November 12, 2014

Publication title: liveinlimbo.com, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Trent Richer

Sarah McLachlan at Hamilton Place

Hamilton Place celebrated another success story last night, November 10, 2014, with a sold out show. I was told that there wasn’t a ticket to be had in the 2200 seat venue. Who was responsible for this? Sarah McLachlan! Her “Shine On Tour” that started last June, spans Australia, USA and Canada.

Sarah McLachlan, born in Halifax and now a Vancouver resident, is known for her sad and emotional ballads. The Canadian musician, songwriter, guitarist and pianist announced that her first song was dedicated to Malala Yousafzai. Malala is known mainly for her human rights advocacy for education for women and is the youngest Nobel Prize winner.

She mentioned that there was going to be slips of paper at the merch table for people to ask questions. There would be a question and answer period during the show where names would be drawn from a hat and she said she would answer them as honestly as possible. She also mentioned that she brought her “living room” onstage and would be inviting a few lucky fans up for a few songs.

During the almost three hour show, Sarah performed hits such as, “Building A Mystery”, “Adia”, “I Will Remember You”, “Sweet Surrender” and “Angel”. She also performed songs off her new studio album, “Shine On”, which was released April 2014. This album was inspired by her father’s passing and her own life experiences.

Her voice was angelic. What you her on the record is exactly what you are going to get during her live performance. Her five piece band was polite in their sound; a perfect accompaniment for McLachlan. The stage was colourful, including three projection screens in behind.

Her backup singer was none other them Melissa McClelland, half of the popular and successful duo, “Whitehorse”. McLachlan hinted she was going to have some special guests later on in the evening. One of them was the other half of “Whitehorse” (and Melissa’s husband), guitarist, Luke Doucet. He was also one of Sarah’s band members back in the 90’s.

Sarah McLachlan’s lyrics are as deep as her voice is melodic and she is a very personable musician. She talks to an audience like she was sitting there right beside you (and in some cases she was, in “her living room”). She is definitely a part of Canadian music!