It was billed as “the celebration of women in music.”
Sarah McLachlan was the hostess. And Mary J. Blige was the life of the party when Lilith, the female-fronted roadshow formerly known as Lilith Fair, returned to Blossom Music Center on Tuesday (July 27th), following an 11-year break.
The eight-hour extravaganza showcased a variety of musical styles, from introspective singer-songwriter fare to uptempo electro-pop. Women dominated not only the spotlight, but the audience of 5,000-plus fans.
Blige stole the show with her charismatic performance. Accompanied by a 10-piece band (including four backing vocalists), the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul had concertgoers on their feet for “Real Love,” “No More Drama,” Be Without You” and other empowering hits.
Blige also put her stamp on a couple of classic rock songs. She belted out U2’s “One” with gospel-style fervor and breathed new life into the Led Zeppelin warhorse “Stairway to Heaven,” which made for a stunning highlight.
As reported by Darryl Sterdan at Sun Media / Canoe Jam
WINNIPEG - There's a difference between phenomenon and phenomenal. And I'm not talking about two letters.
I'm talking about five letters: D to the R to the A-K-E. The Toronto rapper born Aubrey Graham is clearly a sensation — along with a lady named Gaga and a kid named Justin, he's the hottest thing in music right now. Dude was nominated for Grammys and took home Junos even before his debut album Thank Me Later — which has already gone platinum — dropped last month.
Impressive? Indisputably. But as a performer, well, let's just say that the 23-year-old hip-hopper clearly has plenty of charisma and raw talent. But just as clearly, he still needs to up his game before he can truly hold his own in the bigs.
Not that Drizzy was slacking when his Away From Home tour stopped at Centennial Concert Hall Wednesday night. With the help of a boombastic PA that shook the building like an earthquake, a stroboscopic light show that was blinding and blazing, and a funky quintet (including a fleet-fingered DJ) that pumped out the jams, Drake and a sold-out crowd of 2,300 teenagers turned the classy confines of Centennial Concert Hall into the city's largest nightclub for 70 fast-moving minutes.
"Tonight's so special," the black-clad Drake claimed after taking the stage an hour late (which isn't too bad for hip-hop time). "They finally let me come back to Canada. I'm gonna ask you to do one thing — just show me a good motherf---ing time."
Or in the case of neo-soul star Alicia Keys, who initially appeared inside a silver cage at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night (March 10), singing Caged Bird, why she sings: Because she sounds so good.
Keys brought her biggest production to date for the occasion: a dazzling gigantic video screen that broke into many smaller screens, a large gleaming silver staircase, a nine-piece band, and three dancers.
Touring in support of her fourth album, The Element Of Freedom, the 29-year-old New York singer-songwriter-pianist also made a good glamazon, appearing in silver sequined pants, a black shirt, a blood red blazer, and high heels, with her hair in soft curls.
Her first hit, Fallin', prompted major applause, as she stood at the front of stage playing a tiny white piano - and the song ended with the words, "Rise Up" on the enormous video screen above her.
But she delivered a more dramatic performance with her Bond theme (a collaboration with Jack White), Another Way To Die, losing the blazer and seductively prowling the staircase and her large stage with her dancers.
For her next song, Karma, Keys added some of the lyrics of Talking Heads' Once In A Lifetime, but it was her own, I Need You, that proved to be a stronger follow-up tune.
And when she sat down to play Prayer For Forgiveness, her piano flashed the words: "Play Me," and then, "Thank You," before it began rotating during, Diary, which prompted a crowd singalong and some mighty high notes from her male back up singer.
"We're excited to be here in Toronto," said Keys, who hit a few big notes of her own during Like You'll Never See Me Again. "God bless you."
After a brief band interlude, Keys re-appeared lying on top of the piano, now moving from the back of the stage to the front, for another uplifting number, Wait Til You See My Smile.
But the mid-show highlight proved to be the uber-soulful and funky Go Ahead featuring Keys playing a portable keyboard strapped around her neck, while her guitar player traded licks alongside her.
Finally elegant in a floor length white gown for Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart, the first single from The Element Of Freedom, there simply was no stopping Keys in the last half-hour of her 90-minute show.
Hit after hit followed: the female empowerment anthem, Superwoman; the heart-on-her-sleeve songs, If I Ain't Got You and No One; and the crowd-pleasing encore number, Empire State Of Mind Part II (Broken Down).
Earlier in the show, the bouncy Put It In A Love Song, Keys' collaboration with Beyonce, and the R&B ballad, Un-thinkable (I'm Ready), her duet with Drake, came across too calculated for the more mature Keys, who has always been an amazing songwriter and singer but is only now hitting her stride as a live performer.
Alicia Keys 'Freedom' Tour Toronto Air Canada Centre - Wednesday, March 10th set list:
Caged Bird Love Is Blind You Don't Know My Name Fallin' Another Way To Die Karma Like the Sea I Need You Pray for Forgiveness Diary Like You'll Never See Me Again
Band interlude
Wait Til You See My Smile Go Ahead Put It in a Love Song Un-thinkable (I'm Ready) Feeling Good (performed by the band) Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart Superwoman If I Ain't Got You No One
ENCORE
Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down
Alicia Keys 2010 Element of Freedom Tour Dates:
3/11 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone 3/13 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino 3/14 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino 3/17 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden 3/19 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Centre 3/20 - Atlantic City, NJ - Mark Etess Arena 3/22 - Boston, MA - Agganis Arena 3/24 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena 3/25 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center 3/27 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena 3/28 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times-Forum 3/30 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena 4/2 - Dallas, TX - Nokia Theater (Grand Prairie) 4/3 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center 4/6 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center 4/7 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl 4/9 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay 4/10 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Coliseum 4/29 - Lisbon, Portugal - Pavilhao Atlantico 5/1 - Ischgl, Austria - Ski Resort 5/2 - Verona, Italy - Arena 5/4 - Marseille, France - Le Dome 5/8 - Arnhem, Netherlands - Gelredome 5/9 - Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle - Messe Frankfurt 5/12 - Hamburg, Germany - Color Line Arena 5/13 - Oberhausen, Germany - Konig - Pilsener Arena 5/15 - Merksem, Belgium - Sportpaleis Antwerpen 5/17 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion Zurich 5/19 - Birmingham, UK - The NIA 5/21 - Dublin, Ireland - The O2 Dublin 5/23 - Glasgow, UK - S.E.C.C. 5/25 - London, UK - The O2 - London 5/26 - London, UK - The O2 - London 5/29 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena 5/31 - Paris, France - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy 6/2 - Barcelona, Spain - Palau Sant Jordi 6/4 - Lyon, France - Halle Tony Garnier
Jay Z kicked off his Monday (Feb. 22) night set at Toyota Center with the anthemic Run This Town -- and it proved a fitting theme for the evening.
The rap mogul's entrance sent a jolt of energy through the venue, and he was aided by a terrific band and an expanse, elaborate stage. The jagged screens morphed into everything from a skyline to booming speakers. (This was Jay-Z's second stop on his BP3 2010 tour.)
The Beastie Boys' No Sleep till Brooklyn cued Jigga's intro, and a clock counted down from 10 minutes until his arrival (well after 9 p.m.). He thundered through On To the Next One and D.O.A. (Death of Autotune) with a commanding, confident grace.
The crowd was on its feet and sang along with every word -- 99 Problems, Show Me What You Got, I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me). Diamonds, of course, were frequently up in the air.
Rapper Memphis Bleek made an early appearance and stuck around for most of the two-hour show, a dutiful sideman to his former Roc-A-Fella boss. And local hero Bun B checked in for a winning version of Big Pimpin' dedicated to the late Pimp C.
Even if rap isn't your game, a Jay-Z show is a must-see -- if only for the nonstop frenzy of male groupies that linger on his every word and lip-sync every lyric. Beyond that, however, Houston's most famous in-law manages a perfect balance of qualities onstage. He's alternately gruff and gentlemanly, unprecticable and laser-focused, humble and confident. It's impossible to take your eyes off him.
Singer Bridget Kelly was a solid sub for Alicia Keys during the still-gorgeous Empire State Of Mind. Young Jeezy took over halfway through the evening and turned the venue into a rump-shaking, wild-n'-out party. It was energetic but overlong and quickly dwindled into a (hot) mess.
Jigga returned -- not a moment too soon -- with a set that included Dirt Off Your Shoulder, a rapid-fire medley (Fiesta, Excuse Me Miss, La-La-La) and a quick chastising of the front rows for not feeling his groove.
"You can stand your (expletive) ass up," he said amid cheers. There's no sitting at a Jay-Z concert. Indeed. If the criminally catchy refrain of set closer Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) didn't have you at full attention, something was wrong.
Opener Trey Songz has an emotive voice that could be intriguing with the right material. Alas, he offered stock R&B loverboy fluff. His brief set's most engaging moment was an all-too-brief rock riff.
For now, Songz seems content uttering, "Say aah!" And why not? It seemed to send female fans into orbit (and may have thrown out a few hips.)
Feb 23 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center Feb 25 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena Feb 27 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena Feb 28 Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum Complex Mar 02 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden Mar 03 Washington, DC - Verizon Center Mar 05 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Mar 06 East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center Mar 07 Norfolk, VA - Scope Arena Mar 11 Boston, MA - TD Garden Mar 12 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum Mar 14 Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills Mar 16 Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena Mar 18 Chicago, IL - United Center Mar 19 St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center Mar 20 Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse Mar 22 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center Mar 24 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion Mar 26 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
