October 19, 2014

Publication title: ocean985.com, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Mel Z

Sarah McLachlan Lights Up Victoria With Her Shine On Tour

Our good friend, Sarah McLachlan returned to Victoria on Saturday night to begin her Canadian Shine On tour.

Victoria’s beloved arena that has hosted many a hockey game, massive dinosaurs, the likes of Motley Crue, ZZTop and countless performers was transformed last night. It was like Harry Potter and his friends (the Shine On stage crew) waved a magic wand and we were sitting in a comfortable living room. With a few thousand friends…and our host, Sarah McLachlan.

Sarah’s 3,741 friends welcomed her return to Victoria with open hearts. Even her “sweetie” Geoff Courtenall, which she dedicated a song to in the crowd, was in the house. The setting was intimate with couches for a handful of lucky fans to join Sarah onstage for Q&A and selfies — always the selfies – featured absolutely no barriers to the stage. Sarah noted she’s into breaking down barriers and wanted to experience the audience just as much as we wanted to experience the concert, up close and personal.

Her voice was…amazing. The songs are pure emotion and she made us smile and tear up simultaneously while she shared her musical therapy. We marvel at Sarah’s ability to casually put herself out there — the shiny, the dark and light — it’s all there in the music and the performance. She made us laugh with questions from the crowd and made us feel right at home. She gave out a hug to the random guy in the crowd with the Can I Have a HUG sign. The almost three hours finished with a veritable hug for the whole audience in the form of a sing-a-long of Ice Cream, as Sarah smiled at the crowd that it was time for dessert. And it was yummy.