Drum rolls, electric guitars, arena plunged into darkness, stage with bluish lights, two minutes of instrumental…. Florent Pagny had taken care of his entrance on stage. But the first seconds of his title “L’instinct” are interrupted by a technical cut. Not enough to destabilize the singer, smoked glasses and all dressed in black leather. “I’ve lost the habit,” he jokes, before picking up his song to the final note, vibrant and powerful.
Florent Pagny, in remission from cancer, is back on stage in front of 10,000 spectators gathered at the Arena of Nîmes and quivering with impatience. “I have been a fan of his voice from the start, of his texts which echo our lives, and of the man, humble and sincere”, slips Fabienne, from Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Corinne is impressed by “this unclassifiable artist, a fighter, who helps by his frankness to talk about cancer”. Annie and Cathy, 50 and 60, from Marseille, broke their piggy bank to be in the gold square. “He has a wonderful voice and a listening ear for his audience. When we watch The Voice, it’s only for him! »
Florent Pagny has chosen to roll out the hits that have marked his 35-year career. A journey through time in 18 songs, “all those that have accompanied you, that relate to your memories, to your emotions”. An hour and a half intense, mixing memories, collaborations and vocal fulgurances. “Anything” to begin the retrospective, followed by “As usual”. The opportunity to greet on stage the pianist friend, Alain Lanty, and his friend Gusto, present in the public.
We leave pop for a darker rock with “Châtelet les Halles”, title offered by Calogero on the eponymous album dated from the year 2000. Alain Lanty’s elegant playing on the piano, deliberately saturated electric guitars, sustained end note … The seriousness of the title impresses. “Caruso”, always controlled, did not miss the top 18 of the evening. New feat, to which he has long accustomed our ears, Brel’s “Vesoul”, resumed in 2007.
Between technical concerns about “My freedom to think” and a small spade to the person in charge of the teleprompter, Marie-Pascale, Pagny also shows himself to be a picky conductor. But he knows how to thank his faithful and his troupe: “You guys haven’t lost anything. »
In the front row, 15 spectators indeed form, with white letters, the message: “A public in concrete”, a nod to “Walls bearing”, song of 2013. Scrolling down the chronology, Pagny still offers his songs in Spanish , signed by Cuban Raul Paz, before singing “I promise you” by Johnny Hallyday. “I took a long time to pay my respects to him. As long as the sadness passes,” he said.
Pagny never seems to want to stop as the repertoire is vast. However, he warns: “I got you used to the third half by making the reminders last. But the doctors told me that I had enough problems. So I’ll do a Beatles-style start, letting the musicians finish. The closing of the party is inevitable. “There is certainly a bright future,” he intones. There was no better prophetic refrain.
