Sebastien Tellier at Hiro 7/30/08

Last Wednesday the triangle (+Rachel and George, who could easily pass as Sebastien's twin) went to Hiro to see Sebastien Tellier. Firstly...it was weird being at Hiro so early. I think Seb went on around 10. He had a full band with him. When he came out onstage, looking as ridicufrannnssshhh as ever in his white pants, black shirt, and blazing silver jacket we all knew we were in for a bit of a ride.

Going into the show I had heard 7 of the tracks off of his album, Sexuality. I really liked them...but they never really came to fit into my regular listening. They were just a little too mellow compared to what I've been listening to and I could never really find the right time to listen to them. Thankfully Wednesday's show changed that...

The vocals were perfect - sounded just like the album. The band was incredibly tight, really knew the material. Together, their live delivery of the songs off of Sexuality was flawless and breathed new life into the songs. Everything sounded so much richer and you really got a better sense of the Thomas Bangalter (whoops!) Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo touch that went into this album. Also, hearing the songs live gave me a better sense of what they actually are...ultra finely crafted, electronic-influenced pop songs. People need to remember that pop didn't (and doesn't) always refer to the top 40's garbage we deal with today...it's not a dirty word!

Anyway...that's more of the technical side of things. On to showmanship...Sebastien Tellier is totally out of control. He had a persistent, mild to moderate pelvic thrust going for the entire 1-1.5 hour performance. He was moaning at various points in the evening (especially during the end of Kilometer). He got further with his microphone than most people get on a first date. It was that kind of show. I think overall everyone left Hiro feeling very hot and bothered, but in the good way for once.

There are just a few pics below as well as the setlist. Also check out Paul's review which features some video that Mike took (electro fam-layyy in the house! yeaah!).

Setlist:

Kilometer
Divine
Une Heure
Fingers of Steel
Indians
Roche
Look
Broadway
La Ritournelle
L'Amour et la Violence

encore: Sexual Sportswear

Sebastien Tellier