The new concerts

[Neiteio]

I think the following would help make the concerts more engaging for the audience, and more comfortable for Lili:

- A standing audience. When standing, even the least enthusiastic audience has more motion than a sitting audience. A standing audience is also more likely to get into the act. Hopefully future venues will suit this.

- An elevated stage. If the stage is above the audience, it's Lili who's in command. In Russia with the stadium-style seating, she must've felt like a specimen under a magnifying glass. If the stage is above the audience, on the other hand, she's a badass, a goddess.

- Variation in stage terrain. Ramps, staircases, props for her to walk on (like the giant shoe from En Concert). This gives Lili something to do. If she has somewhere to walk rather than a flat, wide open stage, she'll feel less fidgety and more comfortable moving around. It's also more interesting to watch Lili when she's moving up, down, all around.

- Particle effects, like bubbles, dry ice, etc. Something to fill up otherwise empty air, which will make Lili feel less alone onstage, and will serve as more eye candy for the audience. Bubbles are especially good, as the audience can interact with them. Would work well on L'Alizé, methinks.

- Brighter, warmer, more colorful lighting. Maybe give each song its own distinct, radiant color scheme. And more dynamic lighting effects. The lighting wasn't too shabby in Moscow, but it could be fuller.

- Bring the guitar players in the band up front. I don't know how often she interacted with the band at the Moscow concert, but Lili seems more confident when she has fellow bandmates to make eye contact with and to "mingle" with onstage. Nothing excessive like backup dancers, just something to make her feel less alone and to give the audience more to watch.

- A better sound mix. It's hard to tell from the low-quality videos, but it sounds like the band should dial up a couple notches to compensate for slight inadequacies in Lili's live voice. The studio versions are a bit top-heavy in favor of the band anyway, so it'll sound more like what people are expecting.

- And finally, make everything a quarter-beat faster.

So, what do you guys think they could do for a more polished concert experience? If the venue is capable of implementing these changes, I think they'd make a big difference.

[Nicolas]

Yeah man... Your points are very good! They would surely help her and make her concerts more attractive (they are a lot, but...)

[Ben]

Originally Posted by Neiteio

- A standing audience. When standing, even the least enthusiastic audience has more motion than a sitting audience. A standing audience is also more likely to get into the act. Hopefully future venues will suit this.

I think this is the most important point here. I could take or leave the others.

Not only is it essential to the energy of a show, but it allows the most dedicated fans, i.e. those willing to wait in line all day, to get up front. Not the richest or VIPs, or those with a specific credit card like the Banamex pre-sale in Mexico. Unfortunately, all her upcoming concerts are assigned seats only.

It's a shame, because when I went to two Mylene Farmer concerts at Paris Bercy in January 2006, I was quite bored when in a category one seat, but totally pumped when up front in the pit (edit: which was actually cheaper!).

[Max]

Originally Posted by Neiteio

So, what do you guys think they could do for a more polished concert experience?

At least some choreography.

[rwd716]

Originally Posted by Neiteio

I think the following would help make the concerts more engaging for the audience, and more comfortable for Lili:

- A standing audience. When standing, even the least enthusiastic audience has more motion than a sitting audience. A standing audience is also more likely to get into the act. Hopefully future venues will suit this.

- An elevated stage. If the stage is above the audience, it's Lili who's in command. In Russia with the stadium-style seating, she must've felt like a specimen under a magnifying glass. If the stage is above the audience, on the other hand, she's a badass, a goddess.

- Variation in stage terrain. Ramps, staircases, props for her to walk on (like the giant shoe from En Concert). This gives Lili something to do. If she has somewhere to walk rather than a flat, wide open stage, she'll feel less fidgety and more comfortable moving around. It's also more interesting to watch Lili when she's moving up, down, all around.

- Particle effects, like bubbles, dry ice, etc. Something to fill up otherwise empty air, which will make Lili feel less alone onstage, and will serve as more eye candy for the audience. Bubbles are especially good, as the audience can interact with them. Would work well on L'Alizé, methinks.

- Brighter, warmer, more colorful lighting. Maybe give each song its own distinct, radiant color scheme. And more dynamic lighting effects. The lighting wasn't too shabby in Moscow, but it could be fuller.

- Bring the guitar players in the band up front. I don't know how often she interacted with the band at the Moscow concert, but Lili seems more confident when she has fellow bandmates to make eye contact with and to "mingle" with onstage. Nothing excessive like backup dancers, just something to make her feel less alone and to give the audience more to watch.

- A better sound mix. It's hard to tell from the low-quality videos, but it sounds like the band should dial up a couple notches to compensate for slight inadequacies in Lili's live voice. The studio versions are a bit top-heavy in favor of the band anyway, so it'll sound more like what people are expecting.

- And finally, make everything a quarter-beat faster.

So, what do you guys think they could do for a more polished concert experience? If the venue is capable of implementing these changes, I think they'd make a big difference.

Totally agree with everything!

[Euphoria]

I agree, theres some virtually inexpensive things she could do to make the shows really bang. The stage is key. They seem really small so far. I remember the En Concert videos, there were more light effects. Instead of just one spotlight on her. I'm hoping some of the bigger venues (if there are any) maybe they'll pump up the shows. I'm not too big of a fan of intimate concerts, at least if its pop music.

[tbailey]

i think those are all good recommendations
but the prime factor will be her confidence and energy level
the crowd in Mexico will definitely give lili a confidence booster and they should feed off of each other


when your on stage people can easily tell whether your confident or not and when you're confident people love it and when you're not people are easily turned off. All will come back to lili with time and a bit more practice - after all she's only 24 (still quite young in my book) and should be very confident in herself - she's after all the dream of so many people.

[lefty12357]

For me the key is the music. Alizée is a singer and it’s a musical concert, so I think the music is the most important thing and must come first. The singing, the sound, the arrangements, and the musicianship have to be spot on. I only mention it because I think there still is work to do in this department. All the clothes, lights, hair styles, and other window dressing can never make up for a lack luster musical performance. If the music really has energy, really touches your heart and inspires you, you probably wouldn’t care if she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Of course, a good visual show is the icing on the cake, but you gotta have a cake first.

I see on her Myspace page that some of the Mexicans are already commenting about wanting to hear her songs done in the original arrangements, and they want to see more dancing. I thought a bit of change to the arrangements wouldn’t hurt, but I think the old songs have been changed too much. LB used a lot of keyboard to build drama and a wall of sound. That is all missing now. So are the little things that have come to mean so much to fans; like the 5 notes (violin sound) at the end of certain lines in JEAM, and the LO - LI - TA bridge (which invites audience participation) in Moi, Lolita. Whoever is arranging the music doesn’t get it. Bands usually perform their classic hits pretty close to the original arrangements. If they don’t, people are usually disappointed. Of course there are exceptions, but it’s not the norm. I think Team Alizée needs to concede this point to the fans and give them want they want.

The bottom line for me is a good music performance from everyone on stage and good musical arrangements. Know what your audience needs to hear to be happy and do it well. I said in another post that I’d add a keyboardist and a music director who knows what it takes to put on a successful concert. I think it would be a big help.

Edit: And a few backup singers might be a good idea like she had in En Concert.

[dan]

I think that tbailey and lefty have hit on the the two major points: more confidence/energy, and improved musical arrangements.

Much of Alizée's prior success had quite a bit to do with her polished performances and the way she engaged the audience. She needs to practice her performances relentlessly until each song is second nature to her and her band. Once she does this, I'm sure she can connect with the audience again. Everyone can sense how a performer is feeling, and she needs to be having fun up there again.

I also think that the MF/LB songs should be arranged much better, sung in their original form, or ignored entirely. The re-arrangements of her old songs played in Moscow probably didn't please anyone: new or old fans. These songs were popular for many reasons, and from what I've heard, the re-arrangements aren't true to any of those reasons. They sounded deliberately un-melodic and cacophonous, as if they were ironic parodies of the originals. If she wants to distance herself from this material, she'd be better off not performing it at all.

I hate to sound too critical because I saw much to like in the Moscow performance as well, including decent renditions of her new material. I also thought she looked great, and her band has potential. However, I fear that her concerts in Mexico won't be all that they could without addressing the above points.

[Euphoria]

Originally Posted by dan

I think that tbailey and lefty have hit on the the two major points: more confidence/energy, and improved musical arrangements.

Much of Alizée's prior success had quite a bit to do with her polished performances and the way she engaged the audience. She needs to practice her performances relentlessly until each song is second nature to her and her band. Once she does this, I'm sure she can connect with the audience again. Everyone can sense how a performer is feeling, and she needs to be having fun up there again.

I also think that the MF/LB songs should be arranged much better, sung in their original form, or ignored entirely. The re-arrangements of her old songs played in Moscow probably didn't please anyone: new or old fans. These songs were popular for many reasons, and from what I've heard, the re-arrangements aren't true to any of those reasons. They sounded deliberately un-melodic and cacophonous, as if they were ironic parodies of the originals. If she wants to distance herself from this material, she'd be better off not performing it at all.

I hate to sound too critical because I saw much to like in the Moscow performance as well, including decent renditions of her new material. I also thought she looked great, and her band has potential. However, I fear that her concerts in Mexico won't be all that they could without addressing the above points.

Its not just about distancing herself from her old image, I doubt LB would give her the rights to the original arrangements after splitting with them.