Last night I was able to attend the Jann Arden concert at the QE theatre. The most stunning change (for me) was the lobby. They took out the ceiling in the lobby and made it the full height of the building and hung beautiful chandeliers. It made it feel so open and the glass walls now can be appreciated. The seats are all wooden now, having replaced the metal chairs that felt more like a movie theatre than a theatre house and the carpeting has been replaced. The sound was definitely a thousand percent better.
But I digress – back to Jann. The show opened with her stepping out in front of the curtain with her guitar and singing “Free”, the title track from her new album. Then the curtain opened and her band was there (minus Russell Broom). They were rocking to “Looking For It(Finding Heaven)” and “Where No One Knows Me”, and the sound was so good in the theatre. She also went “as disco as someone her age can” and sang her now song “Million Miles Away”.
She sang a lot of old favourites (Sleepless, I Would Die For You, At Seventeen). She also sang “Leave Me Now” – a song from the “Happy” album which she has never sung in concert.
Her jokes were hilarious and had me busting a gut in my seat. She did a family slide show which was torturous but hilarious because of the stuff she said. She showed pictures of her band when they were kids and made all kinds of comments about what they were wearing or what it looked like they were doing. She poked fun at her parents, siblings, uncles…nobody was immune. It was sooo hilarious though, which is what made it tolerable.
Jann was inducted into the BC Entertainers Hall of Fame by Red Robinson and Elizabeth Ball. Her acceptance speech was a riot and funny. She stood in the light not knowing what to say, holding onto her plaque and said “I believe in gay marriage.” “I believe everyone has the right to be miserable”. The crowd went wild and she broke into song.
As long as Jann performs, I will continue to go to her shows. Heck, it’s been sixteen years since I first saw her, why stop now?