If you've never heard his name, I'm sure you're familiar with his work-- most notably, he composed the score for the film Amelie. But he has worked on several other French films and also has many stand-alone CDs, my favorites of which are Les Retrouvailles- a whimsical studio album made up mostly of pieces that haven't featured on other albums, and C'etait Ici- a 2 disk live concert recording of all Yann's best music (in case any of you want a starting point for your own Tiersen exploration!)
OK back to the concert. Going in we knew we would have a problem with time. The last train back to Leicester was scheduled for 10:20, and the concert started at 8. (Jana and I actually did pretty well leaving early together, considering a shouting match would typically have ensued from having to miss our dear Yann.)
Once we arrived in Birmingham, we found the venue was conveniently right around the corner from the train station. The Glee Club-- a generic club venue with a bar, a stage, a small amount of standing room and nothing else-- was inside an open-roofed Chinese mall, which looked like an Asian Downtown Disney. The setup was actually kind of strange, once I thought about it: to get to the club, we first had to pass under a Japanese archway, walk down a row of cozy-looking Asian restaurants, ascend some stairs and suddenly, we were surrounded by modern clubs and theaters, overlooking all the Asian stores (and an Italian restaurant).
The opening band was very fitting for a Tiersen concert-- made up of a guitarist and drummer, who occasionally played some kind of piano horn. The music had very lulling, rhythmically deep vocals and interesting meter, and it was all in English sung by Frenchmen, which sounds really cool as is. The audience pegged a stagehand as Tiersen early on (granted, he did look like an uglier, messier, version), but when Yann finally materialized on the stage (he seemed to come right out of nowhere), there was no mistaking him-- that powerful, casual swagger; that sleight, proportionate frame; that magical stage-presence radiating like an aura around him; this was a musical phenomenon.
It is peculiar to add, looking back, how small the venue was. Granted, he's no arena performer, but this place was tiny! I was so close to him I could have touch him if I'd reached out. It made me realize how selective his fanbase is. Do I wish he were mainstream? Some would argue that popularity changes an artist-- I say, if I could hear Yann Tiersen on the radio, I would be ecstatic.
He played music from his new album Dust Lanes, which I have never heard, but the music was so pleasant and wonderful I didn't care. Just before 10 o'clock (our premature cut-off time for the concert), he had all his bandmates leave the stage, and he stood alone with his violin.
He played Sur le Fil.
If you don't know what that means, go here.
Just him. Alone. With his violin. Shredding his bow.
My heart was beating so fast and hard, I could feel my pulse in my head and feet and everywhere in between; I could feel the music in my teeth; I liken his playing to foreplay, sex and orgasm-- he runs his hands along the neck and curves of his instrument so gently, then thrusts into the piece with his body, and ends abruptly on this amazing chord of notes--
And for a split second, there's silence afterwards, and you can see his face is still in the piece--
Then the applause, like the throbbing of hearts and genitalia (OK I'm done with the sex references here, but that's the takeaway message: Yann Tiersen's music is like sex)
Jana says my solitary shout of approval provoked the thanking smile the artist gave to the audience for sharing in his most intimate performance.
And then we left, back to Leicester much too soon. Jana and I promised to go to another of his concerts to finish the damn thing-- God knows he tours England plenty!
BUT that is a performance I will never forget, and I count myself lucky to have witnessed his genius, and with my very favorite instrument.
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