The first notes of "Sweet Surrender" had the crowd at the Pacific Coliseum surging to their feet Thursday night (May 23) as Sarah McLachlan kicked off her Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th Anniversary Tour in her adopted "hometown" of Vancouver.
The crowd was also a little taken aback; the first song on Fumbling, McLachlan's powerhouse 1994 album, is "Possession."
The singer-songwriter explained as soon as the opening song wrapped: If they started by playing Fumbling from track one, they'd be doing some of its biggest songs right up front and she worried the audience would find the second half dull.
That could hardly be the case with a veteran performer like McLachlan, who hasn't taken a full band out for a big tour in nearly a decade but whose show did not skip a beat.
Known for her poetic lyrics and pop-alt melodies, McLachlan's vast catalogue is rich ground from which to cull songs to round out a setlist - though the OG's among us clocked no inclusions from her pre-FTE albums, Touch or Solace. (Come on, Sarah, "Path of Thorns," pretty please? Can we bring "Vox" back like pop culture did for Kate Bush and "Running Up That Hill"?)
Anyone who wore out their VHS copy of 1994's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Live should have found the full performance of the album immensely gratifying, however, as over the years many of the songs have dropped off her concert setlist. What a treat to hear and see 2024 McLachlan take on "Ice," "Circle," and the title track, with her band (including longtime touring companions Luc Doucet and Melissa McLelland of Whitehorse) giving the songs full-throttle backing, including some of the album's signature dissonance that kept it stocked in the "Alternative" bins at the record store.
Despite 'blown out' voice, vocals were incredible
McLachlan confessed she'd "blown out" her voice in tour rehearsals, but with the help of steroids seemed to be doing okay. Her vocals were consistently stunning from start to finish, from the mellow sentimentality of "I Will Remember You" to the skyscraper-high notes of "Fear." She did opt to almost short out her vocalization with the live arrangement in a couple of spots, namely (and ironically?) in "Fallen," when she says in the chorus "I've messed up" and in "Building a Mystery" when she says the f-word.
But McLachlan didn't shy from speaking the f-word; in her few short pauses to speak to the crowd she shouted out her two daughters who were in attendance and how f-ing proud she is of them and she also praised women and the power of female friendships for being f-ing amazing. The latter was in her intro to "Good Enough," which she explained was written to honour her best friend, who she met 36 years ago when McLachlan moved to Vancouver. Both that throwback and acknowledging Fumbling's big birthday prompted McLachlan to marvel "holy sh*t!"
McLachlan met best friend 36 years ago in Vancouver
Marking 30 years since Fumbling had McLachlan seeming more in awe of the timespan rather than purely nostalgic. McLachlan's music has a timeless quality, but in a crowd of mostly Elder Millennials and Gen X-ers, the nostalgia factor was dialled up to the rafters, especially during some of the singer's biggest hits.
Seeing people leap to their feet to shimmy and shake to "Hold On," a song about death, is always a bit surreal, but the unfailing crowd-pleaser is "Angel," which McLachlan saved for the encore (following her playing a brand new song for the album she's working on).
"Angel," which on the surface smacks of maudlin sentimentality (thanks in no small part to those sad animal commercials once upon a time), is about watching music industry peers give or lose their lives to heroin addiction. (That's the angel, folks, it's a heroin high.) McLachlan finished the show with the late 90s hit off Surfacing with a former student from her Sarah McLachlan School of Music joining her on vocals.
Tour a fundraiser for music school; more B.C. dates announced
It was a fitting full-circle moment to end with a student, as McLachlan had used the "hometown" advantage of Vancouver to give the opening act to some of the school's past and present talent. The four performances were brilliant, showcasing a range of styles, from rapping teen brothers to some stunning covers.
The tour is also a fundraiser for the school, which has locations in Vancouver, Surrey, and Edmonton. $1 per ticket will be donated to the non-profit Sarah McLachlan School of Music, which provides high-quality music education and mentorship free to children and youth facing barriers to access, notes promoter Live Nation.
On Friday, McLachlan announced a full slate of additional dates for a Canadian leg of her FTE 30th Anniversary Tour. Though she will not play Vancouver again, the B.C. resident will be in Kelowna on Nov. 18 and Victoria on Nov. 20. Tickets are available starting Tuesday, May 28 with presales; general onsale begins Friday, May 31 at 10 a.m. local time.
Setlist: Vancouver, Pacific Coliseum, May 23, 2024
- Sweet Surrender
- Building a Mystery
- I Will Remember You
- Drifting
- Song for My Father
- World on Fire
- Fallen
- Adia
- Beautiful Girl
- Answer
- Witness
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
- Possession
- Wait
- Plenty
- Good Enough
- Mary
- Elsewhere
- Circle
- Ice
- Hold On
- Ice Cream
- Fear
- Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Encore:
- Gravity (new song)
- Angel
