Pop Break Live: Sarah McLachlan “Summer Symphony Tour” at The Met in Philadelphia
Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan brought her Summer Symphony Tour to The Met in Philadelphia on August 5th. The Grammy winning Lilith Fair creator and her backing band were joined on stage by The Philly Pops Orchestra. The Met (formally known as the Metropolitan Opera House), reopened their doors nine months ago after an extensive $56 million dollar renovation. This stunningly beautiful venue was the perfect backdrop for this type of show and really added a little special something extra to what would be an extraordinary night of music.
McLachlan opened her set with “Possession,’ a song from her 1993 breakthrough album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. She followed that with the huge hits “I Will Remember You” and “Adia.” Throughout the night she weaved stories in between songs that really added a special element to the show. Before singing the song “Forgiveness,” she told the crowd that she was feeling pretty solid now at 51 and it was a beautiful thing to feel at peace with everything. Her vocals, seemingly unchanged over the last 30 years, really soared on “Rivers of Love.” She sat at her grand piano for many of the songs and sang some front and center, but grabbed her guitar for “Building a Mystery.”
Sarah McLachlan’s lyrics are very relatable so there is no doubt that she tugged at the heartstrings of many fans during the night on a song or two. Whether it was learning about the origin of a song, hearing a funny story or finding something out about her you didn’t know, her interaction with the crowd was great. She told them, “If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love depressing songs and sad songs make me joyful.” It was met with laughter from the crowd as McLachlan just smiled. It was mentioned that she also writes happy songs like the up- tempo “Loving you is Easy,” about a guy she was dating in which the prospect of falling in love again felt real. She then turned to the audience and said… he turned out to be an asshole! Again the audience laughed.
One of the many songs that stood out was” Sweet Surrender.” It was a slowed down version, and with her backing band and orchestra totally in sync, it came off hauntingly beautiful. The crowd reacted instantly upon the very recognizable chords of “Hold On.”
Before singing “World On Fire,” McLachlan said she felt the world right now is a crazy place to raise children and that we needed to build bridges between people and shine more brightly. She ended that with a quick … oh, and gun control. The crowd applauded. She ended her set with what she called a “lovely dessert” song, the fan favorite “Ice Cream.” It turned into a loud sing-along. Props to the audience on the verse McLaghlan let them sing on their own, it was in perfect tune!
She came back for a three song encore that started off with “Fear.” McLachlan”s falsetto on this was chill inducing. It was a true magic moment in the show. She then played one of her very favorite songs, “Love Come.” The night ended with a gorgeous version of “Angel.” It was the perfect ending to a perfect night in Philadelphia by Sarah McLachlan.
