Johnny Hallyday's 2014 American Tour

If you don't know who Johnny is, he's the quintessential French rocker and we just saw him last night, live in concert, part of his first American tour, also a first chance for me to attend a concert by the singer I loved to hear when I was a teenager, and this ended up being quite a unique experience.

The man is close to 71 and uses deafening sounds levels to mask his failing voice, stage smoke and woefully inadequate lighting to hide his deteriorating face and was helped by a mostly French crowd that cheered him on its feet during what must have been a grueling performance.

I give Mr. Hallyday a “A” for trying hard, but I wasn't enthralled by the overall quality of his show and think he should retire sooner than later. Yet, quitting is extremely hard to do when you get money for performing and when a room packed with more than a thousand people screams its approval.

For me, seeing the man in concert is like facing the pyramids of Egypt. Once will suffice.