Live report of L'Arc~en~Ciel's concert at the Zénith in Paris.
A few years ago, who would have thought that an event such as L'Arc~en~Ciel at the Zénith in Paris could have been possible? But, as proof of the passion of an ever expanding audience of all ages and nationalities, this dream came true on the 9th of May 2008. One of the most popular Japanese rock bands, at least overseas, scheduled this sole date outside of Asia and chose the French capital as their venue.
The Zénith was fully packed as the fans feverishly waited for the band. Would they just play songs from their most recent album? Would it just be a short concert? Would they play the absolute minimum for supposedly satisfying the audience? So many questions were rushing around the heads of the expectant fans and before long, they would get their answers.
After the doors opened at around 7 pm, the majority of the audience threw themselves towards the merchandise stall. However, as is often the way, the items were a little steeply priced. The audience then started to place themselves bit by bit on the steps and in the pit and, despite what certain scandalmongers thought, the room was packed. The fact that this was the sole European date had attracted people from all over the world. In the same audience there were Mexicans and Brazilians, further showing the worldwide popularity of L'Arc~en~Ciel in the musical domain. In this wonderful atmosphere, the lights finally dimmed and a huge curtain decorated with the tour logo appeared along with the silhouettes of the band.
The curtain fell and what was thought to be just a dream several minutes earlier finally became reality. The band started the show with Get out from the shell -asian version-, taken from the album REAL, followed by the ever popular Driver's High, which had introduced thousands of people to the band thanks to its usage in the anime series "GTO". For the first time in Europe, a Japanese band gave a truly well produced show. You could sense the power and the notoriety of the group through the huge sheets which hung from the ceiling and behind yukihiro, but also thanks to the two giant screens at either side of the stage showing the concert, which was being televised - and shown in cinemas - in Japan. For once, the ticket price was completely justified, invested here in the décor and the screens.
The band seemed genuinely happy to be there and, unlike a lot of other Japanese bands, they made the effort to communicate with the audience entirely in French. It was quite surprising when hyde started chanting: "Sautez, sautez!" (jump, jump) or, more normally: "ça va?" (how are you?) and "bonjour", as well as: "je vous aime les parisiennes" (I love you, Parisians). But the other band members also contributed to the show, for example ken's speech on his visit to France (and its culinary specialties) or when tetsu threw a banana into the crowd, shouting: "vous aimez les bananes?" (Do you like bananas?). Even yukihiro said a few little things. This communication was a pleasure to see, both for the fans and for the band themselves, who were happy to please them.
And despite what the quartet offered their fans, there were still those who persisted in taking photographs of the concert, which was strictly forbidden. It is really essential that people pay attention to and respect these rules, which are there for a reason as the band can be easily offended by this, which could have unfortunate consequences here in the future.
The band members simply oozed charisma and you could sense a strong presence in their gestures and the way they played the stage. Perhaps it was the size of the venue - standing on the steps, fans still got a very good view - which made it feel as though the band were very close to their audience. Even though tetsu was very withdrawn, playing but not daring to come towards the audience, the performance of ken, cigarette in mouth (in France, smoking is forbidden in live houses, Sir), was amazing. Not a single wrong note. You could tell that he had been practicing over and over in order to fully give himself to the show. The guitarist posed and played up to the audience and the camera, wandering around even while belting out riffs and solos with unmistakable class. It must also be said that with yukihiro and the perfect bass rhythm brought by tetsu, which was a wonderful spectacle that evening, it probably wasn't hard to play well. All of the instruments played their parts perfectly, allowing hyde to fully express himself.
Few singers - and even fewer among those who have previously come to France from Japan - can pride themselves in being able to completely master the stage and captivate the audience in the same way as hyde. Flitting from left to right on the stage, dancing and talking with the fans, hyde was a veritable showman, all without compromising his singing or missing a note. His voice was just as beautiful live as on CD, whatever the song and although his voice has evolved over fifteen years, it was always perfect. Even when he took ken's guitar and switched places with him, he was always spot on.
The show was long - very long - but passed at a dizzying speed. We had a fright when ken injured himself and the band left the stage. The audience was left to panic briefly, but ten minutes later, L'arc~en~Ciel returned as if nothing had happened and continued the show. Including the two encores, they played twenty songs and the show lasted over two hours. The band dipped into their entire discography, without forgetting their last album. They played their latest single, DRINK IT DOWN, and other songs including MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM, My Dear and Forbidden lover.
And we can't ignore the band's bigger hits such as Daybreak's Bell, SEVENTH HEAVEN or READY STEADY GO. In fact, they didn't play a single song that was filler. Of course, their discography is so vast that it wasn't possible to play every single song, though it was a shame that they didn't play C'est la vie or BLURRY EYES.
But there is no doubt that L'arc~en~Ciel's concert on the 9th of May will go down in history as a triumph of Japanese music in France. The band gave a stunning display, both visually and musically, which will remain as a fantastic memory for all those who were present. Encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd, L'arc~en~Ciel surprised, entertained and fully enjoyed themselves, and we truly look forward to their next visit to France.
Setlist:
01. Get out from the shell -asian version-
02. Driver's High
03. Killing Me
04. DRINK IT DOWN
05. Daybreak's Bell
06. Winter fall
07. Kasou
08. My Dear
09. Forbidden lover
10. MY HEART DRAWS A DREAM
11. Caress of Venus
12. REVELATION
13. SEVENTH HEAVEN
14. Pretty girl
15. STAY AWAY
16. READY STEADY GO
17. NEO UNIVERSE
18. HONEY
19. Link
20. Anata
