November 2009. Not the best of times – feeling all bluesy and empty. All of a sudden¹ I decide to browse the 'net in search of some concert by any artist I like. The first name springing to mind happens to be Jean Michel Jarre – and, wonder of wonders, he will be on tour, soon, and in a nearby city! Without any hoo or ha, the ticket was booked; within a couple of days, Deutsche Post delivered me a Golden Ticket, my preciousss, a shiny glowing treasure – my ticket to Jean Michel Jarre's 2010 Indoor concert, 04. March, Colorline Arena Hamburg.

And there I wait. For months, I wait.

At last comes the big day. I decide to dress in tune with JMJ's casual elegance, which means waaaay too lightly for this chilly winter evening, but what the hell. A touch of Allure, and voilà – en route for Hamburg!

With no traffic to speak of, I arrive much too early: the gates haven't opened yet, so I have to stay outdoors for a little eternity, watching the crowd of concert goers gradually build up² and wondering whether I shouldn't have gone with the less casually elegant but warmer winter coat after all.

At last the gates open. Another long wait, more than enough time to leave your coat, get a bite, buy T-shirts and other fan stuff, and we can finally get seated in the Arena itself. This means another hour and a half waiting³ to the soothing sound of Waiting for Cousteau, watching the ghostly shapes of electronic instruments cloaked in the stage's darkness, sparing some thoughts for h2g2's finest Jean Michel Jarre fan Pheloxi, who unexpectedly passed away almost a year ago.

The concert begins. Supporting musicians Claude Samard, Francis Rimbert and Dominique Perrier arrive on the still-dark stage, you could just make out the blueish tip of their handheld light moving towards their place – and finally, Jean Michel Jarre enters, all the way from the back of the arena⁴!

How shall I describe the show? The stage is rather simple, a square packed with keyboards and electronic consoles in the centre, JMJ busily bouncing from side to side, playing with one hand, turning knobs with the other, hitting cymbals with a third and gesturing directions for his crew with a fourth one. Loudspeakers – what loudspeakers? The sound stacks appear to be cunningly hidden backstage, leaving room for the light and laser show to completely unfold and complement the music in a virtually symbiotic fashion.

Visually, the lighting is a combination of classical strong spotlights shining into the audience, and lasers – multi-coloured beams streaking the stage and iridescent sheets projected into the arena, drawing sinusoidal lines like electronic signals on the back walls, and decorated with strange patterns from cutting through the otherwise discreet smoke floating in the air.

Behind the stage, the background changes from a plain black cloth curtain to a simply changing coloured screen, to elaborate pictures such as a crowd of Equinoxe guys⁵. At one point a written message reminds us that Jean Michel Jarre is also a UN goodwill ambassador for UNESCO, displaying numbers representing World population, Oil reserves, People without access to clean water, and others⁶.

And of course the music. It is everywhere, on stage, in the air, inside you, in the lights, hypnotic and powerful. The programme is very classical⁷⁸. I do not think there was anything dating from after Chronologie (1993)⁹, but the musical sequence worked quite well, alternating punchy tracks with more thoughtful ones.

Occasionally Jarre leaves the synthesisers to play other instruments, such as an accordion (while sitting in a circle of green¹⁰ laser bars, a portable synthesiser, a theremin¹¹, and, of course, the legendary laser harp for Rendez Vous 2 and 3.

I was particularly touched by The Emigrant, which he dedicated to the city of Hamburg and made a very personal chord vibrate¹².

All in all – a few days later I am still spellbound. I spent an enchanting time surrounded by sound and light, music and lasers¹³. Jean Michel Jarre seems to have managed to capture the essence of outdoor concerts and trapped it within an arena, like a tiger by a tamer. And while the whole show may not feel as unique as an outdoor concert specifically tailored for a given landscape (such as the Pyramids or the Acropolis), I still ended up with a feeling of grandeur and sensuality, definitely more intense than just a juxtaposition of light and music. The show was two hours long, almost enough to satisfy my JMJ craving while still leaving me wanting for more. So I cannot but conclude as Jean Michel did,

Danke schön, bis bald!

Thank you, Mr Jarre – and I certainly hope to see you soon again.

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¹Well, upon suggestion of my brother, whom I gratefully acknowledge.²"There are no really young people, are there, dear?" "Well, it's all people who grew up with his music."³I told you I was very early!⁴So if you want to be touching close to him you should book a seat near the central alley.⁵Whom I find creepy enough on a static picture, but when they're moving... ⁶To find out which, get a ticket.⁷And included Oxygene 1, from the soundtrack of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Primary Phase.⁸Although, as explained here, it is meant to evolve with time and include more and more new tracks specifically written during the tour.⁹Possibly a track or two from Oxygene 7 – 13.¹⁰Or yellow, don't ask me.¹¹A kind of lectern where you move your hands above and sounds come out like magic.¹²Not only because it is one of my favourites.¹³And the ashy smell of disco smoke, a noted addition to a feast of the senses.