Au Concert – French Story & Translation

Author: Chantal

Practice your French with this French story written in easy French and then translated into English. Chantal is taking us to a French pop music concert.

Before coming with me to the French concert, I suggested my student reviewed her French music vocabulary. This may be useful to you as well.

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Ce soir, j’emmĂšne mon Ă©tudiante en immersion au concert de Julien DorĂ©. C’est un artiste français que j’aime bien et il se produit au ZĂ©nith d’Amiens ce soir. J’ai rĂ©servĂ© les places il y a 3 mois, et je les ai choisies au deuxiĂšme niveau pour avoir une meilleure vue.

Tonight, I’m taking my French immersion student to Julien Doré’s concert. He is a French artist I like and he is performing at the “Zenith” of Amiens (a big concert hall) tonight. I booked places 3 months ago, and chose them on the second level to get a better view.

1 – A Concert in France – Arrival

Le concert dĂ©bute Ă  21h mais nous devons arriver Ă  20h. Lorsque nous arrivons, il y a dĂ©jĂ  beaucoup de monde ! Nous devons faire la queue pour pouvoir entrer dans la salle de spectacle.

The concert starts at 9pm but we must arrive at 8pm. When we arrive, there are already many people! We have to wait in line to get into the theater.

AprĂšs quelques temps, je comprends pourquoi ! En effet, pour des raisons de sĂ©curitĂ©, chaque personne est fouillĂ©e et les sacs sont contrĂŽlĂ©s, cela prend donc beaucoup de temps ! Mais nous acceptons de bonne grĂące car cela est rassurant de se sentir en sĂ©curitĂ©.

 After a while, I understand why! In fact, for safety reasons, every person is searched and the bags are checked, so it takes a lot of time! But we gladly accept because it is reassuring to feel safe.

french concert vocabulary

2 – A Concert in France – Getting to Your Seat

ArrivĂ©s au deuxiĂšme niveau, une gentille ouvreuse nous guide vers nos places. Les ouvreuses du ZĂ©nith d’Amiens sont souvent des Ă©tudiantes qui ont ce petit job pour gagner un peu d’argent mais il faut savoir que dans certains thĂ©Ăątres Parisiens, les ouvreuses ne sont pas rĂ©munĂ©rĂ©es et ne gagnent que ce que les spectateurs veulent bien leur laisser comme pourboire !

Reaching the second level, a gentle usherette takes us to our seats. The usherettes of the ZĂ©nith of Amiens are often students who have this little job to earn a little money but you need to know that in certain Parisian theaters, the usherettes are not paid and only earn what the spectators agree to give them for tips!

Ne vous Ă©tonnez donc pas si dans un thĂ©Ăątre Parisien une ouvreuse vous demande de « penser Ă  elle Â» avec insistance ! Cela veut dire qu’elle n’a pas de salaire et qu’elle attend de vous un peu d’argent. En gĂ©nĂ©ral, les gens donnent 2 euros, mais bien sĂ»r, chacun peut donner ce qu’il veut !

Do not be surprised, then, if in a Parisian theater an usherette asks you to “think of her” with insistence! That means she does not have a salary and she’s expecting to get a little money from you. In general, people give 2 euros, but of course, everyone can give what s/he wants!

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Nous sommes installĂ©s confortablement sur nos siĂšges et je suis contente de ne pas ĂȘtre dans la fosse ! La fosse, c’est la partie qui est juste devant la scĂšne, oĂč les gens restent debout. En principe, ce sont les vrais fans qui sont dans la fosse car ils sont plus proches de leur idole.

We are comfortably seated on our seats and I’m glad I’m not in the “pit”! The pit is the part that is right in front of the stage, where people stand. In principle, it is the true fans who are in the pit because they are closer to their idol.

Moi, je ne suis pas suffisamment fan pour vouloir ĂȘtre serrĂ©e les uns contre les autres, debout, pendant 3h ! Bon, et je dois avouer aussi que je suis petite et que je risquerais de ne rien voir !

 As for me, I am not fan enough to want to be squeezed against each other, standing for 3 hours! Well, and I also have to confess that I am small and that I would risk seeing nothing!

french concert vocabulary

3 – A Concert in France – First Part of the Concert

Un autre groupe « fait la premiĂšre partie Â» du concert de Julien DorĂ©. Ce groupe joue pendant que les spectateurs s’installent dans les gradins.

Another band is playing the first part of Julien Doré’s concert. This group plays while the spectators are settling on the benches.

C’est une superbe occasion pour des artistes de se produire en premiĂšre partie d’un chanteur cĂ©lĂšbre car cela leur permet de jouer devant 6000 personnes environ et de nombreux chanteurs sont devenus cĂ©lĂšbres de cette façon.

This is a great opportunity for artists to perform in the first part of a famous singer because it allows them to play in front of 6000 people and many singers became famous this way.

french concert vocabulary

4 – A Concert in France – Arrival of the Artist

Ah, le groupe s’en va, Julien DorĂ© ne va pas tarder Ă  entrer en scĂšne. Des cris retentissent, ce sont surtout des cris de femmes car il plait beaucoup aux femmes !

Ah, the group goes away, Julien Doré will soon get on the stage. The screaming begins, mostly women screaming because women like him a lot!

Oh lĂ  lĂ , elles sont hystĂ©riques !

Oh, my God! They are hysterical!

Le voilĂ  ! Le concert commence par un de ses tubes, et il enflamme la salle. Je pense que nous allons passer une excellente soirĂ©e ! À la fin du concert, j’achĂšterai un disque de Julien DorĂ© pour mon Ă©tudiante : ça lui fera un beau souvenir !

There he is! The concert begins with one of his hits, and he set the concert hall on fire. I think we are going to have a great evening! At the end of the concert, I’ll by a Julien DorĂ© CD for my student: it will be a nice souvenir.

If you liked this article, why not consider a stay at Chantal’s home near Paris to better your French? Here is more info about the French Immersion Residential courses recommended by French Today.

If you enjoy learning French in context, check out French Today’s downloadable French audiobooks: French Today’s bilingual novels are recorded at different speeds and enunciation, and focus on today’s modern glided pronunciation. 

Author: Chantal

Chantal

Bonjour ! My name is Chantal, I'm an immersion French teacher and I live in Picardie - only 40 minutes away from Paris by train. Come experience a real French lifestyle, discover my region and improve your French with me.

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