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Tonight, I went out to Merriweather Post to see Sarah McLachlan on her latest tour. She's doing a run of arenas in support of Afterglow. Tonight marks both the first time in six years she's been to Merriweather and the only shed stop on her US run.
First, the venue. I hate going to Merriweather. It's in an inconvenient location, the egress to the facility is horrible (one single, narrow footbridge over a stream from the parking lot) and the acoustics are subpar. I usually avoid going there -- I'm even going to skip a Flecktones show because of the venue.
Sarah McLachlan's got pipes. No fakin' there, she can solid sing. Her backing band consisted of Kathryn Rose on backing vocals, David Kershaw on keyboards and bass, Vince Jones on keyboard and backing vocals, Sean Ashby on guitar, lap steel and backing vocals, Brian Minaldo (I think) on bass and backing vocals, Luke Doucet on guitar, lap steel and backing vocals and Ashwin Sood on drums and vocals. Given McLachlan's stature as a singer, it's small wonder that she stacks her deck with an army of singers. Vocals were definitely the highlight for the evening.
It certainly wasn't spontaneity. I felt almost like I as sitting through the recording of Mirrorball. The songs that she played were the same as how she played them on that tour -- note for note, and almost certainly inflection for inflection. I'm even wondering if her facial tics are the same during each show.
Having said that, it's probably not a bad thing. Her audience almost certainly wants her to sound just like her record. Well, she did that in spades. To that end, the band was way overequipped. The guitarists changed guitars on every song. That in and of itself isn't a big deal. But they rotated through about fifteen different guitars. There isn't so much difference between a two pickup Les Paul and a three pickup Les Paul to justify the hassle of carrying both of them around. Not to mention enough toms to build a second drum set and then only using those toms for two minutes in one song. Must be nice to have roadies.
The show itself was very well done. Transitions were tight, the energy level of the show never lagged, and McLachlan's got on stage charisma for miles. She's one of those performers who can make each person in the audience think the little half smile was for them and them alone. The stage design was a bit strange, though. I'd call it Greecian farm -- tall Dorian columns (like 30 feet or so), lots of stairs like a veranda with green turf/carpeting (to look like moss?). A backdrop hung behind the band, allowing various video projections. A side note about the backdrop -- the way it framed the video overwhelmingly reminded me of a Yes album cover.
And the 70's references didn't stop there. There was a country-ish feel to the backing band, from the lap steel playing, to the abundance of cowboy hats. It reminded me a lot of The Eagles and/or 70's Linda Ronstadt.
All in all, it was a pleasant show. I don't know if I would go again, but I didn't regret going this time.
-- Update --
The NY Times reviews a Sarah show as well.