Elizabeth Jamieson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elizalavelle) wrote2006-12-16 08:48 am
elizalavelle) wrote2006-12-16 08:48 am
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Sarah Slean: December 15th Harbourfront show
Yesterday was wonderful :D I "moved out" of the place I was housesitting, with far too much stuff to carry. Picked up Andrea (I was only a wee bit late) and then we headed back to my apartment for a speedy lunch and then a shopping trip for art supplies. Tom got sick (or rather stayed sick) so he had to miss the show tonight :( The hope is that he's recovered enough for tonight because he's not yet seen Sarah play and with the Strings it's a great show to see for ones first show. After that news came much prepping for the show, figuring out who wasn't coming to both nights so I could give them their present last night, getting dressed, forgetting things about 8 times, realizing that while I love my new shoes they hurt my feet like woah so switching to sneakers to get to and from the venue, and we were off :)
Somehow, after all of the running around and leaving late, Andrea and I were still early to the venue and got almost everyone's tickets handed out with no problems. Cam was late (parking was insane) but for once Harbourfront did something right and were able to hold his ticket at the little box office by the theatre (not the box office that I have had problems with for two years running thank goodness.)
Royal Wood was the opening act and I haven't seen him play in over a year now I think and wow, just wow. This man could sing me the phonebook and I'd be sold. But his songs and his voice are just amazing. I'll have to buy his CD tonight.
Cam showed up during his set, and we almost gave his ticket away to the cutest little girl sitting in the second row, right behind Jim who is very very tall, but she didn't want to move so Cam got his seat which was good. I'd honestly been worried that he was going to miss the entire show.
Brief intermission between Royal Wood and Sarah Slean, and then out she came, flitting right to the piano in a cute little black dress and we begin:
There was a brief intro with Sarah saying that this should become a yearly occasion. I'm all for yearly December Slean shows :) HOWEVER, I will be even more all for them IF they could just be at another venue. Or if the box office at Harbourfront would become functional for next year... I'm doubtful of that happening though :( Hence, ANY OTHER VENUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I digress...
1. Drive (cover of the song by The Cars): I'd been hoping she'd play this one since I'd read on the messageboard that she'd been opening with it this tour. Currently it makes me think of a Cold Case episode, no idea which one, but I'm sure they've used the song. Sarah's cover is great, she's made it her own for sure, if I didn't know the original song I'd think it was hers.
2. Out In The Park: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. I love the strings that have been composed for this song. It's always been a favourite of mine from the Day One album and the strings just make it more so. Sarah also said that she'd been trying to work on her French so she could tell her charming little anicdotes to her audiences in France and then started to play this song with the introduction of "un deux trois quatre cinc six" instead of "one two three four five six" and the audience over there loved it!
3. California: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. How many times was this requested last year? MANY, so it's good to see that strings have been added and it's now getting played again. It's a beautiful song.
4. Eliot: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is where I think Sarah really started to enjoy herself and get more theatrical. This song is always great and I think that I just about died last year when I heard it played with the string quartet, so beautiful! This year it is much the same, the strings fit perfectly with the song and it's one that I love to see Sarah play because she is so expressive when she plays.
At this point Sarah took off one of her neclaces and then kicked off her shoes explaining they were only for show (the shoes) as they were the same ones she wore to the Cohen tribute show and they were on sale so she had to buy them (which mirrors my shoe story for this night) but they didn't fit perfectly and hence she fell on stage in them. Which, I'm not sure if I mentioned previously because I didn't want to be the one to share that story first, but yes, there was a fall, the band behind her caught her before her head could hit the keyboard though which was a good thing. Up until she fell the set was fantastic :)
5. So Many Miles: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is one of the new songs, oh it is great. Actually it is totally a single. I could see it doing as well as Sweet Ones did perhaps... It's catchy and uplifting and great and I want a recording of it now! (crossing my fingers for it being on the new album.) It's one that was written in Paris and Sarah said she'd come up with it because when you don't really speak the language and you don't know anyone you have a lot of music playing in your head (I can only imagine since I have music playing in my head all of the time here and I know lots of people and am often way too social lol.) This is also a total travel theme song for anytime you're going somewhere that you're a little bit worried about travelling to. I love the "so catch your wind and fly" lyrics. Gorgeous!
6. Paris Swan : (I think that's what she said it was called, I sort of missed the second word. This is the song that had previously been dubbed Sweet Virginia) Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is another new one, very toe tappy fun. A complete reveral of So Many Miles in that as opposed to being optimistic about travel this one is written about being the outsider in another culture. She'd apparently sent both of these songs off to a producer or composer... in London who she was thinking of working with and he'd replied that the songs had nothing in common. Really they do and they don't, it just depends on the sort of day one is having I guess. I could totally see this number in a musical and it's completely adorable.
Then Sarah asked for requests, but to request them calmly, no screaming out yet. So a couple of us in the front row said "Bank Accounts" as we had plans for that song that we'd been thinking about since I think last year actually. And then I threw in "also Looking for Someone" and then was chastised for being "fancy" and asking for too many songs. LOL oops. Nicole said she's not sure whether to be amused that Sarah knows me by name now or to reccomend I stop going to so many shows ;)
7. Duncan: Not my request but this is the song I request at about 70% of the Slean shows I attend, I just love it! So I'm pleased as punch whenever she plays this one :) She missed one note right at the end, I'm actually surprised that I'd not seen that happen before, that's one missed note in I don't know how many shows, I'm still impressed.
8. Somebody's Arms: I knew there were a few people in the audience tonight who so wanted to hear this song live so that was a treat. Also, I found it to be almost sweeter this year, as if she's singing from a more peaceful place. That was my random note for this song at any rate.
9. Looking For Someone: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. Introed with a bit about her writing a sad song in C major just because. And a cute little "if it's good enough for Bach then it's good enough for me" singsong. I've raved about this song before I'm sure because I fell in love with it at the London show in October. So now imagine my joy upon hearing it again with the Blue Spruce Quartet! I was thrilled beyond measure! This is another song that I so want to hear on the new album. Actually I loved all of the new songs she played, I think they'd all be great for the next album, then again I've not yet met a Slean song that I didn't like so I'm not the most objective person when it comes to deciding things like that.
10. Lucky Me: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. For this one Sarah left the piano and gave a VERY theatrical performance, walking all over the stage, connecting with a lot of the audience. I was so caught up in it that I almost missed the "declined!" It was a great performance :)
11. Weight Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. Again, standing away from the piano. The cute thing I noted was that she counted in the quartet as they started; it's an abrupt start and last year she missed the first line, this year it was perfect :)
And now we introduce the Blue Spruce Quartet, for whom I'm going back to my notes from last year's show for the correct spellings. (Thank you again annoymous commenter ;) )
Karen Graves - first violin
Kathryn Sugden - violin
Alex Grant - cello
Anna Redekop - violo
It is fabulous to hear them play again. I think that I'm tied between loving hearing Sarah perform with them and hearing her perform solo on a grand piano...
12. Pilgrim: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. It's fun to hear this song live with the strings, last year it was still a solo Sarah song. This is a song that on the albums I always enjoy but live it is breathtaking. Sarah has such a powerful voice and just amazes me with it when she sings this one.
13. When Another Midnight: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. Again Sarah stood up to perform this one. It was so fun AND best of all we got the wonderful vocals during the bridge of the song, just the haunting operatic melody, I hadn't heard her sing that since the show at the Phoenix ages ago and that with the strings behind it, it was actually jaw dropping. I was happily stunned.
Encore #1
14. Sweet Ones: Okay, I do enjoy this song, I really really do. It's a fabulous song because years and years after I first heard it and listened to it all of the time I'm still not even a little bit sick of it. But I would still LOVE to see Sarah play a show without this song, just to have something different in there that we don't get to hear as often. On the other hand this one has fun audience participation and I got to sit next to Neal who sings really well :)
15. Bank Accounts: Now I'm guessing Sarah figured something was up when she started to play this one and the 4 people sitting front and center suddenly are all grins and shifty eyes. We get to the trumpet solo and went for kazoos! This was an idea concocted by Neal and Andrea last year for the trumpet solo which was such a fun one. We all got a bit of a late start so Sarah made us do it again, I just about fell over giggling. Much fun. Yes we are geeks but we are amused geeks ;)
16. Last Year's War: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is such a Mal/Inara song it just kills me, I'm going to vid it, that can be my Christmas project. I actually was inspired while hearing it live again and made notes and had some new ideas so that was a bonus ;) This is an achingly beautiful song and I adore it.
17. Wake Up: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet minus Anna Redekop and Katheryn Sugden. If I coud have this song played to me every night as I fall asleep I'd be a happy camper. Actually as I coudln't sleep last night I'd have been thrilled to have it played to me again ;) There was singing along again in the end much like at the Phoenix show.
Second Encore
18. Mary: This is the first time I'd heard this song be requested, and it was much requested, odd, but awesome :) Also it was a much stronger verson than last year's one was.
19. Day One: This song is such fun. Last year I was working retail and enjoying playing it in the store as a reminder to myself that the buisness people who were our customers weren't any better than I was. This year I am a buisness person. "Pushing paper is not enough" has a hell of a lot more meaning now, and it's true, it's a job but it's not enough. So now this is a song that reminds me to not get stuck. There was also a lot of singing along with this one :)
20. Narcolepsy Weed: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This song is another one that is so stunningly beautiful and the line "warm your hands on my shoulder blades/my parents gave me this peace" just knocks me over every time.
Overall this show had more Blue Spruce than last year *yay* and much more interaction with the audience and more audience participation.
After the show we headed out to the lobby. Saw they didn't have the tour poster that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
metal2000 had seen in Winnipeg that apparently has my picture used for it :( So we found Tod so that I could ask if they'd have it tomorrow... no dice, the posters accidentally got left behind in St. Johns :( Lucky for them there, not so lucky for me here. I'll figure out how to get one (or several) though, I'm determined to have one.
Then we talked with Sarah for a bit, I was going to get Black Widow signed but my brand new silver sharpie died :( SO unimpressed. So I'm off to buy a new one today and for last night I had my Orphan Music signed and the 'z' in my name is now HUGE because I was quick to interject that my name was with a 'z' not a 's' because she'd spelled it with an 's' earlier this year (I swear that must be the trendy spelling right now because that's the third time someone's spelled my name like that) so now it's a HUGE 'z' which amuses me.
I should get ready to go out, I have to ttc all of the way into town for a damn sharpie, boo urns. Worth it though, even though I think Cam is a little horrified that I'm getting the only known copy of Black Widow on DVD signed, it won't be in mint condition anymore lol.
Oh **ETA** from my post earlier this morning: The only really creepy thing we saw was as we were leaving the theatre someone had painted a streetcar shelter for Sarah, in French. Roughly translated it said "I love you S.S. You and me between the sheets." Now perhaps it's from someone whom she actually knows in which case it could be sweet or funny. If it's a random fan thing it's creepy like woah.
Yesterday was wonderful :D I "moved out" of the place I was housesitting, with far too much stuff to carry. Picked up Andrea (I was only a wee bit late) and then we headed back to my apartment for a speedy lunch and then a shopping trip for art supplies. Tom got sick (or rather stayed sick) so he had to miss the show tonight :( The hope is that he's recovered enough for tonight because he's not yet seen Sarah play and with the Strings it's a great show to see for ones first show. After that news came much prepping for the show, figuring out who wasn't coming to both nights so I could give them their present last night, getting dressed, forgetting things about 8 times, realizing that while I love my new shoes they hurt my feet like woah so switching to sneakers to get to and from the venue, and we were off :)
Somehow, after all of the running around and leaving late, Andrea and I were still early to the venue and got almost everyone's tickets handed out with no problems. Cam was late (parking was insane) but for once Harbourfront did something right and were able to hold his ticket at the little box office by the theatre (not the box office that I have had problems with for two years running thank goodness.)
Royal Wood was the opening act and I haven't seen him play in over a year now I think and wow, just wow. This man could sing me the phonebook and I'd be sold. But his songs and his voice are just amazing. I'll have to buy his CD tonight.
Cam showed up during his set, and we almost gave his ticket away to the cutest little girl sitting in the second row, right behind Jim who is very very tall, but she didn't want to move so Cam got his seat which was good. I'd honestly been worried that he was going to miss the entire show.
Brief intermission between Royal Wood and Sarah Slean, and then out she came, flitting right to the piano in a cute little black dress and we begin:
There was a brief intro with Sarah saying that this should become a yearly occasion. I'm all for yearly December Slean shows :) HOWEVER, I will be even more all for them IF they could just be at another venue. Or if the box office at Harbourfront would become functional for next year... I'm doubtful of that happening though :( Hence, ANY OTHER VENUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I digress...
1. Drive (cover of the song by The Cars): I'd been hoping she'd play this one since I'd read on the messageboard that she'd been opening with it this tour. Currently it makes me think of a Cold Case episode, no idea which one, but I'm sure they've used the song. Sarah's cover is great, she's made it her own for sure, if I didn't know the original song I'd think it was hers.
2. Out In The Park: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. I love the strings that have been composed for this song. It's always been a favourite of mine from the Day One album and the strings just make it more so. Sarah also said that she'd been trying to work on her French so she could tell her charming little anicdotes to her audiences in France and then started to play this song with the introduction of "un deux trois quatre cinc six" instead of "one two three four five six" and the audience over there loved it!
3. California: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. How many times was this requested last year? MANY, so it's good to see that strings have been added and it's now getting played again. It's a beautiful song.
4. Eliot: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is where I think Sarah really started to enjoy herself and get more theatrical. This song is always great and I think that I just about died last year when I heard it played with the string quartet, so beautiful! This year it is much the same, the strings fit perfectly with the song and it's one that I love to see Sarah play because she is so expressive when she plays.
At this point Sarah took off one of her neclaces and then kicked off her shoes explaining they were only for show (the shoes) as they were the same ones she wore to the Cohen tribute show and they were on sale so she had to buy them (which mirrors my shoe story for this night) but they didn't fit perfectly and hence she fell on stage in them. Which, I'm not sure if I mentioned previously because I didn't want to be the one to share that story first, but yes, there was a fall, the band behind her caught her before her head could hit the keyboard though which was a good thing. Up until she fell the set was fantastic :)
5. So Many Miles: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is one of the new songs, oh it is great. Actually it is totally a single. I could see it doing as well as Sweet Ones did perhaps... It's catchy and uplifting and great and I want a recording of it now! (crossing my fingers for it being on the new album.) It's one that was written in Paris and Sarah said she'd come up with it because when you don't really speak the language and you don't know anyone you have a lot of music playing in your head (I can only imagine since I have music playing in my head all of the time here and I know lots of people and am often way too social lol.) This is also a total travel theme song for anytime you're going somewhere that you're a little bit worried about travelling to. I love the "so catch your wind and fly" lyrics. Gorgeous!
6. Paris Swan : (I think that's what she said it was called, I sort of missed the second word. This is the song that had previously been dubbed Sweet Virginia) Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is another new one, very toe tappy fun. A complete reveral of So Many Miles in that as opposed to being optimistic about travel this one is written about being the outsider in another culture. She'd apparently sent both of these songs off to a producer or composer... in London who she was thinking of working with and he'd replied that the songs had nothing in common. Really they do and they don't, it just depends on the sort of day one is having I guess. I could totally see this number in a musical and it's completely adorable.
Then Sarah asked for requests, but to request them calmly, no screaming out yet. So a couple of us in the front row said "Bank Accounts" as we had plans for that song that we'd been thinking about since I think last year actually. And then I threw in "also Looking for Someone" and then was chastised for being "fancy" and asking for too many songs. LOL oops. Nicole said she's not sure whether to be amused that Sarah knows me by name now or to reccomend I stop going to so many shows ;)
7. Duncan: Not my request but this is the song I request at about 70% of the Slean shows I attend, I just love it! So I'm pleased as punch whenever she plays this one :) She missed one note right at the end, I'm actually surprised that I'd not seen that happen before, that's one missed note in I don't know how many shows, I'm still impressed.
8. Somebody's Arms: I knew there were a few people in the audience tonight who so wanted to hear this song live so that was a treat. Also, I found it to be almost sweeter this year, as if she's singing from a more peaceful place. That was my random note for this song at any rate.
9. Looking For Someone: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. Introed with a bit about her writing a sad song in C major just because. And a cute little "if it's good enough for Bach then it's good enough for me" singsong. I've raved about this song before I'm sure because I fell in love with it at the London show in October. So now imagine my joy upon hearing it again with the Blue Spruce Quartet! I was thrilled beyond measure! This is another song that I so want to hear on the new album. Actually I loved all of the new songs she played, I think they'd all be great for the next album, then again I've not yet met a Slean song that I didn't like so I'm not the most objective person when it comes to deciding things like that.
10. Lucky Me: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. For this one Sarah left the piano and gave a VERY theatrical performance, walking all over the stage, connecting with a lot of the audience. I was so caught up in it that I almost missed the "declined!" It was a great performance :)
11. Weight Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. Again, standing away from the piano. The cute thing I noted was that she counted in the quartet as they started; it's an abrupt start and last year she missed the first line, this year it was perfect :)
And now we introduce the Blue Spruce Quartet, for whom I'm going back to my notes from last year's show for the correct spellings. (Thank you again annoymous commenter ;) )
Karen Graves - first violin
Kathryn Sugden - violin
Alex Grant - cello
Anna Redekop - violo
It is fabulous to hear them play again. I think that I'm tied between loving hearing Sarah perform with them and hearing her perform solo on a grand piano...
12. Pilgrim: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. It's fun to hear this song live with the strings, last year it was still a solo Sarah song. This is a song that on the albums I always enjoy but live it is breathtaking. Sarah has such a powerful voice and just amazes me with it when she sings this one.
13. When Another Midnight: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. Again Sarah stood up to perform this one. It was so fun AND best of all we got the wonderful vocals during the bridge of the song, just the haunting operatic melody, I hadn't heard her sing that since the show at the Phoenix ages ago and that with the strings behind it, it was actually jaw dropping. I was happily stunned.
Encore #1
14. Sweet Ones: Okay, I do enjoy this song, I really really do. It's a fabulous song because years and years after I first heard it and listened to it all of the time I'm still not even a little bit sick of it. But I would still LOVE to see Sarah play a show without this song, just to have something different in there that we don't get to hear as often. On the other hand this one has fun audience participation and I got to sit next to Neal who sings really well :)
15. Bank Accounts: Now I'm guessing Sarah figured something was up when she started to play this one and the 4 people sitting front and center suddenly are all grins and shifty eyes. We get to the trumpet solo and went for kazoos! This was an idea concocted by Neal and Andrea last year for the trumpet solo which was such a fun one. We all got a bit of a late start so Sarah made us do it again, I just about fell over giggling. Much fun. Yes we are geeks but we are amused geeks ;)
16. Last Year's War: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This is such a Mal/Inara song it just kills me, I'm going to vid it, that can be my Christmas project. I actually was inspired while hearing it live again and made notes and had some new ideas so that was a bonus ;) This is an achingly beautiful song and I adore it.
17. Wake Up: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet minus Anna Redekop and Katheryn Sugden. If I coud have this song played to me every night as I fall asleep I'd be a happy camper. Actually as I coudln't sleep last night I'd have been thrilled to have it played to me again ;) There was singing along again in the end much like at the Phoenix show.
Second Encore
18. Mary: This is the first time I'd heard this song be requested, and it was much requested, odd, but awesome :) Also it was a much stronger verson than last year's one was.
19. Day One: This song is such fun. Last year I was working retail and enjoying playing it in the store as a reminder to myself that the buisness people who were our customers weren't any better than I was. This year I am a buisness person. "Pushing paper is not enough" has a hell of a lot more meaning now, and it's true, it's a job but it's not enough. So now this is a song that reminds me to not get stuck. There was also a lot of singing along with this one :)
20. Narcolepsy Weed: Played with the Blue Spruce Quartet. This song is another one that is so stunningly beautiful and the line "warm your hands on my shoulder blades/my parents gave me this peace" just knocks me over every time.
Overall this show had more Blue Spruce than last year *yay* and much more interaction with the audience and more audience participation.
After the show we headed out to the lobby. Saw they didn't have the tour poster that
metal2000 had seen in Winnipeg that apparently has my picture used for it :( So we found Tod so that I could ask if they'd have it tomorrow... no dice, the posters accidentally got left behind in St. Johns :( Lucky for them there, not so lucky for me here. I'll figure out how to get one (or several) though, I'm determined to have one.Then we talked with Sarah for a bit, I was going to get Black Widow signed but my brand new silver sharpie died :( SO unimpressed. So I'm off to buy a new one today and for last night I had my Orphan Music signed and the 'z' in my name is now HUGE because I was quick to interject that my name was with a 'z' not a 's' because she'd spelled it with an 's' earlier this year (I swear that must be the trendy spelling right now because that's the third time someone's spelled my name like that) so now it's a HUGE 'z' which amuses me.
I should get ready to go out, I have to ttc all of the way into town for a damn sharpie, boo urns. Worth it though, even though I think Cam is a little horrified that I'm getting the only known copy of Black Widow on DVD signed, it won't be in mint condition anymore lol.
Oh **ETA** from my post earlier this morning: The only really creepy thing we saw was as we were leaving the theatre someone had painted a streetcar shelter for Sarah, in French. Roughly translated it said "I love you S.S. You and me between the sheets." Now perhaps it's from someone whom she actually knows in which case it could be sweet or funny. If it's a random fan thing it's creepy like woah.
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Glad you had fun at the show!!! Gotta run to work...grrrrr
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I'll post all about the next show soon. Oh did you see my earlier post about the creepy graffitti? I'll paste it into this post now...
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(Anonymous) 2006-12-16 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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(Anonymous) 2006-12-16 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)Why am I not jewish?
It was my first Sarah concert, hopefully not my last. She was stunning and beautiful. A night I will remember for ever.
When I met her I couldn't even open my mouth. I was in awe of her. She was so gracious. I only wish I had piped up when she was asking for requests. I would have asked for Blue Parade. It was the first song I heard from her. I got chills, though, when she sang Last Years War. Just beautiful.
- Johnnie
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