Carla Bruni

On a chilly Saturday on the run-up to Christmas, the Union Chapel is a wondrous place to be. Christmas tree stage right, heaters on full blast and we wait for the entertainment to begin.

When the 4-piece band take to the stage and ‘Le Chemin des Rivières’ starts there is no sign of Carla Bruni yet the vocals begin and slowly she walks onto the stage. It’s a flirtatious start to her charm offensive.

‘Enjoy The Silence’ by Depeche Mode follows with the former first lady of France wistfully delivering lines read from her music stand. ‘Crazy’ by Willie Nelson, ‘Perfect Day’ by Lou Reed and Jimmy Jazz by The Clash were next on the hit list and you’d be right in thinking that any song is fair game for the ex-supermodels dulcet tones. Bruni’s charming vulnerability and her easy vocal style soon caress you into submission, forgiving her pronunciation on certain key words.

Her confidence guides her forward and perhaps blindly into AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ at which point I start to wonder what could possible come next… ‘Ace Of Spades’ by Motorhead, ‘Monkey Wrench’ by Foo Fighters, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ by Guns n' Roses? Luckily it’s ‘Miss You’ by The Rolling Stones. Covers aside it’s her native French and one Italian song that steal the show although she is clearly playing to the converted tonight. The Union Chapel’s select audience seems formed from extended family and friends laughing at quips that had me baffled, that said, it was a most agreeable night of relaxing music, what it lacked in soul it more than made up for in seductive spirit.

The final song of the night 'Hallelujah' by Leonard Cohen was delivered from the pulpit, amazingly in all my ventures to the Union Chapel the first time I had seen this done 'bien joué'!


Set list

Le chemin des rivières
Enjoy the silence - Depeche Mode cover
Crazy - Willie Nelson cover
Perfect Day - Lou Reed cover
Jimmy Jazz - The Clash cover
Moon River
J'arrive à toi
Dolce Francia
L'amoureuse
Ta tienne
Le plus beau du quartier
Tout le monde
Please Don't Kiss Me
The Winner Takes It All - ABBA cover
Quelqu'un m'a dit
Stand by Your Man
Love Letters
Highway to hell - AC/DC cover
Miss you -The Rolling Stones cover

Encore:
Un garçon triste
Déranger les pierres
She'll have to go
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen cover

Band list
-Taofik Farah guitars
-Cyril Barbessol keys, accordion & horns
-Johanne Mathaly cello & bass
-Xavier Sanchez drums