On October 6th, the Rennes collective Columbine was live in Marseille at the Espace Julien. The least we can say is that they remained themselves: welcome to the merry mess that was the Columbine concert.
Columbine is 8 young people who, in barely a year, have become the spearheads of the new generation of French rap. Raw lyrics without being shocking, auto-tune assumed, an invasive melancholy and 100% homemade. This is the recipe for a rap that is unlike any other, where optimism, dreams, messy relationships, violence and modernized spleen rub shoulders. For the second part of their tour, most of the dates were sold out without any promo, and it was in Marseille that they stopped to "do dirty" as they know how to do so well.
"Shy and terrible"
The scene was minimalist: only a console in the middle, with the logo of the collective in neon, and bright lights or, on the contrary, a very dark red. On stage, only 4 members were present: Lujipeka, Foda, Sully and Chaman, accompanied by their DJ KCIV.
It is therefore under the frescoes of the intimate room of the Espace Julien that Columbine lovers were gathered. The concert being sold out, the audience was very knowledgeable about the songs: they were sung by almost the entire audience. Note also the presence of young girls very happy to see the collective live, and who will have had no remorse to pierce the eardrums of the unfortunate nearby.
The concert began with Fireworks, a perfect opening and heralding a high-level live. For the tracklist, it is all the songs of their second album, Enfants Terribles , which was played, with two surprises: Mandragore and Gracias. We were also treated to the hysterical Dom Pérignon and the collective euphoria that went with it (without Yro, sadness), the eagerly awaited Pierre, feuille, papier, scissors and the excellent Les Prélis.
"On stage, we are a thousand"
Columbine is first and foremost a bunch of friends, and it shows. There is a kind of complementarity and obvious complicity between them. It is checked, it is taken in snap, it jumps in all directions. It sweats, it takes off your t-shirt, it dances.
As in their sounds, there is a permanent duality between a joyful and enthusiastic euphoria (Walkie Talkie), and much darker pieces, stemming from a nagging malaise (Electric Time). All these emotions, they seem to feel them even more deeply on stage.Indeed, Lujipeka brilliantly recreated the anxiety-provoking, resentful, almost painful atmosphere of Château de Sable, while Foda put the room in PLS by interpreting the end of Chameleons.
With Columbine, we are far from the bands that stay quietly on stage. The interaction with the audience is one of the pillars of the concert, and it is what gives more the impression of an evening with friends than anything else. Indeed, they did not hesitate to ask the audience to sit (on the floor) on Mandragore, to do like the "little pebbles" of the lyrics, or to go "kick" in the audience.
"It's okay to be afraid, not to be a coward"
The live was perfectly in their image: at first, messy and disjointed. It turns out that the concert is extremely worked and well thought out. For example, for the song Pierre, feuille, papier, scissors, the way the members interact on stage is directly related to the lyrics of the music. From Sully and Foda playing scissor paper, to Shaman who approaches them to play and steps back just as Lujipeka says "he understands that he is disturbing". Geniuses we tell you. In the same way, transitions are made with a small phrase in reference to the next song. Like the nod to those who did not have their place for the concert, and who stayed in their room, to announce In My Room.
Whether in the studio or live, the Rennes of Columbine have nothing to envy to anyone. Staged by themselves, they have the creativity and artistic maturity to carry their ideas to the end, and create a live in their image: intelligent, tortured and overexcited.
