Who
Jean-Michel Jarre
Support
DJ
Where
Birmingham Barclaycard Arena
When
8th October 2016
Price
£55.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Seated, in the middle
Comments
Although I often have the misfortune to suffer gross incompetence or annoyances that make it harder to enjoy and appreciate the amazing shows that I attend, I think this one takes the all-time biscuit. Jean-Michel Jarre has always been on my radar but I think my intrigue was piqued once I really started to get into Kraftwerk, and the legend of his lightshow, and in particular Father Ted's hilarious comparison of his sermons with the JMJ live experience, only elevated my interest. Jean-Michel Jarre has apparently played to 2.5 million people in Paris, which was the largest gig ever and is the equivalent of performing to over twice the population of Birmingham, which is beyond imagination and should be reason enough for anyone with even a passing interest in music to have some desire to see him. I over-estimated the good taste of the UK public when his show went on sale and I presumed it would sell out immediately, even walking out on my job a couple of days earlier than intended when they had the audacity to ask me to go to Oxford on my last day when I was leaving the role specifically because I didn't want to travel at short notice and to be given a bit of respect that I want a life outside work. Plus I'd set aside that morning to get JMJ tickets and didn't want to be stuck on the motorway! In the event I got tickets in the pre-sale and the clash of Oxford with the main sale date was a moot point, and I also got a ticket for my brother who agreed without hesitation to join me. I have an incredibly strong sense of justice and fair play so I'm proud that I stood up to my employer, and similarly when I got a more expensive ticket than I'd planned I was kind enough to let my brother know that the large difference would be part of his birthday present, as I'd regard it as fundamentally unfair to have done otherwise.

I was deeply shocked though that the show never seemed to sell out, as barring a handful of foreign concerts in 2012/2013, he hadn't played live since 2011. This was my first gig in four months and first since the shambles of Brexit, and perhaps the lack of enthusiasm of a UK audience for a very European artist says a lot about how intolerant and narrow-minded people are. In my early days of music-loving I was very much focused on English/Welsh/Scottish bands, and it took me a while to get into music from further afield. However, I pride myself on an open mind, and after many years of holidaying and travelling and listening without prejudice, my affection for foreign music, such as wonderful acts like JMJ, Kraftwerk, Air and Daft Punk from Europe, or Love and The Flaming Lips from America, has massively increased. At first in fact I thought leaving the EU was a good idea, but I was honest enough with myself to accept that I didn't know enough, so I opened my mind and listened to all the arguments in the debate, eventually realising that years of hatred and aimless scapegoating of the EU for all of our problems by offensive far-right media like The Daily Mail, and politicians of all affiliation who lazily used the EU as a catch-all excuse why things can't be done, when in fact the power to enact change was already with us, and most failures can be blamed squarely on domestic issues we can fix, or entirely global issues like the American recession that would have infected us no matter what happened. Although I had no great affection for the EU, Gruff Rhys's moving and positive I Love EU song was a high point of a mostly terrible public debate, where only the Scottish government seemed to make the strong arguments that should have won everyone over, but they were overshadowed by the negative fear and threats from George Osborne, which even if they were largely justified, perhaps we'd had been better served if George had just said that taking back control meant giving more control to idiots like him, and the only positive argument for voting out was if you had massive faith in our Tory government to negotiate effectively and then enact better policies for the people, which clearly very few people did.

So it was definitely a great symbol that my first concert in a post-Brexit Britain was by a Frenchman! Yes, I do have to admit that a lot of French people I met on my travels many years ago seemed rude and unfriendly, but we've now become the bastards by throwing our toys out of the pram, and my affection for Europeans has grown many times over now we've become the bad guys and I am keen to take their side. Also to actually make some good French friends on my travels in the meantime and to realise after the EU debate just what a pain in the arse we must be, always arguing for our petty self-interest and rarely considering the wider picture of how we can benefit other people and work together, I can start to see a few valid reasons why foreigners may have an axe to grind and can be rude to Brits, even if pre-judgement of people is generally very wrong! I had access to only one JMJ greatest hits, along with a copy of the first Oxygène album, and I heard them a good few times, not otherwise thinking too much about the show as I was enduring a slow and deeply frustrating search for a job. I voted against recession, and luckily it seems we may yet avoid it, but things are still slowing down, and to know I'm adversely affected by something I was dead against is cosmically unfair. I love the concept of karma, and in particular that the people who vote for something should face the full negative consequences of their decision, or indeed be rewarded by the positive consequences should everyone of influence in the world except Trump and Putin be proved wrong and in fact leaving the EU be a fantastic idea. Also watching Brexit II in the US election unfold was not improving my faith in the good sense and fairness of the world, and all of this just made the shock of the betrayal that was to come even more outrageous.

Sadly my brother threw a hissy fit and refused to attend the concert, arguing that he wasn't a fan despite agreeing to go, and spitefully sitting at home sulking and taking no responsibility for his ticket, even leaving me with half the ticket price that I'd so kindly paid for him completely unasked, expecting nothing in return except a bit of positivity and gratitude. I'm very proud that despite all distractions and pressures, I've never failed to attend a concert that I've agreed to go to, considering it to be a deep commitment that should not be tossed away except in the face of the direst emergency, and even less so when the ticket is a birthday present. Even if the concert is a dire disappointment like Goldfrapp was - which was a present for my birthday - it never crossed my mind for a second not to attend, and I was gracious enough at the time to be appreciative of the experience and the gesture rather than being spiteful and nasty, as how could anyone had known Goldfrapp would ram their shit new album down our throats and miss out so many hits? My brother also failed to take responsibility to pay up for the ticket, as I made it clear that I wasn't willing to pay for him to sit at home sulking, and wanted him to resolve the situation by coming to the concert and being nice, and attending the show and giving it a fair chance is the least any decent person can do. Even if it does turn out to be a disappointment, the point is that you've tried. And the time to politely say you don't want to go is before you agree to go! It wasn't until the morning of the concert that it became clear his temper tantrum wasn't going to resolve itself, so I took to Facebook with perhaps the greatest offer I've ever seen anyone make to their friends - to see Jean-Michel Jarre live for free, even offering a bed for the night.

I am firmly against posting negative comments on social media unless I can offer a humorous or positive spin, and try to ignore people fishing for compliments or sympathy and attention. Perhaps you could regard this website and reviews like this as a contradiction of that statement, but I very much write these reviews for myself with no intention of captivating an audience. I state this on the main page, and in particular I feel my duty is to recall absolutely every detail I can whether it be positive or negative, so that in years to come I can re-read about what I did and know it's a 100% honest account of not only the show, but the full context of the events and my feelings surrounding it, and often the key moments in my life and how they interplay with my concerts. I desire perfection, so talking about the parts that aren't perfect is driven by a hope to learn from any mistakes, although sadly I am starting to feel that going to shows by myself and minimising my interactions with idiots, except the people on stage and those mixing the sound who I hold to account for not delivering a great performance, is the best solution. There are times I don't feel so great, or I make self-inflicted mistakes like drinking or eating too much beforehand, but I'm just as honest about my own errors as any other issue. Apart from never trusting my brother to attend a concert with me ever again, I struggle to see any other key life lessons I can learn from this one! My mood on the night sadly got worse as not one single fucking person could be arsed to respond to me on Facebook. Not even "hey, sorry you've been let down, wish I could go, hope someone takes you up on this amazing offer!" or anything. Although I'd used great humour and wit in my invitation, I was also very honest as to why the ticket had become available, and expected some empathy at least that I'd been so terribly let down. After no comments I reposted my own message with a wry observation that I felt I was struggling to give away a free bar of gold, and still no-one could be bothered to respond! Perhaps this complete lack of response demonstrates I'd be let down terribly if I ever do find myself fishing for sympathy, and that my refusal to engage in that on social media is the best option all round.

I could have asked specific friends but I veered away from that, suffering bad experiences where people are positively affronted that I'd had the nerve to politely ask if they are free at short notice to do something amazing for a small price, and feeling that a democratic approach of asking everyone I know and letting the first responder have the ticket was fairest. It had worked wonders for a spare handball ticket for London Olympics 2012, where a friend I barely expected to hear from enthusiastically took me up on the amazing offer, and for just £20ish we enjoyed an incredible night of sport and free access to the Olympic park. As you can see, my faith in the goodness of people and the fairness of the world was at an all-time low, and now I've put the show in perspective of the terrible circumstances that I had to overcome to turn it into a win, I can focus more on the positive elements of the night. I set out early and stopped via Smethwick to visit Galton Valley Canal Heritage Centre, which is only open for a handful of days a year. This fascinating building was free to enter and photograph, and I followed it up by visiting the nearby church and also walking to a large park. I'd also wanted to visit the Gurdwara, which claims to be the largest in Europe, but as it was a busy Saturday and I was in a terrible mood I thought it best to go back another time, as I anticipate I'd receive a very friendly welcome and I'd want to be in the mood to reciprocate. I then wandered onto Birmingham, spending my time in the Post Office Vaults working my way through the Oktoberfest beers and growing increasingly numb to the fact that all my friends were ignoring me and were too closed-minded and lazy to watch Jean-Michel Jarre for free. I know not everyone could go, but no-one at all? No fucking way. I grabbed some food at Subway and had sobered up from my three beers by the time I made my way to the old NIA, waiting outside for a bit before the doors opened at 6pm and my phone battery died.

In all the excitement it had not crossed my mind to try smuggling in a bottle of water, and given my experience with the Nazis on the door in the past a confrontation here was too much to deal with. So I can't say what shocked me more, that there wasn't a single ticket tout outside and so the final opportunity to sell my ticket passed me by, or that I was let in with no search whatsoever! I'd arrived early and so the seating area was shut for another 30 minutes, as the growing crowd hung around the stalls. The betrayal had meant I was paying £115ish for my ticket and so I certainly wasn't going to splash out £15 for a program, although plenty of other fans did, and many others were wearing JMJ t-shirts, suggesting that he has a real hardcore fan base rather than relying on people coming along out of just open-minded curiosity. I had no interest in the food or drink so I made my way up to the seats as soon as they opened, finding myself at the front of the tiered section a bit to the right. The seats were tight and a little uncomfortable, and I wouldn't had relished being crammed next to a stranger when there was barely enough space as it was, and I was glad I could sit away from the rail to my right which was restricting the view. The crowd were a good mix of old and young, and despite the music I was to hear demonstrating that JMJ is every bit as exciting and relevant as "young" DJs like Fatboy Slim, clearly the crowd he attracted were of a much more sophisticated mould. It was crazy that despite buying tickets so fast and paying more than I intended I hadn't secured anything in the front section, and the arena gradually filled up and I realised that not many seats were vacant, even if the gig wasn't a sell-out.

Supporting Jean-Michel Jarre was a DJ, who astonishingly I can't find the name of anywhere! He was billed purely as "support DJ", and if I were playing to so many people I'd be keen to sell myself, as surely people who liked his music would want to know who he was, so either the guy is the worst self-promoter ever, or the venue or even JMJ himself decided he wasn't worth the effort of billing. Sadly his music was equally unmemorable, and I struggle to imagine a single person in the room caring what his name was, except for me as I want the information for this review! The stage set was hidden by glare and he was in front of decks or keyboards and lit by bland blue and red lights. There was some applause at breaks in "songs", but this was formless DJing that served only as tolerable background music, and there was nothing to get enthused about at all, although to his credit he also didn't offend or bore as some other support artists do, it was simply an inoffensive noise that I could tune out. The guy behind me spent the build-up to the show passing negative judgement on nearly every artist he'd ever seen, reserving some good comments for Faithless and Yes surprisingly, but after a while I tuned him out as it became clear that he was intent on ruining full details of the show ahead to the guy next to him who didn't know him and was too polite to shut him up! After the DJ the lights unexpectedly went up again, creating a gap before the main event, although surprisingly the time went swiftly enough and Jean-Michel Jarre took to the stage as promised shortly after 8:30pm.

I'd expected a visual feast and absolutely wasn't disappointed, as after some rotating cubes and lights Jean-Michel Jarre emerged on his keyboards, playing a song that sounded great and looked incredible, but one that I didn't have any knowledge of. This was to prove the recurring theme of the concert, and it's fortunate that the music and show were so catchy and compelling, and also as genuinely varied as it could be considering this was a guy with a keyboard and fancy lights and little else. I was absorbed in the visual feast and took many photos, but sadly very few turned out well, but the 19 videos I shot did sound and look mostly excellent, as the lack of muffled guitars meant that the crystal clear clarity of the keyboards came through beautifully. I can't match the visuals or videos to many of the songs though sadly without much more research, but for most of the evening I was watching slack-jawed in awe and amazement, as digital screens moved flawlessly across the stage to create untold varieties of light and beauty. I was surprised when JMJ took to the front of the stage to greet us, and although he was unmistakably French he spoke English beautifully, announcing that he loves us, even after Brexit! This positivity attracted a great cheer, and clearly the vast majority of a crowd who are open-minded enough to fork out for a French electronic artist are going to be biased toward Europe! He also referenced rain at a show at London Docklands as if it were recent, neglecting to mention this show took place in 1988 when I was new to primary school, and judging by the recognition many people here tonight had attended or were determined to pretend that they had!

The first hit I recognised was Oxygène 2, which I shot a video of capturing red lighting and him pounding away at his keyboards, either miming cheekily or perfectly recreating his studio performance. Live projections of his playing were projected onto the moving screens, and we were absolutely getting our money's worth, as it felt like this show must have cost millions to develop. One moment of intrigue was the song Exit, which he said he'd written in Moscow with Edward Snowden. His face was projected onto the screen throughout, and in an almost entirely instrumental concert, Snowden's spoken comment of "if you don't stand up for it, who will?" was one of the few moments of speech. I find it absolutely astonishing that an artist who forgoes lyrics and embraces bland song titles like Oxygène 1, Oxygène 2 etc could simultaneously seem to have so much to say in a world where there's so much to rally against. It made me really respect and like him, and think that his lack of words made his occasional statements all the more impactful. One song featured the most powerful lasers I'd ever seen, which combed the ceiling of the venue like searchlights, and another tune Brick England featured the Pet Shop Boys, who were projected behind him in a style entirely in-keeping with how they'd present themselves in their own live show. JMJ encouraged everyone to ignore security and get up and clap, but to be fair I saw no indication of any Nazi behaviour tonight, as we were left alone to enjoy the show and take photographs and shoot videos as we pleased, as we should be when we're seeing an artist who is all about the visual experience! The only mega hit of the night surprisingly was Oxygène 4, which I shot a nice longer video of capturing large white boxes illuminating in time with the notes of the "chorus".

This was followed by Équinoxe 4, which featured a cool video of Pete Fowler style monsters swarming toward us and some fantastic atmospheric noises. Also toward the end he played a song that featured a Tron-style globe backdrop I recalled from his promotional photos, and he occasionally encouraged dancing and crowd participation, but for the most part people were happiest just to watch agape and take it all in. Another highlight was when he came to the front of the stage and fired up some narrow green laser beams, then proceeded to play them with some magical gloves to break the beams, after bracing us for disappointment when he admitted it doesn't always work out. Technically I can't conceive how he can work with tuned lasers, but it was an astonishing moment, as the set built up from darkness into a mad light show, which I captured a couple of videos of. Perhaps even more extraordinary was the seemingly 3D neon skulls that rotated to the next song, and unbelievably the two old fools next to met walked out before the encore. The curfew was 10:30pm on a Saturday night, which is crazily early, so walking out without fantastic reason seems astonishing and ridiculous. Although here I was at a legendary concert that I couldn't give away a ticket to, so perhaps on the scale of ludicrous behaviour these guys were fairly low down, and I was delighted that JMJ was so far pretty much everything I'd dreamed, and although I try to acknowledge different tastes and all that, I struggle to conceive of anyone being utterly unimpressed and thinking that a night in doing nothing could possibly compare to seeing an artist so famous he can attract crowds of millions.

Jean-Michel Jarre returned for the encore and introduced us to his two bandmates, who were hidden amongst the lights and mostly seemed to be playing drums, but JMJ convinced us that in fact they were talented multi-instrumentalists who were playing a lot of other things besides. He then declared that Oxygène was 40 years old, and in fact a sequel had followed in 1997 and Oxygène 3 was coming out in 2016 on the 40th anniversary to the very day. JMJ looked fit and young, and it was hard to imagine he was this old! Also it was clear that new technology was allowing him to push his visual show forwards, and it didn't feel for a moment that what he was playing was in any way dated or nostalgic, but it was timeless and thrilling, combining the best of DJing with the sophistication of classical music. A lot of us chuckled though when he said that the song he'd written to celebrate the anniversary was called Oxygène 17, then it was followed with Stardust, another tune I didn't know, and he left the stage again after bows. It was 10:15pm so I fully expected him to return, and was astounded when the lights came up, and everyone quickly made for the exits, and without a murmur of discontent that the show had finished so early! The noisy guy behind me had suggested he was building up to an astonishing climax and, although I knew there could be no crazed fireworks indoors, I had expected some kind of big finale, rather than two songs I didn't know that may have been good but were hardly stronger than what had come before them.

I suspect everyone had been so amazed by the lightshow and sheer quality of what they'd seen and heard that there were no complaints, and although when I was listening to it I was thinking how much I was enjoying the experience even without many hits, when I realised it was over and he'd finished early, and with neither a big tune or a large spectacle to leave us with, I can't help but feel I'd been slapped in the face after a great show that had done so much to make up for the terrible disappointments I'd experienced. In fact my very strong belief beforehand that a knowledge of his songs wasn't required to enthusiastically enjoy the show had been a gross understatement, as I firmly believe any friend who'd had the good grace to join me based on reputation alone would have been absolutely blown away, and in fact almost certainly would have loved the show even more than me, as I'm so used to attending extraordinary concerts that I'm harder to impress, and also with my moderate knowledge of his back catalogue I was acutely aware of how many tunes he'd missed out, which takes some shine off the show even when everything we had heard had been outstanding. It's an unusual case of ignorance being a positive boon, although perhaps my Dad would have disliked it due to it being so loud at points, and his massive bias against anything remotely electronic perhaps couldn't be overcome even in the face of such wonder. Strangely enough my ears weren't whistling, although I do feel some discomfort even a week later, but this may be coincidence as I've also been listening through my headphones loudly recently, and perhaps the lack of ear whistling is a good sign that JMJ is a sonic master who knows exactly how far to push the volume.

The worst omission had been Fourth Rendez-Vous, which is my favourite JMJ tune by far, and if he'd played a ten minute version as a big finale and taken the light show to a new level this could have been one of the greatest shows ever, and comfortably earned 9/10. I'm disappointed that he played Fourth Rendez-Vous in Cardiff only, and doubt that I'm the only one who was crying out for this song. Other tunes I'd had loved to hear are Oxygène 5, Orient Express, Calypso 1 or Eldorado, as the ring of familiarity would had been greatly appreciated. However, unless I delve far deeper into his back catalogue I couldn't say if the songs he played which I didn't know are of equal calibre, as they did come across brilliantly, and maybe that's a reflection of how strong he is as an artist, or perhaps an indication that the lightshow is so crucial that the songs can sometimes become secondary. I do struggle to think of a show where an artist has so completely disregarded the hits I know and love yet still impressed me so much, and to think he has done that in the context of such disappointment and betrayal is fantastic. I popped to McDonalds after for a cheeky late meal, meaning I missed my last bus by seconds, then I waited for the last train in Wetherspoons, only at that point remembering that I needed to write up some notes for this review, which was tricky as I couldn't name many of the songs. The day before the show I got tickets for Kraftwerk and The Stone Roses, and I am holding out hope that Daft Punk will finally announce shows in 2017 too and keep up the electronic theme. My brother will be deservedly punished by not being invited to any concert ever again, but despite his disgraceful behaviour and the uselessness of so many of my friends I am proud to have still enjoyed an amazing show, and feel no sympathy for all those friends who ignored me and not only let me down, but missed out on an experience of a lifetime. I had a fantastic night, and learned valuable lessons about not letting other people drag me down. One day it would be nice to meet more people who appreciate the glory of attending incredible shows with me, but I won't waste any more time struggling to persuade them. I will keep watching these amazing concerts, and the more fool anyone who doesn't prioritise live music, share my good taste and enthusiastically want to join me!
Setlist
The Heart Of Noise
Automatic 2
Oxygène 2
Circus
Web Spinner
Exit
Équinoxe 7
Conquistador
Oxygène 8
Zero Gravity (Above & Beyond Remix)
Brick England
Souvenirs De Chine
Immortals
The Architect
Oxygène 4
Équinoxe 4
Glory
The Time Machine
Oxygène 17
Stardust

Mark: 8.0/10