Stromae at the Videotron Center: it was worth the wait

Two weeks before Christmas, fans of Stromae in the Quebec City region were finally able to unwrap the gift they had been waiting for for a good ten years, last night at the Videotron Center: a dazzling performance by the Belgian prince of pop.

• Read also: Dazzling Stromae

• Read also: In Quebec for 5 shows: here are 7 things to know regarding Stromae

As incredible as it may seem, the most French of American cities had never been able to see in flesh and blood the most scintillating musical star of the Francophonie of the last decade.

His name had been linked to the Festival d’été de Québec in 2015, but the rumor had not materialized.

Twelve years following it hatched to the sound of the bomb Then we dancethe people of Quebec were therefore more than due to party with Stromae.

“We are very happy to be here for the first time”, even underlined the 37-year-old Belgian, Paul Van Haver, his real name, a skilled master of ceremonies, who presented himself accompanied by four musicians willing to horizontal behind him.

Ingenious

It was worth the patience. The tour show Multitude, the name of his album released in the spring and which ended a six-year hiatus, linked to mental health problems, is a success on all levels. A pop jewel elaborated with taste and intelligence.

Thanks to an ingenious staging where the animation sequences on a giant screen featuring his avatar and the play of lights become one with the music, Stromae makes us feel the ups and downs of a life that is not always so wonderful.

Each song has its own visual signature. So while the star performs sons of joy behind a lectern, an army of Stromae dances on the screen in a splendid animated ballet.

Further, Stromae finds himself in the middle of a skylight to sing When it is ?, as panels float around and above him on stage. Oppressive atmosphere, magnificent painting.

ensues Bad daythe last track in a block of titles that referenced his dark period, where we find Stromae slumped in a chair, imploring “help me, I feel so alone.

Bright

Happiness

However, following the rain comes the good weather. The interpretation of Good newsput us back on the path to happiness, and what a pleasure it was followingwards.

Alternately, Papaoutai et Your party stirred up the crowd at the Videotron Centre, who were just waiting for the opportunity to wiggle their hips and sing these titles that have become classics in their repertoire.

Formidable was equal to his title and the vibrant delivery of hellone of the many pieces of Multitude on the program, earned him a standing ovation.

Obviously happy with the response from Quebecers, Stromae had another reason to smile since his wife and child came to join him for the end of his North American tour. “She gave me the wonderful gift of coming here,” he said.

Let’s hope that Stromae, who then made the whole building dance furiously on the encore with the unstoppable melody ofThen we dance will give us the gift of not making us wait so long before coming back to see us.

One thing is certain, he noticed that he has frenzied admirers among us. ” What a welcome ! You scream really loud, ”he said following another long ovation at the time of goodbye.

Sho Madjozi: energetic

We must take a few lines to salute the energetic, and the word is weak, performance of the South African rapper Sho Madjozi and his two acrobatic dancers, at the start of the evening.

The 20-year-old, who is one of the most prominent young artists on the African continent, fuses gqom, a vigorous style of electronic music born in her country in the early 2010s, and Afrobeat.

The result is spectacular and highly entertaining. Talented, colorful and charismatic, Madjozi received warm applause at the end of her performance. It was fully deserved.