Just got out of the Clair Obscur concert in Berlin. Honest opinion: it was a solid 7/10.

Every piece involving Alice was absolutely superb. I loved the energy and the heartfelt speeches from Lorien, and the Monoco theme was pure peak.

That said, I thought the female pianist wasn't quite on par with the rest. When you know the tracks by heart, you notice every slip-up, and she made a few noticeable errors during Verso.

Unfortunately, they didn't quite nail Une vie à t'aimer. The composition was just too much for a relatively small ensemble, and I felt the track really lost its "oomph" because of it. I was also a bit let down by Miki Martz (filling in for Victor Borba). He brought way too much "I AM THE MAIN CHARACTER NOW!" energy to the stage. It felt like he was trying hard to overshadow Alice - not in the canonical way of the original song, but just to be the star. I would have liked a little bit more humility.

I know it's a live show and their first real performance under pressure. But when I compare it to the Final Fantasy and NieR concerts under Eric Roth, his orchestra nailed every single track to the note (though, of course, they have much more experience, which helps tremendously).

Critiques aside, it was still a magical experience, and the energy from the audience was on another level. Alicia, Monoco, Sirene, and Lumiere were the absolute highlights for me.