The two Dutroncs at Montreux, a respectable concert with just one hitch

In a Swiss premiere, father and son Dutronc took to the stage at the Auditorium Stravinski to the delight of the audience... until a technical glitch redefined the end of the show. The Dutroncs may not be beasts of the stage, but their gentle charisma and the indisputable musical quality of their music made this evening at the Montreux Jazz Festival a moment of absolute class. And laughter.

The most deadpan figure in high-quality French music, one of the few representatives of the French music scene of the ’60s to draw inspiration from British rather than American sources, the eternal man with a cigar, Ray-Bans, and a leather jacket, Jacques Dutronc is indeed here on this sunny July 8th in Montreux! And he’s accompanied by his son, Thomas, a talented singer-songwriter and a sort of Gypsy-style version of his father, with the same look and the same tone of voice. It’s a privilege to witness their touching reunion—not overhyped in the slightest; simple and genuine.

The Dutroncs take the stage to And me, and me, and me. A great choice of songs, just like all the ones that follow. The order in which they appear is also carefully chosen. With some more laid-back moments, such as the acoustic guitar-and-vocal versions of The Gentleman Burglar and The Little Garden. And more intense moments, including It's five o'clock, Paris is waking up and I like girls (with lyrics adapted for Montreux)—undoubtedly the highlights of the concert. The father has retained his voice and his wry smile, while the son handles the interaction with the audience and the band. We (re)discover the youngest son’s songs with immense pleasure, as they are so well-written and orchestrated. It’s a different world from Jacques’s, yet one that stems from it.

Power Outage During the Last Song

And all of a sudden… Crack, boom, uuuh! A power outage toward the end of the last song Shit in France! The sound has cut out in the auditorium, and the giant screens are now displaying nothing but colored lines. For a moment, the audience wonders if this is a joke that’s part of the show. But no. The audience’s confusion gives way to sympathy for the technical crew. «You haven’t used to this!» says a smiling Thomas Dutronc to the Swiss crowd, handling the situation like a pro. His father has gone backstage, and the musicians improvise a delightful blues number. In the end, it’s a good test of the band’s quality, the sincerity of the concert, and the audience’s enthusiasm.

But the show’s momentum inevitably stalled, and the magic faded. The hilarious and jarring Shit in France It’s performed again, and we almost reluctantly accept this choice—the choreography, which seems almost artificial the second time around, isn’t, in fact, reproduced exactly the same way. At the same time, it’s a difficult situation; all that was left was the encore piece, Cacti! Ouch, ouch, ouch—that stings, that really hits home—phew, now that’s a great ending! Hats off to this duo. Hats off to the laughter in the audience. Hats off to their class.

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Header image: The two Dutroncs at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 8, 2022 © Marc Ducrest

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