JEAN-MICHEL JARRE
KICKS OFF
FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR EVER
IN TORONTO AND MONTREAL
TO RAVE REVIEWS
BEGINS RUN OF U.S. DATES
TONIGHT IN BOSTON
Jean-Michel Jarre in Toronto 5-9-17 (photo credit: Greg Rybczynski)
Prolific and celebrated electronic music pioneer JEAN-MICHEL JARRE kicked off the North American leg of his 'Electronica' World Tour in Toronto May 9 to rave reviews, with Dancing Astronaut's Matt Sia stating, "Jarre's live show is something that seems out of the distant future, and is an essential experience for any fan of electronic music's capacity to innovate" (5/11/17) and Liisa Ladourceur from Now Toronto adding, "Jean-Michel Jarre's first Canadian show was the stuff of digitaldreams" (5/10/17). See below for more critical feedback from the first two shows in Toronto and Montreal.
The nine-date outing--the first time the Grammy-nominated artist and French electronic music composer and producer tours North America in his almost 50-year career--officially reaches the United States tonight (5/16) in Boston at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. The last time JEAN-MICHEL JARRE performed in the United States was in 1986 for a one-off city-scale concert in Houston for NASA's 25th Anniversary, which over 1.3 million people gathered to share in a moving commemoration of the Challenger Mission setting a Guinness World Record.
Following Boston, JARRE and his critically acclaimed live show and staggering visuals will take over the Tower Theatre near Philadelphia, Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, 1st Bank Center in Denver, The Greek Theatre in Berkeley and wrap in Los Angeles at the Microsoft Theater May 27. Full list of remaining tour dates is below.
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE--a four-time Guinness World Record holder for largest concerts ever performed, 2017 Grammy nominee, with more than eighty million albums sold, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador renowned for his one-off groundbreaking events at historical landmarks across the world--is one of the first artists in the world to perform electronic music as we know it today. On this tour, he's showcasing new music from his two-part LP ELECTRONICA and most recent release OXYGENE 3, alongside classic material from milestone albums such as Oxygene and Equinoxe. View a video here of JARRE performing his signature laser harp "The Time Machine," the title track of his Grammy-nominated album ("Best Dance/Electronic Album"), ELECTRONICA 1: THE TIME MACHINE: https://youtu.be/DnAfXK-hft8.
Jean-Michel Jarre in Toronto 5-9-17 (photo credit: Greg Rybczynski)
Here's what the critics had to say about the Toronto and Montreal shows:
"The French trailblazer treated fans with an immersive performance, featuring cutting-edge digital technology, from 3-D projections to a 'spy cam,' which provided fans a close up look at Jean's rig as he performed in real-time...Jarre's live show is something that seems out of the distant future, and is an essential experience for any fan of electronic music's capacity to innovate."
"A Jean-Michel Jarre concert is full-on son et lumière...The show opened with elaborate 3-D projections set to Heart Of Noise, parting to reveal Jarre on a riser surrounded by a bank of electronic pianos, synths and controllers. It wasn't so much a stage as a spaceship, Jarre at the bridge, flanked by two bandmates on live digital drums keeping a marching beat. It was dazzling...For the rapturous crowd, Jean-Michel Jarre's first Canadian show was the stuff of digital dreams."
"[A] tsunami of immersive visual effects concocted for the first time by the godfather of electronic music...Jean-Michel Jarre appeared on Thursday evening as a child in a toy shop, twisting piles of keyboards in a hemicycle, twirling, fumbling all the keys, buttons and transistors around him. Surrounded by musicians Claude Samard from Lyon and Stephane Gervais from Quebec City, the legendary musician delivered a quarter-turn performance worthy of the greatest pop concerts."
"Jean-Michel Jarre's Electronica Tour is one of those immersive shows featuring an arsenal of sound, lighting, and state-of-the-art special effects."
- Alain Brunet, La Presse (Montreal), 5/12/17
"It was completely made. And, we repeat, had to be there: shows like this, it's historical, it happens only once in a lifetime."
- Kristof G., Voir (Montreal), 5/12/17
"The Sony Centre offered a perfect acoustic space to showcase Jarre's trademark otherworldly soundscapes but still small enough to feel somewhat intimate...The experience went from seat shaking and thundering bass to tinkling bells and whispering strings, and back again, with perfect exquisite accuracy. Jarre also brought along his extensive stage lighting show which was spectacular to witness...The show was nothing short of mesmerizing...This tour is not to be missed for anyone who craves old school electronic sounds, played by virtuoso musicians."
"A spectacle of sound and light that should not be missed under any pretext...Jean-Michel Jarre goes through the eras without much difficulty and knows how to adapt his musical style while adding a touch of modernity!...Jean-Michel Jarre is undoubtedly an artist who transforms everything he touches into gold."
- Marine Lardennois, Daily Rock (Montreal), 5/12/17
"Jean-Michel Jarre's concert, besides being a childhood dream of mine, was also a perfect manifestation of how the world could be if the technology that is available to us could be paired up with brilliant creative and innovative minds like Jarre's."
"Jean-Michel Jarre gave a vibrant and very energetic concert."
"We witnessed a 'sound and light' on steroids...The projections were incredible, they were deployed all around the stage thanks to removable curtains, creating 3D images of an exceptional quality."
"I am mesmerized with the installations that are the visuals and music of this show, so much that I am reminded of Nam June Paik's works, and feel his legacy is alive and well as I witness and feel this sensorial magic...Thanks to Jean-Michel Jarre, for most of the duration of his performance, I felt like we were living in the future they had painted to us a long time ago, with flying cars, no poverty and clean air, and not this dystopian reality. It was the greatest feeling I have experienced through music."
Watch the new North American tour video for his 'Electronica' World Tour:
The U.S. tour dates for JEAN-MICHEL JARRE's 'ELECTRONICA' WORLD TOUR are:
|
Date
|
City
|
Venue
|
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5/16/2017
|
Boston, MA
|
Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
|
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5/18/2017
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Philadelphia, PA
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Tower Theatre
|
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5/20/2017
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New York, NY
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Radio City Music Hall
|
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5/22/2017
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Chicago, IL
|
Auditorium Theatre
|
|
5/24/2017
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Denver, CO
|
1st Bank Center
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5/26/2017
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Berkeley, CA
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The Greek Theatre
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5/27/2017
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Los Angeles, CA
|
Microsoft Theater
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About JEAN-MICHEL JARRE:
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE has been one of the pioneering forces throughout the electronic music scene over the last four decades, having originally made his name in the 1970s for his critically acclaimed album OXYGENE. OXYGENE was unmistakably a catalyst that set electronic music well on its way to becoming the behemoth that it is today, with JEAN-MICHEL's music and follow through albums (Equinoxe, Magnetic Fields, RendezVous, Chronology) breaking down boundaries of composing and production paving the path for what has become today the most popular genre of music of all time. With over 80 million albums sold worldwide to date, musicians and contemporary DJs often refer to JARRE's influence and innovation, not only for his music but also for his singular vision and creation of outdoor concerts experience. JEAN-MICHEL JARRE's legendary concerts have attracted Guinness Record-breaking audiences, with his live shows, often, if not always, taking place in some of the most extraordinary settings worldwide. He was the first western musician ever to be invited to perform in post-Mao China, and has also played the likes of the Great Pyramids in Egypt, The Sahara Desert and The Eiffel Tower, in addition to perhaps his most famous performance ever, where he played to a record 3.5 million people in Moscow. All in all, JARRE has held Guinness World Records for the largest live audiences over the continents not withstanding his memorable one-off city-scale concert in Houston in 1986 for NASA's 25th Anniversary and in a moving commemoration of the Challenger Mission to which over 1.3 million people gathered to share this groundbreaking show at the foot of Houston's skyline.
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE is synonymous with the legendary as he continues to break new ground with each piece of music and live performance.
