Lara Fabian The Live Performer

[cppgenius]

This will be the first thread I've started.

While we are preparing for the AWL review I would appreciate your comments on this topic. Let's discuss Lara's very vibrant style when performing live. This is the one attribute that I like the most. Why? Simply because this is how she is as a person. Young and vibrant of heart and you can see that in every show. I have never seen Lara perform in person, only through DVD's and VCD's (that John, a good friend of mine and Mark). I have made the following observations:

Her Pure concert - Very energetic and alive

Her 1998 live show - There is only a CD of this show and not a Live DVD recording. The show has more or less the same tone as Pure.

After that came small shows like Tout Lara Fabian and Vivement Dimanche where she introduced her English debut album. Still very live and energetic.

The Baden Baden and From Lara With Love shows are very similar. This was the start of her English live concerts. Very entertaining shows.

Then my favourite show the Nue concert. This is a very nice show, almost combining aspects of all her previous shows.

After that she followed the "Neuf"-style, with En Toute Intimité and after that Un Regard 9 (I'm really looking forward to the DVD release of this show).

Each and every show has some kind of special performance. During the Pure concert was the funky performance of Réveille-Toi Brother, very innovative and entertaining. Her English performances included special versions of I Will Love Again and great dance moves and dancers for the performance of I Am Who I Am. The Nue concert had more than one - The Africa cover (I wish she and Dorian sang the whole song) and the entertaining version of Humana. On En Toute Intimité was a lot of comedy (also on the Pure show) but one song that that was nice for me was her performance of S'en Aller (I really love this song). But I believe the highlight of the show was her acapella performance of Je Suis Mallade (without a microphone). This really illustrated the power of her voice. On Un Regard 9, I believe she performs Tout bossa-nova style.

A trademark of Lara is to make the crowd part of her show. This makes her fans live contributors to her shows and not passive viewers. You come to her shows to be part of it and enjoy her presence, not to come and only listen to her music. If I want to listen to her music I stay at home and play her CD's on my PC. I was really amazed how fans almost took over Je T'aime during the Nue concert.

These are some rough notes on her live performances. Please share your experiences of Lara’s live shows and lets discuss how great she is when performing live. Feel free to mention other live performances I have not mentioned here.

[achebeautiful]

Coenraad,

You bring up a very interesting topic, and I thank you for it. Lara is simply amazing performing live.

I just watched a clip of Lara performing "New York, New York."

The thing that amazes me the most about her in live performances is her incredible beauty. She is a very beautiful woman!

Her beauty is matched only by her voice. The two blend together as one. Nobody on the planet has a more beautiful voice than Lara!

The other thing that stands out so well in live performances is how natural she is. She performs and sings with such ease.

Maybe the number one thing about Lara to me whenever I see her perform live is her womanliness, if that is a word. Lara is a complete woman. I mean to say, very classy! She has more beauty than all the rest of them, and shows them how to use it!

Lara Fabian is a stunning presence onstage. When you see her performing it is the real deal!

[ocelot]

The thing I find with Lara and her live performances is that Music is at the centre of the performance. Lara seems to concentrate on bringing the music out of the words and reaches out to the audience. I think because she's dedicated to that, in combination with her beautiful voice, that she's such a great live performer.

[lapayin]

The thing I like about Lara is she is spirited and unpredictable. I know a lot of people are frustrated with that but I find it an interesting trait. Being a Lara fan is like riding on a roller coaster.

She is totally magical live. As beautiful as Lara is on video she is even more beautiful in person (is that possible?). She radiates, she is "FULL OF GRACE" and she is sexy but in a classy way. From the moment Lara walks out on the stage she captivates and reels in her audience. She has this ability of connecting and concentrating on the audience while never missing a beat during her performance. She is like your next door neighbor rather than a mega star. In between her songs she just talks to her fans (of which I can not understand a word) and when they yell out something, she answers them back. She is very relaxed on stage.

And how gracious Lara is, always giving credit to her band, back up singers etc - even on all her TV appearances.

I love the Nue Live concert. Lara is very entertaining. I really liked it when she sang La Difference while walking into the crowd. I read she could only do that the first night because during the second night, after her fans knew she would do it, they mobbed her and they had to stop the show for a few minutes to get her back to the stage.

En Toute Intimite is very dramatic. I just loved Je Suis Mon Coeur. The contrast between the two concerts shows just how versitile Lara is. And what a risk taker to undertake a project like that - very couragous.

The Brussels concert (Pure) was the most energetic. Very enjoyable. She got a huge standing ovation (must have been well over five minutes) for Je Suis Malade.

But the Molson Concert (Pure) is one of my favorites. Her performance of the Yentl medley was beyond words.

I love From Lara With Love (the first time I ever heard or saw Lara) . I thought it was much better than Baden Baden (my least favorite concert).

The Russian concert was great for all the English songs and she actually spoke in English during it.

I am very anxious for the Neuf DVD, after watching the video of the concert at the Olympia in Paris. I hope the performance of Aime will be on the DVD (it was not in the Olympia video). I just love that song. It's so haunting, passionate and emotional. It's another example of how important Lara's fans are to her and her to them (On T'aime from the Nimes concert). I only have a portion of the song and know that when I hear the whole song it will be one of, if not, my favorite Lara songs.

[cppgenius]

And how gracious Lara is, always giving credit to her band, back up singers etc - even on all her TV appearances.

lapayin, it's nice you mentioned this. Her humble approach is very heart warming for me.

I thought it was much better than Baden Baden (my least favorite concert).

From Lara with love may have had a smaller crowd, but was more full of life. I also feel that Baden Baden was not that good, but Lara is not the one to blame, her performance was excellent as always. The organisers gave me the impression that the concert was a rushed one and not enough planning went into the decor and stage design (maybe because Mercedes wanted their logo all over the place).

Here is a trick question: If you ever have to choose between a Merc Benz and attending a live Lara Fabian concert, what will you choose? I'm not even gonna answer that because you all know what my aswer would be.

LARA of course! I just had to say it :-)

Hey. Where can I find downloadable material for

- Her New York New York performance
- The Russian concert
- The video of the concert at the Olympia in Paris (that lapayin mentioned)

The New York New York performance was once on rapidshare.de and they make it very hard to download stuff

[ocelot]

I'm uploading the New York, New York performance video on Yousendit.com for you right now.

[achebeautiful]

These were very interesting observations by everyone, and I fully agree with all of them!

Leona, you make a very good point about music being at the center of her performances. She is so dedicated to the music, and becomes completely absorbed in each song that she sings.

And Lapayin, I love the choices of words you used to describe what Lara's live performances mean to you. Words such as spirited and unpredictable, magical, radiates, sexy but in a classy way, captivates, and gracious.

I agree with you about Lara's versatility, but I'm not sure how risky or courageous it is for her. She is so true to herself, and music is who she is, that I think she is simply expressing herself and utilizing every variety of ways to do it. I think that Lara is genuinely moved by the audience's reception because music is truly the center for her (as Leona mentions) and not necessarily 'pleasing' the crowd. She's absorbed in the music, they're drawn to her, and 'in concert' with one another Lara greets them with such warmth.

Coenraad, I'd have to choose the concert over the car as well!

Thanks everyone for all the great posts regarding Lara live!

[ocelot]

Here is the New York, New York performance:

www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=530D18E8092BA34E

It will only be up for 7 days. Hopefully it works for you.

I don't have downloadable versions of the other performances you wanted.