All Photos by Amelia Zeve
Mehdi Benjelloun, better known by his stage name of Petit Biscuit, surprising the crowd by playing guitar to one of his songs.
What makes a concert great?
For me, an incredible musical experience is one that integrates great music, cool visual effects (radiant displays of light – especially ones synchronized with the music – are my weakness) an enthusiastic crowd, and a cool venue. So when I rolled up to Petit Biscuit at the Neptune on December 6th, I was enthralled to realize that that concert hit not one, not two, but all four of my “BEST CONCERT EVER!” paradigms.
I may sound like I’m being overly enthusiastic, but Petit Biscuit blew me away. When I walked into the theater, the opening act, Electric Mantis – a Seattle-based producer whose upbeat music worked perfectly to pump up the crowd – was just finishing up his set. Strolling into the Neptune’s main dance floor, which was packed with people, exploding with colorful stage lights, and throbbing with music, felt like some sort of fever dream.
The interior of the Neptune, moments before the main act came out
The Neptune was dazzling, and easily the coolest venue I’ve been to in Seattle, if not ever. Stained glass murals of different Roman and Greek deities decorated the walls, and an intricately decorated ceiling stretched high overhead. The space seemed electric with an energy of its own, but when you combined that with an excited crowd of over 800 people (the show was sold out!), all laughing, dancing, and singing along to the music, the Neptune seemed to be positively glowing.
Petit Biscuit, taking in the admiration of the crowd.
But if I thought the Neptune was alive during the opener’s set, then the theater seemed to reach a new dimension when the main act, Petit Biscuit, made his way onto the stage. The crowd didn’t just cheer for him – they erupted. Mehdi Benjelloun, an 18-year-old kid from a moderately small town in France with a worldwide fanbase and a world tour in front of him, smiled wider than I’d ever seen anyone smile before. “Hello Seattle!” he said, in a thick (and adorable) French accent. “Are you ready?” he asked, smiling ear to ear.
And then the theater burst into an explosion of color, light, music and dancing – all of the things I love in a concert. I went into the night a light-to-moderate fan of Petit Biscuit, but after seeing his insane talent live (he looped everything onstage, and performed all of the sounds in his songs – from drumming to playing guitar to even singing – the boy can do it all!), charming stage presence, and humble excitement to have amassed such a cult following in such a short amount of time, I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed. His music is reminiscent of Odesza, while his bubbly stage presence and general aesthetic is reminiscent of Flume – who Benjelloun regularly cites as one of his biggest inspirations.
Overall, the concert was beautiful, fun, and so feel-good not a single person walked out of that theater without a smile on their face. One of the most special moments of the night was when Benjelloun played his most popular song, “Sunset Lover”. It’s the song that pretty much put him on the map – he released it when he was just 16-years-old, and after getting hundreds of millions of listens on it, it’s the song that more or less defines him as an artist. The crowd went wild when he struck the opening chord to the song; it was both parts magical and beautiful to watch him play the rest of it, because although the lyrics were 1. barely decipherable and 2. in French, it felt like there wasn’t a single person who didn’t know the words by heart in the crowd. It was amazing, to be surrounded by so many happy, enthusiastic fans, all singing along to a song we barely understood, sharing a moment none of us would ever forget. The entirety of the concert seemed to feel like that, shrouded in the gauzy, exciting aura of a dream.
Seeing Petit Biscuit in such a small, intimate theater was an experience I’ll never forget – and one that I’ll surely relive, over and over, every time he sells out a huge arena over the course of his musical career. He brings musical talent to rival his adult peers, stage confidence and swagger, the likes of superstars like Flume or even Harry Styles, and even adds a French accent to boot. The kid is crazy talented, and he’s going places. After all… he’s only 18.
AMELIA ZEVE | Slowly losing her hearing due to the Seattle live music scene | KXSU Arts Reporter