The last time Cheb Khaled sang in Montreal was 10 years ago at CEPSUM. He was impatiently awaited and was received like a king on Friday at the Olympia. He honored this welcome with a generous and musically elevated concert.

There is always a moment in a concert when the crowd starts singing a tune from the first notes or even from the outline of a known rhythm in a collective enthusiasm. It is these moments that make a concert precious, since they embody its essence: a moment of sharing, of communion even, around known and loved songs.

There were often outbursts like this on Friday, during the first of two Cheb Khaled concerts planned at the Olympia in Montreal this weekend – the second takes place this Saturday. The whole room shouted out on Hiya Hiya, as on Bakhta earlier, with the king of raï himself on the accordion.

The atmosphere was already partying long before the star of the evening set foot on stage. We could see flags of Morocco, Tunisia and, of course, Algeria, Khaled’s homeland, dancing on the floor while a DJ entertained the crowd. In fact, the author of these lines was clearly one of the few spectators in the room who did not understand Arabic.

In front of this enthusiastic crowd, with his group of six musicians (including an essential derbouka player and an amazing bassist), the singer revisited 40 years of songs and even more. In addition to performing his well-known successes in the West like Didi, N’Ssi N’Ssi and the essential Aïcha (which the audience practically sang in his place), he went back through his history to bring back Trygue Lycée, a of his very first songs, recently remixed, and performed some Algerian classics.

This journey in songs was also a journey entirely in music. Raï, as shaped by the Algerian icon, has long since freed itself from its Oranese folk origins. The accordion is generally replaced by keyboards, of course, but in addition, Cheb Khaled mixes his music with that of many other cultures: a flirtation with West Africa here, a touch of flamenco and salsa there, a little rock and funk desires. All this in a dancing package.

With his eternal smile on his face, Cheb Khaled was generous and grateful.

At the end of the concert, he of course launched C’est la vie, undoubtedly his most pop hit, which set the room on fire. And he walked around the stage thanking his audience and not being asked to take the flags that were handed to him and present them to the public.

“Long live Algeria, long live Tunisia, long live Morocco! he said, pointing to them one by one. And long live us! I wish you a long life! » After that, he could afford to leave the stage without offering an encore, and no one held it against him.