Yes indeed... I went to a free Sarah Maclachlan concert. Kudos to my dad's work associate who couldn't go that night & gave me and my Mum tickets. On the main floor.
Front row center.
I'm not a huge Sarah Maclachlan fan. I'm aware of her work, have a couple of songs of hers on iTunes (I didn't pay for them though, I got them from my piano teacher who wanted me to check out more female musicians). Not much more than that.
But I did enjoy the show a good deal. The people behind us were pigs, constantly shrieking out during the moments when the whole room was quiet in the beauty of the song. Asses. They also talked a regular level
when the show was on. You pay to see the show, not talk amongst yourselves like when you listen to a CD. We weren't at a bar. We were in
Massey Hall, one of the most iconic venues in Toronto, or even Canada.
I wanted to punch them.
No joke. My Mum turned around and gave them a good speech, but they just said "You have no right!" and clapped even louder and near our ears than before. I learned to point at them without taking my eyes away from the stage & make a cutting motion with my hands.
And I'm not the kind of person who gets that annoyed with whispering. Whisper, sing on key in the same octave as the person on stage, fine. Sing as a guy with a low voice & yell over to the person 2 seats away how there's a tambourine in the drum kit & how amazing that is, I will get you. Talk about that after the show, after the song, or whispering to each other if you're directly beside each other. Don't yell out.
Still, we enjoyed the show. Not entirely because of Sarah Maclachlan though. She had a great idea where she had everyone playing together rather than a warm-up band before the main act. This was the best way to make a show.
Sarah Maclachlan shared the stage with:
Butterfly Boucher
Luke Doucet
Melissa McCleland
Peter (forget his name... urgh)
and a drummer who I don't remember the name of, but his name sounded like "mascara"
the encore had
Kevin (forget his name... urgh), the cellist
A greasy grey haired man who I believe was named Greg. He was famous, I think...
The atmosphere was fantastic. Neon lighting, chandeliers, and a change of guitars by at least one band member every song.
Sarah Maclachlan played a ton of songs, but the only ones I knew were "I Will Remember You", "In The Arms of the Angels", and "Ice Cream". All songs were very well played obviously (though the guitars were so blended you couldn't tell the difference of who was playing what). It wasn't a grinning reaction or even a dancing or tapping the armrests in my seat reaction, it just made me think "Hey, this isn't bad. And wow, the guitarists sure can play". She answered questions & told funny stories about her surfing too. Turned out to be a very intelligent person.
The other band members were fantastic, but Butterfly Boucher was definitely my favourite of all the people on stage. Gorgeous too. Mum & I agreed if we weren't straight, she's the kind of person who we'd choose. I love my Mum. She's awesome.
This is exactly what she was wearing too... except with a navy and red necktie.
Butterfly's songs were very different from each other & memorable. I'm gonna put up one of her songs on this blog... 2nd fave female artist now (no one beats Regina Spektor). Plays piano & guitar, has a gorgeous voice, great lyrics, and she's Aussie. You can't want more. And yet, she got only polite applause. Probably cos the audience was mainly made up of close-minded Sarah Maclachlan stalkers. I felt really bad for her. Loved it.
Melissa McClelland was very good as well, but not as original as Butterfly. Killer guitar riffs, and married to Luke (she made that very clear). Respect, but not a huge fan, really. A bit too country, not much into that. Wore gorgeous 2 inch red heels and a wicked skirt I'd steal if it was my size though...
The drummer was very steady. He does what the drummer does extremely well... keeps a steady but interesting beat.
Peter (for his name): Damn good guitarist. Hilarious to watch him compared to Luke as he looked extremely British (like a Rolling Stone, actually) while Luke Doucet looked like an American boy with a cowboy shirt with embroidered horses and everything. Amused me the entire show, comparing the two.
Luke Doucet was a hell of a kind guy. Also fantastic at guitar & really kind towards the audience. Wore a black shirt with a white horse head by his shoulder. Looked exactly like in the picture. And at the end of the show
as I was leaving he called my attention & gave me the pick he played the show with. I have no idea what I did to deserve that, but it was extremely kind. It's orange and has a cartoon of a small clown & the word "Stereophonics" on the other side.
Definitely enjoyed it, but I wouldn't pay the price of over $100 to go to see them again,
Julianna xo
