Alright.... So the concert on the 12th so simply incredible. Words fail me so take what I say and magnify it by 100
.
I really liked the layout of the stage which had the drums in the back right, Sarah's piano on the left of the stage and on the right was a large tree stump in which a second drum set would rise from underneath for some of the songs. So she opened with World on Fire which I assume she opened all her Afterglow Live dates with. This is one of my favorites and was so amazing live. The intro played as a huge curtain in the middle of the stage fell and Sarah came out with her guitar. From that first song I knew this was well worth the trip. It only got better from there though. She continued with beautiful performances of Building a Mystery and Adia. She sang all the afterglow songs as well as two covers - "Blackbird" and "Solsbury Hill" which I thought were fantastic. Her voice was completely flawless through the entire performances. I don't think the chills went away till long after the show. Some awesome highlights were songs from FTE including Wait, Possession, and the AMAZING, Breath-taking live version Fear which had her starting at her piano for a small intro than moving to center stage. I can't even begin to explain her vocals on this song....Her performance of Angel was equally incredible. So great infact, afterwards she was given a very well-deserved standing ovation (for about 3 minutes!). Other amazing performances were Hold On and one of my personal favorites Drifting (both of which always make me so sad
) She ended with Possession which was spectacular. Fake leaves came falling from the roof which was a nice touch as a HUGE uproar from the crowd commenced (Oh yeah, there were about 11,000 fans there according to the newspapers that next morning, front page of course :lol: ). Then a light came up on Ash who was sitting on his drum set and licking a vanilla ice cream cone
:lol: ! He threw it into the crowd and the whole gang came out for an encore beginning with, obviously, Ice Cream!! That encore ended with the beautiful FTE. After that she introduced the entire band (btw the guitar player, Sean was by my side of the stage most of time and he ROCKED.) He even waved to me and a group of people that stood up when he came close to the edge of the stage, very cool. Also, Sarah went to a camera where all the backstage workers were there on the side of the stage. They said thanks and how much fun it had been working on the tour...all before breaking out in song of course - Carol Burnett's "It's so nice we had this time together" (much thanks to The Vancouver Sun for giving the name of that song, I would've never known what it was called :lol: ). That was a very funny moment as the band took one last bow, thanked everyone for coming out and seeing their last show of the tour, and left the stage. But it wasn't over yet!! After about 3 minutes of cheering and hollering Sarah came out alone to a dark, empty stage for the final performance of the evening. Dirty Little Secret was probably the most definitive song of the night. I didn't want it to end, I never wanted it to end...but sadly after she had said one last "thank you" and left the stage the lights went up.
So the concert was flawless. Her singing is not possible to explain...those who have seen her live probably know what I mean....It was the best experience I've ever had and am quite sad its over
. Never before had I had something I didn't want to end so much!! Also she talked toward the end about how she was, as all of us know, taking a long hiatus for her family and a well deserved break.
All I can say is good luck on whatever is next, can't wait for you to return to music!, and...THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!!