Memories

So...the "Taking Chances" tour is over and I feel...strange. Although it's been amost a year since I experienced my share of it, it's still felt good to know it's been continuing, even if I'm not there. It's hard to explain. Now...it's over. I still live on the Paris memories so today's post is all about that. I know people really wonder why I go to the same shows over and over and I don't know how to explain it...I don't think you can if you haven't been there to experience it.

Those of you who know me know that I have a huge fascination for concert crowds. There's just something magical and very, very special being part of a big crowd that's waiting for the same one thing, to hear the ROAR of that crowd as that one thing -or one person- appears. It's such a special sound. The release of energy, the mutual exchange of that energy that is created between a performer and their crowd like they exist in a form of symbiose. The crowd of thirty, forty, fifty or sixty thousand people that sing or clap their hands in unison and become one big organism...there's nothing like it and it can give me goosebumps just thinking about it. More than anything...it makes me feel like I belong. As childish and cliché as that may sound, it's how I feel in a way. I'm not going to do the whole "I-was-always-an-.outsider"-thing too much but in a way I think that might play a part in why I love my music so much. First and foremost; it's the only thing that has no judgement, secondly...being a fan of someone; a performer or a band...gives you an identity, in a way. It doesn't define who you are, but there are forums for every artist where hundreds or even thousands are like you in terms of that one thing that you all admire, that one thing that you all share, and it creates a feeling of belonging.

I remember looking around the arena in Paris at all those people waving their hands in the air and listening to them sing along and all those huge flags fans having traveled there to see her were holding: Israel, Brazil, Sweden, Greece...and at that moment, everything's alright. What's on the outside of those four walls doesn't matter, doesn't exist. It's right there and then; the music is playing, every hair on your body is standing up, the lights are washing over the crowd...and it's the best thing in the world. That feeling is incredibly addictive and like with anything, if it feels good, you want to do it again.

Below is a clip of the first concert out of three on last year's Céline tour. It had been nine long years since I had last seen her and this was the very last song of the first show in Paris. The French has always had a special relationship with Céline and it was so visible that night. It's not me filming this, but I was there. At 2:03 when the crowd sings along SO LOUDLY...best.moment.ever. I seriously don't know what I would do without my music.


"chantez pour moi!"