For everyone who's on the fence as to whether it's worth it to buy a ticket
to hear kd sing half a concert, run, don't walk, to the box office. If it
hadn't been for the thoughtfulness of Marilynn, I would have been home
watching tv last night rather than sitting in bumper-to-bumper standstill
traffic at 10:30 pm in the middle of Maine and actually not minding it at
all. Marilynn scored two sets of tickets to the Portland, Maine concert
last night and Sandy, her daughter, gave up her front row seat so I could
have the full benefit of the k.d. effect. I can't thank either of them enough.

k.d. sang for a full 45 minutes and sang nine solo songs, plus another
three with Tony. The concert began right on time, so don't be late. Both
Tony and k.d. seemed really pleased that the other was there singing with
them. Clearly, k.d. wasn't just the warm-up act--the show opened with both
Tony and k.d. coming onstage and singing "I've Got the World on a String."
Then Tony welcomed k.d. and she continued on with her set.

k.d. seems extremely happy to be out again singing. And this time around,
the songs she sang showed off her voice to full advantage. This is a real
vocalist-centered set of songs, unlike the IS tour; more difficult
technically than most of the songs on the Drag tour, and, shades of the
Ingenue tour, there were numerous back-of-the-neck-tingling opportunities
to hear that incredible voice reverberate off every wall of the venue. In
other words, these are the songs that, after the past couple of tours, you
talked about wishing she had sung, but hadn't. The kind of songs that we've
always said are perfectly suited to her voice and that we would love to
hear her sing.

The arrangements are nothing like you've ever heard from k.d. before.
Instrumentalists were familiar: Teddy Borowiecki on piano and keyboard,
David Piltch on string bass and Abraham Laboriel Jr on drums. Very jazz in
both rhythm and harmony. All three did great jobs. Teddy's keyboard had a
round, celesta-like sound which added a very different feel to everything,
particularly in Constant Craving, which gave it a pensive tone. A good bass
player can really tie everything together in jazz arrangements, and these
songs showed off David's talents much better than in all the more
straightforward pop I've heard him do up until now. Even Abe managed to
play with subtlety and varied texture. I could hardly believe it.

Okay, back to the set. Way, way back in Prodigy days (back before Mark
Wahlberg was Marky Mark), we used to talk about how great it would be hear
k.d. sing Cole Porter. Well, she sang three Cole Porter songs last night. I
was just about jumping up and down with glee. Her first solo song was "I Am
In Love," really uptempo and energetic, a great way to start out. Back when
she did the Red, Hot + Blue recording, she mentioned in an interview that
she had initially wanted to sing that song for the album, but she didn't
think it really fit with the rest of the lineup so she ended up recording
"So In Love" instead. Ten or so years later she has the opportunity to sing
it. The song allowed her to warm up the entire range of her moves and
facial expressions, from radiant to dorky with the occasional Elvis thrown
in. She was having a great time.

Next was "Still Thrives This Love." The arrangement was different, but the
power of her voice took me back to the Ingenue tour, particularly that last
extended note where her voice reverberates for what seems like forever. She
holds the note, pulls back the mike while she holds it, and you hear that
combination of amplified and unamplified voice and echo. That's when the
hair on the back of your neck electrifies. What a perfect song for that voice.

From there, she jumped into "So In Love." Perfect song, perfect voice,
great arrangement. She even came over way to our side of the stage and sang
to me. She knows that's my favorite song. She sang "even without you / my
arms fold around you" rather than "fold about you," messing with the cool
mid-line rhyme, but I won't quibble with that.

Then it was time for the third Cole Porter song, "Too Darn Hot." Another
one of my all-time faves; I even have a dog named after the song. Then
again, I have a lot of dogs. This was one of my two favorite songs of the
concert. It was a terrific and original interpretation--wow, she can sing
jazz, too. Guess she wasn't so far off at the very beginning of her career
about what she wanted to do.

It was about then that Marilynn gathered her courage to present k.d. with
gift, a tee shirt with the photo of k.d., Gussie and Marilynn on it. k.d.
was amused and grateful. She marveled at modern technology, talked about
her plans to make money selling the shirt, then decided to wear it herself
since she didn't bring too many clothes on tour with her.

Next was "Don't Smoke in Bed," the song with the endless phrasing. She
makes it all look so easy.

Then it was time for the song that was the encore in past tours that we all
wished was in the regular program, "Our Right to Love." It was hit after
hit, highlight after highlight. More tingles up the spine when I heard what
she can do with that voice. More reverberations to the back wall of the
civic center.

It was a hot night for songs, and the second ultra-hot song was "Fever." I
thought that little snippet she sang on tour was hot until she sang the
whole song last night. She really had fun with it and milked it to the max.
k.d. really is at her best when she has great lyrics like these to work
with. That one left the audience wrung out.

Second to last was, of course, "Constant Craving," but the arrangement was
totally unlike the song we've all heard a million times before. Jazz
harmony and progressions and that bell-like keyboard sound, and none of
that bam-bam-bam from Abe. It was almost like one of those club mixes on a
CD single because there was the jazz arrangement with k.d. singing the old
familiar vocal like it had been excised directly from the album cut. So
right, so cool, yet so disconcerting at the same time.

A k.d. concert is not a k.d. concert without hearing her sing "Crying," and
that was her closing number. Her usual bang-up, standing-ovation-spurring
performance. Usual in the sense that she puts everything she has into it
and with a fresh, first-show-of-the-tour voice. The Welcome to Maine sign
on the Maine border has the motto "The Way Life Should Be." Now I know what
it means.

k.d. came back on stage after the first few songs in Tony's set to sing
"Moonglow" and then "Keep the Faith." KtF was a cute song (never heard it
before), and they seemed to have a great time singing it together. Tony
then sang for another 40 minutes or so, but k.d. was done for the night. A
little while after she finished singing, she sneaked out in the dark from
backstage in street clothes to watch Tony for a song or two, but when the
lights came back up, she scurried back behind the curtain to avoid
potential assault by sharp-eyed rabid fans. That was the last we saw of her.

Carolyn

Columbus,OH

It's just after 6 a.m. EST and I just got back from the concert at Polaris Ampitheater.

My review is the same as Pattie's. Same set list and even the same clothing for both k.d. and Tony according to the pictures.  She is even lovlier in person.  Peaches and cream skin and she sure does smell good. 

I also had a front row seat and in between songs when she came to the very foot of the stage I got up and handed her a small gift.  She thanked me, squeezed my hand and gave me her million dollar smile while looking right into my eyes.  OMG, even now my heart is pounding.

I was surprised that they both came out together in the beginning.  k.d. entered from stage right which was closer to my end of the row.  The audience was frenzied and I was so excited to see k.d. and hurry up to try and take a picture that I didn't even notice that Tony was also on stage until I saw her looking at him.

The second surprise of the evening was that she sang nothing from Invincible Summer.

She closed with Crying (standing ovation) and I walked out for the intermission with tears still streaming down my face.

Why do the best things go by so quickly and seem such a blur?  I wish I could go again

and again and again and again. 

 

Willow* 28/7/01

 

New Jersey

Someone needs to explain how i got home tonight, because it feels like i floated here. Tonight, in New Jersey, the moon glowed just a little bit brighter on the PNC ART CENTER. that is where kd and tony appeared.  the show started on time and from where i sat, kd actually walked out onto the stage before tony did. when kd walked out, you can hear the crowd go insane. althought the crowd seemed to be more of a tony crowd, the kd fans were louder. there were many people around us who thought this was a kd lang concert until they received their tickets which said tony bennett w/kd lang.   kd  appeared very loose and comfortable. this truely does seem to be the only thing she was meant to do. as mentioned in preivous reviews, she wore a black outfit similar to live by request,  with a white cloth choker. she also looks like she may have lost some weight since last year's tour. regardless, she looked very very hot.   it felt as though she commanded the audiences attention from the minute tony left the stage and she did it with her voice. her voice was strong and very smooth. every song she sang was excellent, but i must admit, CRYING and SO IN LOVE were haunting. it felt as if a there was a dead silence during SO IN LOVE. it seemed she mesmerized the audience. i know at one point my friend wispered something to me and never even heard her. and, as usual, a standing ovation for CRYING. i can honestly say i can never get tired of hearing that song. i have to also agree with pattie, the jazzy version of CONSTANT CRAVING was not my favorite. however there were many in the audience, my friend for one, who liked it better.   unlike most kd concerts, this show did not have much interaction with the audience. she did however joke around about tony knocking her socks off as the overhead screen showed her bare feet. she also made comments about new jersey being a very liberal state.........LOL.  at one point she introduced her band and made comment about how they were a great trio. then someone said make it a quartet. so kd asked if she could play an instrument. well, the person said no, but she could play solo. well, kd took off with that comment. she said sometimes she plays solo too. you gotta do what you gotta go. wouldnt quote her on that, but that was the jist of her comment.   kd did an excellent job tonight and i think she made a whole new group of fans. before the show started,  the couple sitting next to us said they never heard of her. after the show, they asked if we could recommend an album they could purchase. they just fell in love with her voice, her presense and well, her.   and so i did i...................   oh, btw, i did take pics, but we were sitting quite a ways back. hopefully, they will come out and i'll post them.   Valhala   !/8/01

valhala, your review is wonderful. i am in awe of you and others who can be in kd's presence, experience her magic, and still retain the wits to evoke it for us! i know that in my case, she turned my brain to mush, and my initial attempt at a report reflected that. i beg forgiveness and plead insanity! :-)   i do have a couple of thoughts i'd like to add, if you all will indulge me: having seen her twice last summer (my first, ever!), i noted a change in her stage presence this time. whereas on the 'i.s.' tour, she seemed quite polished, and sure of herself, this time i sensed a bit of shyness and 'youth' about her. that is not to imply that she was anything less than a consumate performer. she could never give less than 100%. it's just that it seemed that her 'patter' was not as practiced. she (sweetly) groped for words at times, and seemed to really be soaking up the love of the audience, as though this were a new thing for her. her attempt to segue from 'fever' (WOW!!, btw), to 'constant craving' had teddy and the audience in stiches! she was going on about the fact that we were coming to a 'transitional conjunction' from the previously sung jazz standards, to her pop hit. the more she tried to clarify herself, the 'stucker' she got! it was only a few minutes, but it was adorable, and made me think that this is what seeing kd 10 years ago would have been like.   and she also did a very nice topical segue into 'too darn hot', when she began by telling us that she had been glad to learn that the show would be indoors, because, when she had gone for her usual 8:00 a.m. walk, in a portland park, it was already too darn hot! with that, the red lights came up, and she proceeded to make the auditorium at least 20 degrees warmer!! ;-)   i apologize, again, for butting into valaha's thred. i hope that i haven't bored you all to tears. but, bit by bit, pieces of that scrumptious night re-emerge. that woman does tease and tantalize, but in the end, she ALWAYS delivers!   Fruitcake 1/8/01     After posting my review of the concert at Polaris last Friday, I stated that it was my first but wouldn't be my last.  I wanted to go again and again.  So I did just that.  I went to Blossom Music Center at Cuyahoga Falls, OH yesterday (8-1-01).  k.d. opened for Lyle Lovett.  Great show, by the way.  Twelve piece band, four back-up singers, and Lyle is witty as hell.  He talked about how he and k.d. go way back & how some people change when you haven't seen them in a while - like their breasts get bigger!   I apologize for my first review being mostly about me and my feelings, but I was still so wired and it took a couple of days to come down.  I was lucky enough to grab just one seat for Blossom (tenth row, center aisle).  And there were absolutely NO cameras allowed.   I got there early enough for her soundcheck/rehearsal.  They weren't having an easy time of it though.  Too much feedback from one of the speakers when she came upstage.  It took a while for the sound men to isolate the problem.  k.d. said to her guys "I guess it's going to be one of those nights."   She had on light faded blue jeans with a medium blue t-shirt and the knotted necklace.  Barefoot, of course.  Her hair looked a little lighter and VERY spikey.  Probably whatever she puts on her hair when she "dresses up" makes it look darker and a little more slicked down.   It was a miserably humid evening.  They all seemed to be hot and tired.  Finally, k.d. said "Okay, guys?  I'd really like to get out of here now."  It was less than a hour to showtime and I'm sure she needed to relax and refresh.   When she came out at 7:30 she looked gorgeous in her black stage outfit.  (She really does pack light.)  She did the same nine songs but was on for nearly an hour.  There was much more repartee with the audience, dancing and moving about than there was last Friday.  This was her fifth show of the tour and she probably feels more comfortable as it goes along.  At one point she turned her back to the audience and did a sexy kind of slither that brought hoots and howls from every corner.   k.d. tried to get Teddy to play "Right to Love" on the piano instead of keyboard because she thinks it sounds so much better that way.  After some shuffling about and dialogue with the control booth, she said "Ladies and Gentlemen, you are witnessing a crew in crisis."  In the end it was thumbs down on the piano so k.d. said "We'll just do it the best we can."  And they did it the best ever!   The majority of the crowd was definitely there for k.d.  Whereas with Tony it was more like 70/30.  The applause as she left the stage was so long and loud I thought my arms would fall off.  We just wouldn't stop.  And almost everyone, of course, was teary eyed.  At one point it looked like she was coming back out and the roar was deafening.  But, alas, it wasn't her.  She was probably asleep in her hotel room before the ovation died down.   As for me, I think the very first concert is always the most exciting.  And I will forever treasure the memory of the way she smiled and squeezed my hand.  But it was almost TOO exciting.  I didn't know whether to s**t or go blind.  This time I tried to just mellow out, enjoy every moment and absorb it with all of my senses.  So this one may be more memorable.   Best wishes to those who still have this to look forward to! And to those who will miss it - keep the faith! ;)   willow* 3/8/01

Aries Review from lake Tahoe Oct 2001

I was at both the Concord and the Tahoe show - both great shows! I was front row at the Concord show and was able to hand kd a bouquet of flowers before she sang Crying and got a nice tight handshake and smile from her for it. She put on a great show and was very relaxed and happy - I'm glad the show was postponed from the Sept 13th date so at least it gave her and Tony some time to be relaxed and upbeat after the WTC tragedy. It was 85% Tony Bennett crowd, but kd won them all over and even all those little blue-haired ladies there for Tony stood up and gave her a rousing standing ovation for Crying. It was excellent! Tony's set was great too and he also got a great standing ovation when he sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" for all of us (since he was performing in the San Francisco area!). The Tahoe show was last night. kd on her own - and whatever she was holding back on Tony's tour, she released last night. She did all the songs from the Tony tour - and really outdid herself. She sang those songs in almost operatic way - holding onto the high notes as long and as hard as she could. I've been to quite a few of her shows, and I have to say, it was ONE of the best ones I ever saw. I was just totally blown away with how beautiful and intensely she sang "Don't Smoke in Bed", "Crying" and the one and only encore of "3 Cigarettes in an ashtray". I think since it was HER show, she was able to relax and be herself and didn't have to hold back - not to steal Tony's thunder. It was great to hear her sing like that - after seeing the IS tour and being deprived of the great singing she can do with her voice. The banter was pretty much the same, a few jokes thrown in here and there. The show lasted only an hour. She was wearing the same black outfit as she has for the whole Tony tour. Her opening act was a folk guitarist from Texas named Damien Garcia. He was ok, but the crowd was restless (90% women/lesbians) and wanted kd. He gave us 30 minutes of torture and finally the curtains opened up at 9:30 and Abe, Teddy and David were on stage and did a 5 minute instrumental set - some jazzy number to display their musical abilities. I had met Teddy before the show and told him I was looking forward to hearing him play tonight, and tried to get it out of him what the setliest was and what they were going to do - but all he did was smile and say it would be "different" and to just wait and see! He was a nice guy. It's a shame that all those other kd fans milling about never bothered to go up to him as I did to acknowledge him, since him and kd together on stage are like magic - such as she was with Ben Mink when they toured together. Anyway, kd came out after they were done and did her set and came out for one encore of "3 Cigarettes" - which was one of the best versions I had ever seen. She sang her songs until she was deeply red in the face since she sang them so intensely. It was simply amazing. The show ended at 10:30 and kd was supposed to be in Las Vegas tonight, but during the show she had mentioned that last night was the last night of her "little tour" with the guys - so I hope Las Vegas didn't get cancelled! Anyway, that was my kd experiences for the week - another tour experienced, with alot of pleasant memories of great performances!