BALTHAZAR AT LA BELLE ELECTRIQUE IN GRENOBLE
Balthazar’s new album, Fever, grew on me for months, slowly climbing into my Top 3 Albums of 2019. At first, it was a cool song, “Entertainment”, that got my interest. Groovy, and catchy, the song has all the good summer-ish vibes. It’s perfect for festivals, where the indie rock Belgian band is always a safe bet. Then, I became addicted little by little to each song off this album, one by one. From “Fever”, to “You’re So Real”, the whole record became a way to slip into a parallel universe and to escape reality; 43 minutes of soothing music. When their European tour visited Grenoble, my hometown, it was the perfect moment. I was ready for this concert. I was addicted to their songs from this recent album and really digging the older stuff.
Marteen Devoldere and Jinte Deprez have a charisma on stage that perfectly fits the atmosphere of their music. Between elegance and nonchalance, the two singers deliver perfect vocal performances and groovy guitar rhythms. Alternatively singing one song after another, their two voices are complementary. Musical harmony is always a keyword of their production, with sensitive, balanced renditions of their songs live. While they completely succeed in bringing more energy to the stage, triggering dance moves throughout the venue to the crowd, they still retain the soft, sensual edge of their music.
Another vital element of their funky music is the bass line. My discovery of Balthazar started with a bass line, from the song “Wrong Faces”. I’ve been haunted for days with this bass line, totally obsessed with the song, since I discovered the album. It was almost a relief to finally hear it live and to be able to sing it.
When it came to the end of the concert, the pair started to play with the crowd, taking song requests. They thus played “Changes”, from the last album. Not really a surprise, but it is a song that is always welcomed to the setlist. It’s only when the second encore happened that they finally obliged to play “Blood Like Wine”, THE most famous song from Balthazar, and the crowd pleaser. The chorus of the song is always a big moment of communion for the spectators with sing along parts that never miss to give chills.
Ending the concert on this track, the band hurried backstage and the crowd walked away, happily chatting about the performance of the Belgians. Truth to be told, the band was in for a long and tiring tour for several weeks now, and it clearly showed. However, they diligently went through the tiredness tonight to offer a perfect, heartfelt concert to a compact crowd of fans, and that is what matters. Thank you.