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There are some people who think that Sarah McLachlan songs pretty much all sound alike.
And you know what? Those folks are in some very good company.
“I kind of feel like I write the same song over and over again,” the singer-songwriter admitted to the crowd during her sold-out concert on Monday, Feb. 24, at the Fox Theater in Oakland.
That’s an oversimplification, of course. Yet, it’s accurate to say that McLachlan does have a very distinctive style — one that helps keep the Kleenex company in business.
“I think we have pretty well established that I like slow, depressing songs,” she said.
The quintessential McLachlan offering is “Angel,” a song that was made famous on McLachlan’s multi-platinum-selling fourth studio album, “Surfacing.” But it’s been made even more famous as the soundtrack to those gut-wrenchingly sad TV commercials for the ASPCA.
If you’ve watched TV past 10 p.m. at any point over the last few years then you probably know these commercials, which mix McLachlan’s vocals with images of badly mistreated dogs and cats.
They are powerful. And they are effective.
I can clearly remember the moment when I was watching one of those commercials, for the umpteenth time, and decided to pull out my credit card and become a monthly donor to fight animal abuse with the ASPCA.
McLachlan had moved me. And she continues to do so to this day.
The vocalist absolutely soared as she performed 21 songs in a little under two hours at the Fox. It was her first headlining show in the Bay Area in six years.
Yes, it’s been that long.
She has performed a few times around these parts since then — lending her voice to Sammy Hagar’s Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefit at the Fillmore in San Francisco in 2017 and singing “O Canada” at a Warriors-Raptors NBA Finals game in 2019. But her last full-length outing came on June 27, 2014 at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley.
Yet, McLachlan — who is remembered as much for founding the all-women Lilith Fair tour in the ‘90s as she is for own hit albums — would quickly make up for lost time during this great Fox gig, holding the crowd transfixed as she took the stage by herself, sat down at the long black piano and sang “In Your Shoes” and “Possession.”
She was then joined by cellist/guitarist/backing vocalist Vanessa Freebairn-Smith and the pair focused initially on some of McLachlan’s best-known songs, including “I Will Remember You” (from “The Brothers McMullen” soundtrack) and the top 10 hit “Adia.”
Not surprisingly, the star devoted much of the night to her three biggest selling albums — 1993’s “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy,” 1997’s “Surfacing” and 2003’s “Afterglow” — which certainly played well to the fans. She also gave a goodly amount room to her most recent collection of original material, 2014’s “Shine On.”
My only complaint about the set list was that she ignored her pre-“Fumbling” material, including what may well be her finest album to date — 1991’s “Solace.” It would have been great to hear her dust off a few early gems, such as the winning debut single “Vox,” the crushing relationship song “The Path of Thorns (Terms)” and, especially, the hypnotic beauty “Drawn to the Rhythm.”
She did, however, spend a lot of time cheerfully talking with the crowd, with her upbeat, ultra-positive persona often standing in stark contrast to the songs themselves. She took fans behind the music, talking of the people, places and things that inspired her to write certain songs.
She even tipped her hat to one of her main musical influences.
“When I was 16, I heard Peter Gabriel for the first time,” she remembered. “He’s my musical hero and musical mentor — unbeknownst to him.”
Thus, she decided to include a Gabriel number in the set list for this tour.
“Of course, I choose a depressing one,” she said as she introduced “Mercy Street.”
Yet, the musical vibe would change — at least for one song — as McLachlan closed the main set with the fond sing-along “Ice Cream.”
“I do, on occasion, write happy songs,” she said. “Not very often.”
And, as if to prove it, she’d return for an encore that included a crushing version of “Angel.”
As her voice took flight on the opening lyric — “Spend all your time waiting for that second chance” — my mind was suddenly filled with images of those sad puppy dog eyes from the ASPCA commercials and thoughts that I should be doing more to help animals in need.
McLachlan had moved me once again.
Jim the Critic's Top Concert Picks of Week (Feb. 20-26) @SarahMcLachlan @MfnH @svddendeathdub @PHORAONE @andyshauf @DBrombergBand @hottunaband @foxoakland @SanJoseCivic @FillmoreSF @AugustHall_SF @livenationsf @mercnews @eastbaytimes @apeconcerts https://t.co/C1BNPkP6Ms
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) February 13, 2020
"It’s probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever tackled" says @OfficialSting @broadwaysf @mercnews @EastBayTimes https://t.co/OfjL1DciUu
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) February 14, 2020
Jim the Critic's Picks of Week, w/ @noisepop @BestCoast @RaphaelSaadiq @ToveLo Benjamin from @dcfc @wearegalantis @sfmasonic @RegencyBallroom @foxoakland @BillGrahamCivic @AugustHall_SF @LiveNationSF @apeconcerts @GoldenvoiceSF @mercnews @EastBayTimes https://t.co/XeVzyxkX2g
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) February 24, 2020
Will we see @thestrokes at @sfoutsidelands? How about @Aerosmith? Here are our predictions for @sfoutsidelands headliners. @EastBayTimes @mercnews Looking forward to the real lineup from the mighty @apeconcerts https://t.co/jnOdPscaRu
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) February 12, 2020
These could be the best country shows that the Bay Area/Sacramento will see all year .. @mirandalambert at @SAPCenter @Golden1Center @LiveNationSF @KRTY @mercnews @EastBayTimes https://t.co/ziNb0vjPMK
— Jim Harrington (@jimthecritic) February 13, 2020
