A couple of things surprised me about the concert Tuesday (April 21) by Yann Tiersen at Logan Square Auditorium. First of all, this show sold out, or came very close to selling out. Pardon me if I’ve been on the wrong planet lately, but where did all these Yann Tiersen fans come from? The guy is best known as the composer of the soundtrack to Amelie, and a certain percentage of the crowd may have been the cult followers of that movie.
Second surprise: I was expecting something like an orchestral rock concert, with the sort of music Tiersen composed for Amelie. Instead, this was a full-on rock show with some moments of wailing feedback along with quieter violin bowing and symphonic touches. A clue to this French rocker’s direction was the T-shirt he wore during the show: My Bloody Valentine. (At first, it had seemed strange that Brooklyn rockers Asobi Seksu were booked as Tiersen’s opening act, but after hearing what kind of music he plays live, that made a lot more sense.) Tiersen put on a good show, and the music showed a lot of power at times, though it probably would have connected more with me if I’d been familiar with the tunes. I can definitively say Tiersen’s a talented composer and performer after seeing this show.