Concert Review/Photos: Sarah McLachlan @ The Mann
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
As a musician with 25 years of work under her belt and boatloads of classic songs, Sarah McLachlan is, in my mind, critic-proof.
[ 7/24 ] As a musician with 25 years of work under her belt and boatloads of classic songs, Sarah McLachlan is, in my mind, critic-proof. Not that she needs to be, as she showed Thursday at the Mann Center. Heavy on songs from her newest release, Shine On, but with a healthy serving of her classics, the show was a testament to her quality as a performer and songwriter.
With a glorious backdrop of bold lighting arrangements blown up for the whole of the Mann to see — strings of lights on the sides of the stage, a halolike light display and a palette of blues, purples and reds — McLachlan transported the highly receptive crowd through the highs and lows of love and existence. Describing Shine On as a record about “gratitude” and “thankfulness,” McLachlan played, among many others, the gorgeous and heartbreaking “Song for My Father” (about her recently deceased dad) and “Brink of Destruction” (about her new love in her life). And of course she brought the hits, including “Building a Mystery,” “I Will Remember You” and “Sweet Surrender.” Her voice, rich and soulful as ever, was spine-tingling on the hits and the new work.
McLachlan’s gratitude towards her fans was also very evident. She answered questions posed by audience members before the show and during the break for the second set. She does love her job but does sleep in the nude — except on the tour bus. (Yes, her questions did stray that way.) And winners of a social-media contest got to sit on a couch on stage during various moments in the show. It was a cool idea and added a further intimacy to a performer whose work has always strived to get into the heart and soul. Ending with the final track to Shine On, “The Sound That Love Makes,” was quite apt, with McLachlan strumming a ukulele, sending the swooning crowd out on a high.
More concert reviews and photos by Chris Sikich:
- Cracker/Camper van Beethoven @ Sellersville Theater
- Natalie Merchant @ the Keswick
- Athfest 2014
- Sharon Van Etten @ Union Transfer
- tUnE-yArDs @ Union Transfer
- Meshell Ndegecello @ World Cafe Live
- Mirah @ Johnny Brenda's
- NonCOMM 2014
- Drivin’ ’N’ Cryin @ World Cafe Live at The Queen
- Jessica Lea Mayfield @ Johnny Brenda's
- Ani DiFranco @ World Cafe Live
- Escovedo @ World Cafe Live
- The Sounds @ Union Transfer
- The Stray Birds @ World Cafe Live
- Okkervil River/Typhoon @ Union Transfer
- Tinariwen @ Prince Music Theater
- Suzanne Vega @ Two Rivers Theater
- Drive-By Truckers @ World Cafe Live at The Queen
- Arcade Fire @ Wells Fargo Center
- Throwing Muses @ Bowery Ballroom (NYC)
- Paul Simon and Sting @ Wells Fargo Center
- Ex Hex @ the Ottobar (Baltimore)
