Rare are the times when the soul of a concert hall and that of a club have become one. For the very first time, the French group Acid Arab performed at the Olympia on the occasion of the release of their latest album. Three. Accustomed to dancefloors and festivals, the pioneers of electro-oriental have proven -once again- their sense of celebration and dance, through two hours of irresistibly captivating and unifying live.
It is 8 p.m. when the first part, led by the Algerian singer Cheikha Hadjla, lets its first outbursts be heard. Outside, a long queue is still pressing in front of the doors of the mythical hall on the boulevard des Capucines, which is preparing to host the long-awaited concert of Acid Arab. While the Olympia is already vibrating to ray pieces of Cheikha Hadjla, everyone waits with impatience, curiosity and excitement, those we are used to seeing in clubs, after midnight. After a short intermission which allows a good part of the crowd to go and refuel at the bar – water and other appropriate beverages – the long-awaited moment finally shows up.
It’s 9 p.m. sharp and the four members of Acid Arab (the last one didn’t appear on stage until the very end) have just settled down in front of their respective turntables, ready to inaugurate the Olympia as it should be. From the first notes, the room fills with a rather exceptional party energy, while the giant screen projects psychedelic animations of silhouettes of women in neon. The atmosphere is set. While the whole crowd, pit and bleachers included, starts dancing and spinning, Acid Arab sends the last nuggets of its latest project released on February 3rd. And they are not alone in doing so. The singer and long-time friend of the group Sofiane Saidi arrives on stage to perform the brilliant “Leila”, the introduction of Three. It is Cheb Halim who will then ignite the stage for the hypnotic piece Halim Guelil, which we had been able to discover exclusively a few months before the release of the album… On the public side, the enthusiasm continues to grow. Those who perhaps did not dare to dance at the beginning, naturally let themselves be carried away by the implacable rhythms of the French quintet. To our delight, we have the right to the classics from the group’s previous albums. So we redouble our fervor when Sofiane Saidi goes back on stage to “La Hafla” (Music from France) and when “Club DZ” (Jdid) transforms Bruno Coquatrix’s room into a nightclub, literally.
After two hours of set and sung performances each more powerful than the other, Acid Arab begins the end of the concert while the final track ends. Quite moved, the five members of the group (Guido Minisky, Hervé Carvalho, Pierrot Casanova, Nicolas Borne and Kenzi Bourras) gather on the front of the stage to thunderous applause and people who want more. And they won’t be disappointed: “Let’s meet at the Rex in an hour!” chants Guido Minisky into his microphone, which has the gift of provoking howls of joy throughout the room. Directly after the concert, Acid Arab, which never loses its bearings, goes to the Rex Club as a matter of course, for a craziest after-show alongside Parfait and Gilb’R. The most valiant of the public follow, and given the success of this legendary first concert, we can only understand them.
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