Carla Bruni Live at The Orpheum, Los Angeles

A few pings of the piano. The joining in of the band. A voice, but not from the stage. Carla Bruni walked out to reveal herself as the suspected singer to a round of applause. “Le chemin des rivières” ended. “Good evening Los Angeles. I can’t believe you’re here. You came out in the cold, all the way downtown,” she said.

Bruni made a stop in Los Angeles in support of her latest EP, French Touch, a handful of cover reimagined in what you might call the “Carla” way. The set featured both new and old songs and, as Bruni informed the crowd after the first song, some English and French songs and one Italian song. Bruni fit like a glove at the Orpheum Theater in downtown L.A., making the evening feel more like an early 20th-century cabaret than a 2018 concert.

The performance continued with a slew of songs from French Touch. Whether covering Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” or The Clash’s “Jimmy Jazz,” Bruni was always a little cheeky, a little (yes) jazzy. “I would love to have a little beer while I’m singing it,” she said before “Jimmy Jazz.” “I’m sure they had a little beer when they wrote it.” Even in singing Willie Nelson’s “Crazy” or Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” Bruni’s slowed down, sultry flare was natural. The way she gently swung her hips and smiled at the audience indicated she was not overwhelmed by each song’s history. Like a true artist, she made it her own. But how did a French singer come to create such an album? Canadian songwriter and producer David Foster. “He is the one that gave us the pleasure of recording this album,” she explained.

It was a special moment for Bruni to sing Audrey Hepburn’s “Moon River.” She described it as “one of the most beautiful songs ever written” and explained how she’ll never forget the first time she saw Audrey with the ukulele. She perched on a stool near the piano, setting up a more relaxed mood for the next part of the set. However, her attempt at being romantic was interrupted when an Orpheum employee, never too late, brought Bruni a beer: “Cheers!”

Bruni sang “J’arrive à toi,” which she told the audience was a song she wrote for the man she loves (former president of France Nicolas Sarkozy), who was in the audience that night. During the song, there were some issues with microphone feedback. At one point, Bruni even looked side stage because it seemed the sound would not stop, but she continued with grace. She jokingly blamed the beer for the problem.

The end of Bruni’s performance included several more songs from French Touch. “Now what I’m going to say is going to sound really strange,” Bruni began in introducing ACDC’s “Highway to Hell.” “Maybe hell is funner? Maybe hell is warmer,” she joked. Her rendition was like a flapper girl revealing her most mischievous thoughts.

For the encore, Bruni closed with “Un garçon triste” and “Déranger les pierres.” She reentered and lounged on the stage floor, noting it was a song for “my man.” Bruni often referred to Sarkozy as “my man” if she ever talked about him that night. Earlier she said, “My man keeps saying ‘stop drinking between songs.’ But being emotional makes me thirsty.” In that case, it would be more than fine if she always sipped water during performances.

Setlist

1. Le chemin des rivières
2. Crazy (Willie Nelson cover)
3. Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode cover)
4. Perfect Day (Lou Reed cover)
5. Jimmy Jazz (The Clash cover)
6. Moon River
7. J’arrive à toi
8. Dolce Francia
9. L’amoureuse
10. Ta tienne
11. Le plus beau du quartier
12. Tout le monde
13. Please Don’t Kiss Me
14. The Winner Takes It All (ABBA Cover)
15. Quelqu’un m’a dit
16. Stand by Your Man
17. Love Letters
18. Highway to Hell (AC/DC cover)
19. Miss You (The Rolling Stones cover)

Encore

20. Un garçon triste
21. Déranger les pierres