Between June 7 and June 22, she filled nine shows in front of a total of 40,000 people. The gigs followed the release of her Désobéissance in 2018, playing a residency rather than a tour allowing her to stage a more complex production that didn't have the logistical problems of having to make the show easily transportable for a tour, something Mylène has done before with her Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy concerts in 2006.
A film of the shows gets a limited release in November.
I've always considered Farmer to be something of a shibboleth in French music. Musical shorthand casts her as 'the French Madonna', in that she's female and had a long music career that began in the 80s, and while words like 'iconic' can be applied to both, Farmer doesn't really fit into that box comfortably at all.
She's always had more high art, poetic and philosophical aspirations, and over the decades has cultivated an image that reflects this. She's gathered a fanatical following, which embraces both mainstream and cult popularity.
But I've always remained puzzled by Mylène's music. Imagine Madonna had continued her career, reaching the same level of international celebrity, but continued to base her music on 80s New York club music.
I know Mylène's music has matured over the decades and she has taken different approaches, and collaborated with some inspirational and contemporary figures, but to these ears there always seems to be something that doesn't sit right. If Kate Bush operated in the medium of 80s Euro Disco or Bjork duetted with Sting I'd probably feel the same level of bewilderment.
But regardless of my opinions, she'll have one of 2019's biggest selling albums and I'll probbaly give it a listen and enjoy it to some extent but still be left wondering what letters the French use to spell 'WTF?'
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