November 19, 2014

Publication title: thechronicleherald.ca, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Unknown

Sarah McLachlan’s building on history

A lot of acts have tried to bring a more intimate vibe to the Building Formerly Known as the Halifax Metro Centre, either with the hushed ambiance of a smaller theatre or a rock club’s elbow-to-elbow mosh pit.

But Sarah McLachlan’s Scotiabank Centre concert Wednesday night is the first time I can recall an artist bringing their living room onstage with them. Granted, there were still LCD video screens, a trio of huge mobile circular lighting rigs overhead and two grand pianos — one of them under a giant disco ball, so basically we’re talking Liberace’s living room — but there was a comfy couch for a few fans to curl up in during a Q&A session midway through the evening.

Still, it was a more low-key setting than a previous concert stage that resembled a Greek temple with McLachlan as its oracle; this night was about getting intimate and interactive with about 5,000 fans and paring the songs back a bit with her seasoned four-piece band.

“Hello Halifax, it’s really good to be back!” she greeted the crowd, like she had just burst through the arrivals door at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, bemoaning the fact she had to spend much of the day catching up on work stuff instead of hitting her hometown’s favourite hot spots.

But she didn’t waste any time getting to her day job, starting with In Your Shoes, from her latest album Shine On. Inspired by Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Prize-winning Pakistani women’s rights activist, the song combines some of McLachlan’s favourite themes — courage and empowerment — wrapped in one of her latter-day career’s best melodies.

The crowd was soon on more familiar ground with Building a Mystery, although the singer was still coping with Wednesday’s sudden snowy climate change.

“I apologize for cacking up in the middle of a song. I open my mouth and stuff suddenly appears in my throat,” she sighed, before adding an expletive. “So annoying! Sorry about the potty mouth.”

It beats the bug that affected the otherwise healthy performer’s show here three years ago; this time, the clear, soaring notes of Adia and Fallen rang out as pure and strong as ever, without the need for obvious throat-clearing.

“This new record has a lot to do with gratitude,” she said of Shine On, her first for Verve Records after leaving her longtime label and management at Vancouver-based Nettwerk. “When I turned 40, everything just turned to s—, and there were six years where it just felt like one bad thing after another.

“I came out the other side and I realized I’m so lucky and had so many people who carried me when I was down.

“I totally believe in the power of one being the power of millions, one action can have a powerful effect, whether it’s giving a hug to someone who’s having a bad day or giving to charity. It’s our only hope for humanity, to be kind to others and go easy on ourselves, and share that hope with others.”

McLachlan’s sonic hug came in the form of Shine On’s World on Fire, balancing the confusion of the world around us with the importance of having a hand to hold on to and someone to guide you.

While her social media contest winners made their way to the stage to take their seats on the couch, the singer pulled a few audience questions out of a hat, divulging some of her favourite Christmas traditions (holding a Christmas Eve open house singalong and taking her daughter India to ride in Vancouver’s Christmas Train, usually in the rain) and what she missed most about Nova Scotia.

“I miss my friends who are still here, they’re my heart and my soul,” said McLachlan, who also regretted that she never got to go surfing while she lived here.

“There was no surf culture when I lived here, so I have to come back in the summer and try it out.

“I’ve heard of people surfing off of Point Pleasant Park, I’m not sure if I want to go in the water there, though.”

Among the lucky few to share the onstage sofa, a fan named Lauren celebrated her 27th birthday by having thousands of people sing Happy Birthday to her, while a young teen told McLachlan this was her first big show.

“I’m happy you picked me over Taylor Swift for your first concert,” the singer said with a grin, although to be fair, that’s not a local option at the moment.

Like Swift, McLachlan is no slouch when it comes to turning grievances into musical fodder. “I learned about dealing with tricky and difficult people. They teach you to define certain boundaries. Now I can see those types of people coming from a mile away. It only took me 46 years.”

The ensuing Monsters showed her taking a tougher stance than usual, with Joel Shearer’s rock guitar riffs adding snarling accents to its lesson about learning to pick your battles.

The evening’s second half began in acoustic mode, with the stirring elegy Song for My Father leading seamlessly into I Will Remember You, a moment that would tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has lost a parent.

But the real Part 2 highlight was an impromptu solo piano rendition of Joni Mitchell’s River, inspired by a Q&A request for a Christmas song.

The CanFolk icon’s music is clearly a touchstone for McLachlan, and the performance was the most living-room-like of the night, as she skated away through Mitchell’s poetry and gently flowing melody in a moment of indelible beauty that even the following full-band pop passion of Sweet Surrender and Possession couldn’t sweep away.