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| Eagles of Death Metal Return to Paris for Concert | Eagles of Death Metal Return to Paris for Concert |
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| PARIS — Eagles of Death Metal are returning to Paris on Tuesday night for a concert honoring those who were killed in — and those who survived — the November attack in which 90 people were fatally gunned down during a performance by the band. | PARIS — Eagles of Death Metal are returning to Paris on Tuesday night for a concert honoring those who were killed in — and those who survived — the November attack in which 90 people were fatally gunned down during a performance by the band. |
| In emotional interviews with the French news media before the concert, Jesse Hughes, lead singer for Eagles of Death Metal, an American rock band, said the group felt an obligation to finish what it had started. | In emotional interviews with the French news media before the concert, Jesse Hughes, lead singer for Eagles of Death Metal, an American rock band, said the group felt an obligation to finish what it had started. |
| “I don’t want to let anybody down,” Mr. Hughes, 43, said on Monday on the French television channel i-Télé. “For me, I can’t let the bad guys win.” | |
| Breaking into tears during a separate interview, for the channel Canal Plus, he said: “Paris isn’t just a show. It is not a rock show; it is a lot bigger than that. It has a much bigger purpose than just entertaining this time around.” | |
| The reprise performance, at the 125-year-old Olympia theater in central Paris, is a rare second chance for those at the scene of a terrorist attack to reclaim the moment: In this instance, to hear music, have a good time and be with friends, even if many of them are gone. Concert organizers have worked with a number of survivors’ groups that evolved after the series of attacks on Nov. 13, in which 130 people were killed, many at cafes near the Bataclan, the hall where Eagles of Death Metal were playing. | The reprise performance, at the 125-year-old Olympia theater in central Paris, is a rare second chance for those at the scene of a terrorist attack to reclaim the moment: In this instance, to hear music, have a good time and be with friends, even if many of them are gone. Concert organizers have worked with a number of survivors’ groups that evolved after the series of attacks on Nov. 13, in which 130 people were killed, many at cafes near the Bataclan, the hall where Eagles of Death Metal were playing. |
| “For the survivors, the concert means a lot, everything possible,” said Arthur, a spokesman for one such group, Life for Paris. He asked that he be identified only by his first name. | |
| “I was in the pit when the shooting started, and I dropped to the floor and crawled over and around bodies until I reached an exit,” he said. | “I was in the pit when the shooting started, and I dropped to the floor and crawled over and around bodies until I reached an exit,” he said. |
| He acknowledged that many of the survivors were unsure whether they should attend Tuesday’s concert. | He acknowledged that many of the survivors were unsure whether they should attend Tuesday’s concert. |
| “Some people feel it’s too soon; they feel it’s too soon to go back to a concert, but most of the survivors are proud of the band,” he said. “The band members are survivors, too.” | “Some people feel it’s too soon; they feel it’s too soon to go back to a concert, but most of the survivors are proud of the band,” he said. “The band members are survivors, too.” |
| It will not be Eagles of Death Metal’s first return to Paris since the attacks. The band closed a show in Paris with U2 in early December, playing a Patti Smith song, “People Have the Power,” and the next day laid wreaths at the Bataclan. | It will not be Eagles of Death Metal’s first return to Paris since the attacks. The band closed a show in Paris with U2 in early December, playing a Patti Smith song, “People Have the Power,” and the next day laid wreaths at the Bataclan. |
| The band is on a European tour that began on Saturday in Stockholm. | The band is on a European tour that began on Saturday in Stockholm. |
| Mr. Hughes, who has spoken out against gun control, was asked whether he agreed with the assertion by the Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump that if people in the Bataclan attack had been armed, they could have shot the attackers. | Mr. Hughes, who has spoken out against gun control, was asked whether he agreed with the assertion by the Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump that if people in the Bataclan attack had been armed, they could have shot the attackers. |
| “I’m not a hero, but I love my friends,” Mr. Hughes told i-Télé. “And I was raised that you have to be willing to give your life, or else it is not worth living, and you are not a member of a community. I’m not a hero, but if I had had a gun I could have changed something, and I would have been willing to do it.” | “I’m not a hero, but I love my friends,” Mr. Hughes told i-Télé. “And I was raised that you have to be willing to give your life, or else it is not worth living, and you are not a member of a community. I’m not a hero, but if I had had a gun I could have changed something, and I would have been willing to do it.” |
| “I’m pro-freedom,” he added. | “I’m pro-freedom,” he added. |
| “I want to make sure everybody understands. I don’t want to shoot anybody” or carry around a gun, he said. | “I want to make sure everybody understands. I don’t want to shoot anybody” or carry around a gun, he said. |
| Mr. Hughes’s emotional response reflected the sentiments of many who were in the audience. In interviews with survivors of the attack who were planning to attend Tuesday night’s show, as well as those who said they could not bear to do so, there was a sense of grappling with something raw and painful, as well as trying to move forward. | Mr. Hughes’s emotional response reflected the sentiments of many who were in the audience. In interviews with survivors of the attack who were planning to attend Tuesday night’s show, as well as those who said they could not bear to do so, there was a sense of grappling with something raw and painful, as well as trying to move forward. |
| Aline Le Bail-Kremer, whose cousin died in the Bataclan attack and who works with the Association of French Victims of Terrorism, which has members from previous attacks as well as from those of Nov. 13, said she believed it was too early for victims to be together at a concert again. | Aline Le Bail-Kremer, whose cousin died in the Bataclan attack and who works with the Association of French Victims of Terrorism, which has members from previous attacks as well as from those of Nov. 13, said she believed it was too early for victims to be together at a concert again. |
| “This is a time of grieving” and for psychological healing, Ms. Le Bail-Kremer said, but she acknowledged, “There are survivors, there are parents who need to go.” | “This is a time of grieving” and for psychological healing, Ms. Le Bail-Kremer said, but she acknowledged, “There are survivors, there are parents who need to go.” |
| Returning to the Bataclan will be another hurdle. Although Mr. Hughes said Eagles of Death Metal wanted to be the band to play there when the hall reopened, many people said they were not ready to return. | Returning to the Bataclan will be another hurdle. Although Mr. Hughes said Eagles of Death Metal wanted to be the band to play there when the hall reopened, many people said they were not ready to return. |
| A man who gave his name only as William and said he hid in a bathroom during the shooting said on i-Télé that if Tuesday’s concert were scheduled to be at the Bataclan, “I would not go.” | |
| He said that he was on the fence about the concert at the Olympia and that he would stand outside and see how he felt about going in. | He said that he was on the fence about the concert at the Olympia and that he would stand outside and see how he felt about going in. |
| Arthur, the survivor who works with Life for Paris, said he was unsure how it would feel to walk into a concert hall again. | Arthur, the survivor who works with Life for Paris, said he was unsure how it would feel to walk into a concert hall again. |
| “How are we going to be able to dance when some people died dancing?” he asked. “I think it will be a weird concert tonight; we are going to think of the dead, but we will for the rest of our lives.” | “How are we going to be able to dance when some people died dancing?” he asked. “I think it will be a weird concert tonight; we are going to think of the dead, but we will for the rest of our lives.” |