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It was an electrifying and thrilling performance that sent shivers down the spine. Bathed in a dizzying glow of blinking red and blue light, Yann Tiersen appeared before us; smiling shyly at the anticipatory applause from the audience; informal and relaxed in his pale red and blue check shirt, jeans and scruffy trainers. He struck a surprisingly humble presence on stage. When he strapped on his white Fender Jaguar, his stage presence immediately transformed to being serious and no-nonsense.
With the support of his band members, Yann Tiersen created a strong, sometimes harsh, electro sound, punctuated rhythmically with drumbeats but softened with distorted notes from the electric piano that hovered hauntingly over the paradoxically crashing and frenzied unity of the music. It was most certainly an attestation of Yann Tiersen’s evolving music, which has matured from his early days of lilting tunes and waltzes. In the interview with The Yorker, in his own words, he has found the piano and the accordion tedious to play on stage and he feels it natural to explore the inner rock side in him.
Despite this, Tiersen has not absolutely diverged from his neoclassical roots when he unexpectedly broke the seemingly continuous song after song of post-rock music with a brilliant and intensely passionate violin solo. His band members crouched down on the stage like muses in the shadows while Tiersen alone executed the violin solo of 'Sur Le Fil' with such feverish gusto that he seemed like a man possessed. With several of his bow's broken hairs swinging frantically, Tiersen brought the violin solo of 'Sur Le Fil' to such new heights that it incited what seemed to be the loudest applause from the crowd.
Not only has Yann Tiersen overwhelmed us with his admirable guitar-playing but his singing voice, although not perfect, was also sensuous and pleasurable to listen to. He may not be as brilliant a vocalist as the instrumentalist he is; nevertheless, his small vocal range is suited to the melancholic quality of some of his songs, especially 'La Rade', a song about human sorrow and perseverance. However, the question of Tiersen’s capability as a vocalist is not important. It is hard not to appreciate his skills as an instrumentalist and a performer as a whole and still thoroughly enjoy his live music.
Tiersen’s music may have changed directions drastically, but whatever Tiersen comes up with in his upcoming album, Dust Lane, which will be released this September, we can be sure that it will not cease to amaze.
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