Very quickly, between two songs, by resting his glass on the piano, Renaud announces the color in front of the public of Perpignan: “It’s water huh! It’s been 2 and a half years since I’ve had a drop of alcohol and 4 months since I’ve smoked a cigarette but my vocal cords are still rotten...“
Indeed, this Saturday evening, the production company banned all sound recordings from the media and, to tell the truth, we quickly understood why: Renaud articulates badly and his voice is completely broken. No matter, the thousand spectators gathered at Campo Santo, in the heart of Perpignan, will help him all evening. “He needed us, we sang with him“, explains a Perpignanoise. Renaud is also accompanied by ten high-level musicians which carry the essential melodies of the 71-year-old singer.
“Renaud, we love him that’s all…”
The concert then takes on the air of communion but also of giant karaoke. “We didn’t come to see Renaud the singer, we came to see the legend… man and values that he has been carrying for so longs,” a couple recounts, red scarves around their necks.”We know that Renaud no longer has a voice, but it’s still Renaud and Renaud, love him, that’s all. It’s Renaud, there you go“, says a lady with tears in her eyes. “Tonight we also wanted thank him for everything he has done during these years.“
“A few days after Jane Birkin’s death, we needed to see him alive, that’s all. Renaud has been my youth since the 1970s...”, confides another spectator. Is it a wink or a way of saying goodbye? In any case, Renaud took up the song by Michel Delpech when i was a singer…
“It’s the tour too many and it pains me a lot”
But other spectators, less indulgent, leave very disappointed with the feeling of having seen the legend crumbles. “I didn’t understand a word of what he sang… not a word! And yet I love his songs! We had to pick up the phone and look up the lyrics to understand the songs we didn’t know well.“, get annoyed two friends.
A little later, an elderly man goes further: “It’s the tour too many. I’ve seen it six times in Paris, but now it pains me too much. I think it should stop singing, there really, it pains me a lot, a lot… because Renaud is all my youth! I hope that at least us spectators have been given the energy and the fun to keep him going.”
2023-07-23 00:24:00
#Renaud #concert #Perpignan #voice #smiles
