At the start of the encore last Saturday night, Fouki took a moment to thank his fans, telling them that he was realizing “a teenage dream”, that of having an arena all to himself. Or almost: supported by an orchestra of about ten musicians and surrounded by six dancers, two mascots and a few distinguished guests, the young Montreal rapper flew over his repertoire during a generous concert based as much on his jovial stage presence than on the work of his team.
Let’s start with Fred Caron, who designed the show’s scenography. He first dared to swim against the tide by betting on the decor and the play of light rather than relying on the LED screens and video projections that are now part of all major tours. The whole scene referred to the hilarious cover of Fouki’s latest album, Zayonpublished last February: the launch pad at the top of which the rapper introduced himself to us, and behind him, the two large chimneys of the former Des Carrières incinerator, in the Rosemont district.
Fouki kicked off the ball with a duet of excerpts from the album Deluxe Snacks (2020), Yes you And Jewelbefore inviting the friend Vendou – the “garlic bread of my spaghetti”, he thus presented it, referring to the text of the song they performed together, SPALA
Until Vendou showed up, Fouki felt feverish, almost intimidated by the stage and the audience in front of her; he didn’t start his concert with a bang, only trying to regain his senses, never missing a rhyme, and the arrival of the dancers greatly contributed to the show. The atmosphere was thus slowly installed while the MC offered the two most serious titles of his repertoire, Cowboy And heart of the city, both taken from his most recent album. His version of success 80’s put the evening on the right track: the floor was already dancing, the bleachers finally imitated them.
Change of costume for the arrival on stage of the accomplice Koriass, which raised the tension at Place Bell. Bless And Everything you needtaken from their duet album budding geniuses (2020), came on time at the midpoint; Fouki then chained a handful of his first hits (Pineapple Mango, Zaybae, Playa And Positive) without catching his breath, until one of the two mascots, who had been frolicking on stage from the beginning, came to interrupt him. Surprise ! One of them was comedian Phil Roy, who set out to try to convince Fouki to feature him in one of his music videos.
Now at ease at Place Bell, the young rapper zigzagged through his albums to deliver an even more pop and danceable finale: iPhone (with the hundreds of telephone lights on in the stands), Zayonthe strange dance-trap number St-Han (without his Acadian repartee, but where was the P’tit Belliveau?). Taken from the album Zay (2018), make-up looked like a moment of grace, with this electric guitar solo that gave the song a boost, and Fouki in communion with the fans, inviting them to sing the chorus. Veteran Imposs came at the very end to We do itand it was already the encore – with of course Copilot in duet with his co-author Jay Scott (what an ovation!) and Gayehis very first success.
The confidence he made to us at the recall was sincere. Its first Place Bell, which will be followed on April 23 by its first Videotron Center in Quebec City, is already a feat. More than 4,800 spectators came to dance and applaud him, all ages combined, the grandma who accompanies her grandson, teenagers in droves, young adults who came to party too. Such transgenerational success is not common on the Quebec rap scene, even if it tends to bend more and more to the codes of pop (unless it is pop that better embraces rap?) as does the Montrealers.
The confidence was sincere, but a little short: in his teenage dream, he had to imagine himself treading the Bell Center stage like his colleague Loud did in 2019. To see him put on the right unifying songs, we says it will come; in the meantime, you have to start somewhere, like in Laval. This concert, he will remember it for a long time.