
12. Statistics Adagio
13. Révolution Industrielle 2
14. Deuxième Rendez-Vous
15. Quatrième Rendez-Vous
16. Chronologie 6
17. Chronologie 2
18. Oxygène 4
19. Oxygène 12
20. Calypso 3

 

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