Richard-Eastham wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 3:51 pm
One thing that made me nostalgic for that classical architectural integration of Jarre concerts of the past, was that every so often the big screens showed a fixed camera angle of the stage but silhouetted in the foreground was an ornate lampost, a feature of the Royal Palace square. That image represented that "baroque/hi-tech, opera/laser, past/future" attitude that for me captures the essence of a JMJ show.
I understand the sentiment, I also think the PR around the concerts is a bit misleading. There's a lot of "unique spectacle" "special event" and similar talk in the leadup to the concerts, which makes it very easy to misread it as a return of the city in concert style events, which it isn't. Don't get me wrong, as a fan I'm thrilled with these concerts and I think it's a great show as it is, but the publicity is a bit bloated and I don't know if that originates from the organisers or not. I had the same feeling last year with Francofolies, where they kept hinting at fireworks and unique stuff (okay, there was a firework display for the 14 juillet at the port, but that was before the concert) which just doesn't fit with the style of festival that it is.
As Jarre fans we know the scale of stuff he can do, so it's easy to get your hopes up a bit too much. But I think going to a concert with the right expectations enhances the experience
