Concert Review: Johnny Hallyday Beacon Theater, NYC, October 7, 2012

Photo courtesy of rufus's Flickr page - IMG_7198: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rufusowliebat/8065491332/in/photolist-dhHKzo-dhHJpk-dhHKB4-dhHKGi-dhHJaM-dhHJLS-22b1yrJ-ZSkkHZ-ZSkjgk-ZSkkaK-dhHL19-6Z5Rmc-aoBex3-8cK7MN-6Z5Thn-22dGtBF-6Z5SSp-6rNk8F-6F9asy-iaojm-7YWStM-HrY1p3-HuZcUg-GznHhU-H5F4TG-HoSHD2-H5EPxC-H5F6iW-GznjTq-GznKby-GztSMc-Gztncv-GznoBN-GzniMh-GzttqT-HrXUsU-H5F5Gf-H5EZhY-HrXGQL-HoTbgF-HrXYvU-GztzZ4-H5F243-HrXT9w-HrXS3y-GznnkQ-HrXL7W-HoSWJa-dhHJT9-dhHKwU

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This blog entry was originally published on October 7, 2012, and reviewed the Johnny Hallyday concert in New York City from a day or two before:

Concert Review: Johnny Hallyday Beacon Theater, NYC, October 7, 2012

The first time that I saw Johnny Halliday was way back in 2000, in Montreal - the Theatre St. Denis, if memory serves me correctly.

Now, most English speakers will likely never really have heard of Johnny Halliday. One time, I remember hearing that he was the most famous rock star that you've never heard of. As far as English speakers go, and particularly Americans, I think that's pretty accurate.

Johnny Halliday is to France what perhaps the Rolling Stones are. He's a historical act, a huge act going way back - we're talking decades here - to the early days of rock 'n roll. He sort of was comparable to a French version of Elvis, if you will, although he has managed to redefine himself more times than perhaps anyone I know of. He took a slightly more Hippie-ish turn later on, then was very seventies, very eighties, and so on and so forth. 

It can almost be comical, yet he is a very talented musician. After all, no one lasts that long in such a tough business without some strong measure of talent, and he not only has survived, but has thrived over the course of decades now. He has some truly incredible stuff.

Where he seems most comfortable is as a biker, seemingly. He particularly seems to enjoy coming to America, perhaps for more or less the same reason that some celebrities here enjoy going to Europe - for some anonymity, the privilege of being just another person, and not a celebrity with tons of people following your every move.

Until fairly recently, he lived in a town called Louveciennes, which borders the town that my family traditionally was from - Marly-le-Roi. Neither Marly nor Louveciennes are exactly like Hollywood or anything. Marly is a normal town, and hardly a rich man's paradise. Yet, many French celebrities seem to come to Louveciennes to live. It is convenient, being a pretty suburb of Paris. Close enough to be convenient, but far enough to be quiet. That certainly has it's advantages.

It is hard to get people to understand just how huge this guy is in France. He truly is an icon for French rock 'n roll music, and he has been at the forefront for nearly half a century. He works out and keeps himself in decent shape, too, which perhaps explains how he is able to move so well throughout the show. Johnny puts on a great one, and I was fortunate enough now to have seen him twice - in Montreal in 2000, and now in New York City in 2012.

Apparently, the show at Beacon Theater was this legendary rocker's was his debut in the Big Apple, a fact that I'll admit to finding a bit surprising.

He joked with the crowd a bit, saying that the crowd had been louder in Canada. Hallyday had played in Montreal on October 4th and 5th.

Johnny donned his familiar biker look for this concert - the same look that he wore the previous time I had seen him, in 2000. Seems that in his older age, that is evidently his look of choice.

The crowd, which seemed to be at least in huge part of French extraction were loud and enthusiastic. Cries of "Johnny!" could be heard prominently throughout the night.

He played some of his staple songs along the way, including Que je t'aime (which got a huge and wildly enthusiastic reception!), L'envie (my personal favorite Johnny song), Allumer le feu, among others. He also did some tributes to other great musicians hat he liked and found influential, including Jimi Hendrix, with a French language version of Hey Joe (I should note here that Hendrix once opened for Johnny in Evreux back in 1966, and there is old, black and white footage of the two partying together). He also did a French language version of Creedence Clearwater's Fortunate Son. He closed by paying tribute to another great French musician, covering Jacques Brel's Quand on n'a que l'amour, after nearly two hours on stage.

Johnny is a professional, and knows how to put on a good show! He did not disappoint on rainy and chilly Sunday evening in New York City, either.

Johnny Hallyday will have a new album, "L'Attente" coming out next month, in November.






One person, Livius44, who read that post shared a video from this concert from New York's Beacon Theater. Here is a clip that, presumably, he or she took:

http://www.france24.com/en/20121007-french-rocker-johnny-hallyday-does-ny-first-time-60s

Here is a Youtube video showing the advertisement for the show, put up by HOLIDAYFLATPARIS :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqvRDqi-d7Y

Another illustration of the advertisement:

http://instagram.com/p/QfbYniAi5N/