Summer Sessions with Sarah McLachlan in West Vancouver nothing short of perfection
At Ambleside Park on Saturday, September 12
To say September 12 was the perfect day for an all-day benefit concert at West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park would be a grotesque understatement. Not even the best set-decoration crew in all of Hollywood could have created a more picturesque setting. The short walk to the venue’s ticket booth offered a spectacular view of a glistening ocean, warm sandy beaches, and lush greenery. Once inside the concert grounds, ticket holders were surrounded by mountains, trees, and a clear blue sky. Yes, Mother Nature, you done us proud on this fine day.
After that, we were treated to a little sampling of the Sarah McLachlan Foundation band and choir. The kids didn’t disappoint. They delivered a sweet set of covers including an impressive version of “Let It Be”.
Then it was time for the heavy-hitting headliners to do their thing. First up was Sheryl Crow, who played a lively set of hits that had people dancing on their blankets. The sun-spun singer looked stunning. There was something about the way the red stage lighting bounced off her cream-coloured iridescent jacket that made her look like a one-woman sunset against the sky, which was turning lilac by that time.
At one point, McLachlan joined her on-stage to duet “Strong Enough”. The point of the song was not lost, as both these Lilith Fair vets have had their share of relationship woes. Crow even did some ad-libbing during the chorus, asking the crowd if there was a Vancouverite out there strong enough to be her man, adding in a lighthearted way that alimony diggers and gay men need not apply. She finished with “Everyday Is a Winding Road”.
Finally, it was the moment a good chunk of us were waiting for: Neil Young walked on-stage. Or at least we thought it was him, as his scarecrow hat overshadowed his entire face. But as soon as Young began singing in his one-of-a-kind voice, there was no denying it was the legend himself. He sat on a chair, sheltered by a semicircle of guitars, and quietly strummed a few tunes. Then he moved to the piano for a gentle ballad.
At this point it was dark, the stars were out, and there was a freight train barrelling down the rails as Young sang, which only added to the majestic vibe he was laying down. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood for cranking out the classic-rock hits (“Long May You Run” notwithstanding). The crowd praised him for it, and in return he praised McLachlan for her dedication to keeping music accessible to kids. “You got yourselves a real good one there,” he reminded the people of Vancouver.
Speaking of McLachlan, she delivered the goods with a solid set of her own. Starting at the piano with “Possession” before moving on to other crowd-pleasers like “Building a Mystery”, the hometown hero lived up to her top-billing time slot.
Indeed, it was a perfectly executed festival (apart from the beer lineup) on a beautiful night.
Fittingly, McLachlan summed it up best. When the glowing hostess first hit the stage to cap off her highly successful event, she said what we’d all been thinking: “Could we have picked a better night?”
Nope.
Sometimes, just sometimes, working 24/7 to afford the cost of living in this city is almost worth it, and Summer Sessions at Ambleside on September 12 was one of those times.
Comments
9 Comments
Cel
Sep 13, 2009 at 1:43pm
Some highlights of Sarah's set: "Building A Mystery," "I Will Remember You" (ft. Melissa McClelland on backing vocals), "Angel" (ft. Sheryl Crow), "Blackbird" (originally by The Beatles), and an encore consisting of a new, currently unreleased song and "Ice Cream."
Sarah was unbelievable. This is the first time I have seen a concert by her and I feel it was worth the $100. It almost made the $8 california roll I was forced to buy (outside food not allowed) worth it too—almost, but not quite.
Chilled
Sep 13, 2009 at 9:05pm
Hometown hero? Sarah is from the Maritimes folks.
Travis Lupick
Sep 14, 2009 at 9:30am
Powederfinger.
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Plus songs like Long May You Run, Human Highway, and Pocahontas. The casual ticket holder might have left pissed for not hearing Heart of Gold or Old Man. But we all saw those songs played to perfection at Young's <a href="http://www.straight.com/article-167781/neil-young-revives-heroic-battle-... 2008 show</a> at GM Place. For the diehard fan, Young's Ambleside performance was a dream come true.
Enlight
Sep 14, 2009 at 9:31am
Lovely show, magical location, shame about the audience. Should have known that a West Van venue would be all about the Real Estate. Normally folks who want to lounge around, chat, and have a lawn party will do it at home, but in West Van, apparently laying out a massive blanket feet from the front stage barrier entitles the users to be completely obnoxious and anti-social. Clearly the notion of "general admission" is lost on many of those in attendance, that felt it necessary to berate any concert goer who actually came to watch the show, as opposed to staking out plots of grass with their belongings, forcing those who are happy to just stand and watch the show to the perimeter of the blanketed land claims. I'm sure the afternoon sets did not require a concert crowd at the barrier, but once the headliners are on, and it becomes dark the picnic is over folks - let the ticket buyers who came to see the performers stand in peace! It's not about your private little blanket party, we all paid to be there - and shouldn't be forced to stand 100's of meters back so that your blanket can be close to the stage!
Brian2
Sep 14, 2009 at 4:22pm
The performers were great and -aside from the beer line- the event went off without a hitch. But never in my life have I encountered a crowd so rude and possessive over their patches of grass. For Neil Young, I politely forged my way to the front and made it to within seven rows of the seating area where, even by the time Young was taking the stage, there was still lots of room to stand. But in doing so, I was repeatedly insulted and once physically threatened for brushing aside the corner of somebody's blanket so that I wouldn't step on it.
It was a rock concert people. You can't hold a 10x10 patch of grass for two people just five feet from the front row. It was as if West Van residents were actively trying to live up to their reputation.
brenwest
Sep 14, 2009 at 5:22pm
I was there at 1230 and around 530 when people, who were obviously busy doing other things, started arriving with perplexed looks on their faces thinking "hunh, all the good spots are taken, gee, maybe I should hone in on that 3 ft x 3 ft patch of grass..." I got p'o'd - I stood for the last 3 hours myself - on my blanket with my friends. And it bugged the **** outta me that people were more interested in chatting (loudly to be heard over the music) rather than enjoying what they came to see. It was a society event for some, for others it was simply to see the best of the best, and support a worthwhile charity. Next year, I hope the latecomers will be more respectful or stay home.
Brenwest
Sep 14, 2009 at 5:25pm
next year, why not come at the time those of us who had a blanket did and don't expect folks to treat you kindly when you muscle your way into their space. We are Canadian, and we value and respect each other's space. I think it was EXTREMELY rude that people just expect everyone to back up when they get all pushy. And yes, you can hold a patch of grass if you showed up at 1230 and I am NOT from West Van.
FERRIS
Sep 14, 2009 at 11:55pm
By laying down a blanket at 12:30, as we did, we in no way expected to keep that patch of grass by the time the headliners came on. That blanket is to be used throughout the day while enjoying the opening acts. We had our blanket within 10 feet of the front fence. When it got close to 7:00 we packed up our blankets and other belongings and put them in a bag. Then we also moved up a few feet. This isn't the same as grabbing a camping spot at the local provincial park....this was a ROCK CONCERT! This is how it has worked at every outdoor rock concert I have been too, including those at Deer Lake and Thunderbird Stadium. It you want to go to a concert where you can get your own little reserved spot go to a show at the Orpheum or GM Place!
Brian2
Sep 15, 2009 at 10:21am
If every single couple with a pair of tickets insisted on holding a 10x10 piece of grass for the show's entireity, there would have been spectators camping all the way back to North Vancouver. Doesn't matter how early you staked out your spot, by the time night fell and the venue filled up, standing was the law of the land. (Or sitting further back than 20 feet from the front row.) Rock concert, folks.