If there were ever a poll for “Queen of Pop” my vote would go to Mariah Carey. An MTV juggernaut in the 90’s, Mariah steamrolled through every musical accolade imaginable.
From MusicRemedy.com: As a singer and songwriter, Carey has been recognized with the most prestigious accolades in the industry including two Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, Billboard’s “Artist of the Decade” Award and the World Music Award for “World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium” to name a few. As the best-selling female performer of all time, Mariah Carey has continuously raised the bar and set the standard of excellence within the music industry worldwide.
Who could forget songs like “Vision of Love”, “Dreamlover”, “Hero”, “Fantasy”, “Honey”, and “One Sweet Day” (with R’n'B supergroup Boyz II Men)? That’s just to name a few.
Lay a whisper on my pillow
Leave the winter on the ground
I wake up lonely, is there a silence
In the bedroom and all around
Touch me now, I close my eyes
And dream away…
It must have been love, but it’s over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it’s over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out
Make believing we’re together
That I’m sheltered by your heart
But in and outside I turn to water
Like a teardrop in your palm
And it’s a hard winter’s day
I dream away…
It must have been love, but it’s over now
It was all that I wanted, now I’m living without
It must have been love, but it’s over now
It’s where the water flows, it’s where the wind blows
It must have been love, but it’s over now
It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it’s over now
From the moment we touched till the time had run out
Guess who’s listening to Don’t Bore Us - Get to the Chorus! Roxette’s Greatest Hits
I think I’m still in awe from seeing Sarah perform live last year at the State Theatre for her Afterglow 2004 Tour.
Tonight the divine Miss M took it to another level, and I don’t think there would have been a more appropriate venue than Sydney’s famous sea-shelled adorned Opera House.
To think we almost missed the start, and arrived just as the intermission ended. We missed supporting act Butterfly Boucher, who my friend tells me was pretty good. That’s ok because we’ll catch her next Saturday at Sarah’s gig in Newcastle
We were seated in the Dress Circle, which is on the second level up. The view wasn’t too bad, considering the $130 AUD ticket price. Not so good for photos but, unlike at the State Theatre, it appeared cameras were allowed so I managed to take a few snaps as well as some (pretty dodgy bootleg-style) videos.
As I sit here recalling the progression of the night, with “Answer” playing on winamp, I’m taken away by that heavenly voice. There were several times throughout the performance that I closed my eyes, and allowed her voice to carry me away. Be it the acoustics in the Opera House, or an improvement in the band’s performance since the last time, or perhaps a combination of both - the night was just brilliant. I’ve never been inside the main auditorium of the Opera House before, and I was impressed by its size as well as how well it carried the sound. The acoustics complemented Sarah and her band perfectly.
Beginning with the beautiful (and tearful) piano track “Last Dance” followed by “Building A Mystery” all the way through to the first encore of “Ice Cream” and a rockier version of “Hold On” (which I enjoyed the least), and then the second encore “Dirty Little Secrets”, it was a nicely programmed event. Sarah pretty much worked her way back through her last three albums starting with tracks from the most recent “Afterglow” release.
Songs (Not in order):
Last Dance
Building a Mystery
Stupid
World on Fire
Adia
Drifting
Push
Witness
Answer
Angel
Fallen
Good Enough
Possession
Fear
Train Wreck
Sweet Surrender
1st Encore
Ice Cream
Hold On
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
2nd Encore
Dirty Little Secrets
The last five or so tracks were very uptempto and had a rock feel to them, in contrast to her previous gig where the rock/dancier tracks were in the middle of the arrangement. Personally I prefer the ballads at the end (the encore at State Theatre was “Angel”), but it worked really well. I was hoping that the second encore would be “I Will Remember You” but it wasn’t meant to be.
Listen as the wind blows
From across the great divide
Voices trapped in yearning
Memories trapped in time
The night is my companion
And solitude my guide
Would I spend forever here
And not be satisfied
Song of the night would have to be “Possession”. A mixup of the piano and guitar versions, and that penetrating vocal, sent shivers down my spine. The first time I heard that vocal was, believe it or not, at Utopia 19 two years ago and that was something special. Tonight it was just incredible.
What made the show that much more special were the moments in between the music, where Sarah spoke candidly about coming back to Australia so soon after her last tour as well as the inspiration for some of her songs. The audience laughed as Sarah joked about being claustrophobic inside the dressing room inside the Opera House, moments before she looked outside the window at Sydney Harbour and thinking how it reminded her of a bay back home in Vancouver.
Another moment she made fun of herself and the process she undertook to write a beautiful love song, only to “screw it up” at the end (cue crowd laughter). It’s those moments, where you realise that she is indeed human (vulnerable at times, stronger than most at other times, loving, and loved greatly by her husband and child - not to mention her fans), that define who Sarah Mclachlan is and what her music is about.
Great to see Mandy and Adnan there too. Hope you guys had a great time! (Adnan was just ecstatic, as you can tell from the pic lol)
If there is one person that everybody needs to see live at least once in their lives, that’s Sarah Mclachlan. Her live performances are better than her studio productions - not too many recording artists can make that claim and back it up.
If you can’t get to a show, then get your hands on “Mirrorball” or one of her “live” CDs. You won’t regret it.
