It’s 10 p.m. sharp when the first notes of Bateaux Mouches resonate, Friday evening, vibrating the floor and the walls of the MTelus. Eddy de Pretto is there. The music is silent and it is a cappella, landed in the middle of the crowd, that he sings the words of the song taken from his latest album, the magnificent To all the bastards. The crowd is jubilant.
Posted at 12:15 a.m.
What a start to the show! And the sequel did not disappoint. Acclaimed by the public, de Pretto explains that he is going to give a show, a smooth show. We almost believe it (we are even enthusiastic about the idea), then the lights come on and, on the stage, its musicians send everything they have. Again, the room shakes under our feet. It won’t be a cappella. It won’t be smooth – although moments of deep delicacy await us later in the concert. No restraint for this luminous performance that de Pretto admits to having waited for for a very long time.
Montreal is a very special place for the French singer-songwriter, who had not returned for a show in four years. He takes the time to say how happy he is to be there.
Eddy de Pretto knows how to animate a crowd. He could just sing, and the Montreal public, already won over, would be delighted. But he takes the time necessary to interact with his filled-to-the-brim MTelus. Montreal loves Eddy de Pretto, and he loves it back. That’s nice to look at.
Photo Denis Germain, Special collaboration
Eddy de Pretto – and the crowd – at the MTelus
When Creteil-Soleil starts, the bass throbs and the singer does what he does best. His voice is accurate, his energy is contagious, his interpretation dazzles. He does it every time after that.
It must be said that de Pretto is well served by his repertoire. His two albums Priest and To all the bastards, are well supplied with prose pieces and fabulous rhythms. Add to that an undeniable ability to give a formidable performance. Result: a memorable evening, which will last more than an hour and a half, but which will pass all the same too quickly.
quarter of the moons, The sling, The party too many, Perfectly, Random : we navigate between the titles of 2018 (Priest) and 2021 (To all the bastards). He then presents a new song, “a sad song”, which will be released soon.
Eddy de Pretto’s voice is unique, strong. He therefore does not hesitate to return to the a cappella, so that the sounds of his microphone alone enchant the audience.
The effect is also striking when he sits down for piano-voice interpretations, especially on the so pretty Rose Tati and Pause (a duet with the Frenchwoman Yseult, which we hear on recording).
The king of the “bastards”
“These two albums saved my life, you guys saved my life, really. Because oh how hard it is to assume who we are”, he confides, in the middle of the show, before continuing on What’s the point. Eddy de Pretto is the spokesperson for “all the bastards”, for all those who don’t fit into the boxes and who have to fight for the right to be who they really are. Many can relate in one way or another to the experience the redhead describes in his songs. Friday night was proof of that. On the other side of the Atlantic, the words of the French resonate.
“Are there weirdos here in Montreal? », asks Pretto, before the play Freaksthe hymn to “all the monsters”, “the outcasts”, “the only ones”.
After the encore, again installed close to the crowd, he finished on Kidthen returns to Bateaux Mouches, this time accompanied by his (very talented) musicians. He exits the stage with a bang. The loop is beautifully closed.
It is hoped that it will not be another four years before his return. We all need moments like those offered by Eddy de Pretto.