After all the anticipation surrounding Louvre Abu Dhabi throwing open its doors to the public, there was a tangible buzz around the site on the first night, as the daytime visitors trailed away on the park-and-ride buses to be replaced by evening patrons.
A light show at the ordinarily serene water feature adjacent to the museum brought together members of both sets of Louvre-goers.
Vives Reflexions (Museum Reflections) by Groupe F treated visitors to a multimedia display of live-action LED-covered actors atop boats and walls, alongside sparking flashes of fire and projections centring on the art you can expect to see within, from a Fayoum portrait to Cy Twombly's striking series of blue-and-white panels.
But the hottest ticket was undoubtedly in the semi-open-air courtyard within the museum itself, to see French funk-rock veteran -M-.
The man born Matthieu Chedid has all the right credentials to take the honour of playing the opening-night concert on Saturday, marrying unrepentantly French character with Egyptian and Lebanese roots.
The recipient of multiple awards at France’s equivalent of the Grammys described arriving at Louvre Abu Dhabi as like “landing on the moon”. The sensation, speaking as a non-French-speaking crowd member, was reversed in the first half-hour or so of the set, given that about 98 per cent of the 600-strong audience at this intimate show appeared to be his compatriots and that his material is largely unfamiliar outside Gallic climes.
He arrived in true rock star fashion, coaxing out a cacophonous guitar solo as he strutted onstage from the wings, spotlit all the way, before kicking into Mon Ego from 2003 album Qui de Nous Deux (Which of Us).
Clad in a spangling red-sequin jacket, with a similarly reflective yellow guitar and trademark M-shaped visor, his get-up was half A-lister and half disco/mid-life crisis, but he certainly threw all the requisite shapes of a seasoned stage slayer, including at one point leaping off the drum kit. The less said about bassist Brad Thomas Ackley’s costume the better, however – the Axl Rose-esque bandanna and yellow leather jacket gave the show an odd whiff of parody.
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Read more:
Louvre Abu Dhabi to celebrate opening with concert series
French singer -M- describes Louvre Abu Dhabi as 'landing on the moon'
Watch: Building of Louvre Abu Dhabi captured in stunning eight-year time-lapse video
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La Bonne Etoile (The Good Star) was the first lull of the evening, as Chedid encouraged the audience to form their own swaying, mobile-phone-based Rain of Light under the impressive Louvre canopy. The overall effect was approximately Michel Gondry meets stadium rock.
Chedid's crowd engagement was endearing and his between-song banter brought ripples of laughter from the French-speaking members of the audience, although it was not until Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara joined -M- and co that any concessions were made to the internationalism of the Louvre project.
Diawara's bombastic voice immediately dwarfed Chedid's on a trio of songs – Cet Air (This Air), Amssetou and Bal de Bamako. The collaboration peaked on the second number, with a dozen-plus energetic dancers parading onto the stage and grinning their way through a riot of African rhythms flecked with choppy reggae tempos, as Diawara whipped around her dreadlocks.
For anyone unaware of Chedid's prime influence, the penny dropped when he rolled out a cover of the Prince hit Purple Rain that, despite being bathed in a fittingly shaded light, in truth didn't quite do justice to the late American trend-setter's signature song. Many in the audience who had been standing for the duration took it as a cue to sit back down, but they were up again for the quirky Le Complexe du Corn Flakes, as the lights were dropped low to maximise the impact of Chedid's illuminated visor.
He ended the track standing perfectly still in guitar-hero pose for a minute before ripping through a snippet of AC/DC's Highway to Hell that led into the finale, Je Dis Aime (I Say Love) – his cue to go walkabout through the audience and truly show off his amp-cranking six-string skills.
The word is that these kind of concerts won’t be a regular occurrence at Louvre Abu Dhabi, but on this evidence it is a space that really should be used to its full potential.
Chedid, meanwhile, was applauded offstage like a conquering hero, having brought a taste of contemporary France to Abu Dhabi with some accomplishment.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
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WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
The specs
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Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
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Transmission: eight-speed auto
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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
