“It’s great to be in Paris”: Popa Chubby electrifies the Olympia

In France, Popa Chuby's success has lasted since 1996. His physique is not forgotten, whether it appears on the covers of his twenty albums or on posters. A strong guy, bald with tattooed arms and a gray goatee: a Tontons Flingueurs face. This rough rock guitarist, who sings the blues with a cavernous voice, is so in love with France that he could well come and settle there. There are his habits. Both his guitar straps and his leather outfits are by Laurent Lepainteur, who works for French luxury houses. Popa Chuby would not support a return of Donald Trump to the White House anyway.

The Parisians had an appointment with him on Sunday for the Parisian date of his annual tour. His Olympia was, as always, packed. Mostly a male audience. At the bar, the beer was flowing freely. In the crowd there were both senior executives and blues rock fans in checkered shirts, dark jeans with bandanas in the back pocket. If Johnny Hallyday was still alive, he would have been there. He loved New York City Blues, this rough, very rock style invented by Popa Chubby. During an interview in Version Femina given a few years before his death in 2017, the only album he recommended was that of Popa Chubby.

Punctual, Popa Chubby is a 63-year-old New Yorker, humor included. Darkness falls, Frank Sinatra's voice resonates in the Olympia. A massive figure enters the stage to Start spreadin’ the news, I’m leaving today..., the famous anthem of New York New York. Hat, long-sleeved black and red striped t-shirt, dark satin vest, Popa Chubby draws her gold Fender Stratocaster while sitting on a small raised stage. Three musicians, a bass guitarist, a keyboard player and a drummer surround him. He launches a masterful riff, the drummer unleashes like Animal from the Muppet Show. Popa Chubby makes the devil's horns sign with two fingers in the air and off we go for two hours of feverish rock and blues. He has a sense of the stage and never goes unnoticed. As rays of white light sweep across the stage, he begins with his long version of Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix, of which he is an “absolute fan.” It must be a generational question: at the orchestra, few people film the concert with their cell phones. The applause bursts out. “Thank you, it’s great to be in Paris,” he said.

This is far from being his first Olympia and although he is considered one of the best guitarists in the world, Popa Chubby is moved to be at the Olympia, where Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Miles have played Davies. “I send my love, my respect to all these great musicians who made it possible for us all to be here this evening,” he said. And continues: “I come from New York where we have the mafia!” He throws his hat backstage and attacks his wild version of the theme from The Godfather by Martin Scorsese (Speak Softly love) and Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino. In homage to Carlos Santana, he launches into a drum duet with his drummer on Soul Sacrifice. What follows is an astonishing version of Somewhere over the rainbow by Judy Garland, riff and drums version. We think we recognize an Elvis Presley song but even his most discerning fans don't know exactly which one, as Popa Chubby creates versions that are far removed from the original. There's no point in shazaming it while it's playing, the application on our cell phone is unable to recognize any of the songs played this evening. The first part ends with the slow title Hallelujah against a background of blood-red lights. Twenty minutes later, here he is again with Have you ever loved a woman then Another ten years gone and Sympathy for the devil. He is sure “the blues and rock will never die.” Like Lou Reed, he “takes a walk on the wild side....”, the audience hums the refrain “dou dou dou tou tou tou...” The concert is nearing its end. It’s time for his “little brother” to take the stage. Applause explodes when we see Manu Lanvin arrive in a leopard shirt rolled up at the elbows and black pants. These two musicians adore each other. Here we go for seven frantic minutes where their cavernous voices and their guitars respond to each other. An extraordinary moment.

» Popa Chubby on tour Sanary-sur-Mer (March 19), Aurillac (March 20), Puy-en-Velay (March 21) and Clermont-Ferrand (March 22). Ticket sales on www.caramba.fr