Sarah Slean / April 29th, 2008 / Vancouver East Cultural Center / Vancouver, Canada
Sarah
Slean already had the audience on her side before she sat down at the grand
piano, for her performance at Vancouver Canada’s Vancouver East Cultural
Center. In what easily rates as one of the most entertaining performances of
the year, Slean greeted the audience with, ‘I wore my party dress for you,’
referring to her billowing, ornate dress.
It was fitting that on a night when the Baroness, Slean’s alter ego took to the stage, that a singer/songwriter with the name Royal (Wood) opened for her. In our interview with Slean the day after her opening night gig, she admitted to The Baroness being her onstage persona, not put on, but the side of her that emerges, as being a composition of free spirited, vulnerable and uninhibited. It is fitting then that many of the songs which she performed are from her current album, suitably titled, The Baroness.
Some will find Slean’s music to be dark, as she often deals with the not so nice side of relationships, reflected in her second song, “Get Home.” Slean however, is a gifted composer / singer / musician who considers herself to be a an artist who writes from her heart, is honest, and shares her experiences, no matter how painful they may have been while she was going through them. The opening lines to “Get Home,” are drawn from Slean’s own heartbreak, “You can stay the night / You can look me in the eye / You can fake your way to the finish line / But don’t you dare profess to love me / When you’re lying to another / that’s not love that’s just wishing / wish and love are not the same thing.”
For every song that Slean has written about heartbreak, there are also others that talk about change, that express hope, such as the beautiful, “Looking For Someone,” a gospel flavored tune, about which she says, she receives more fan mail, than any other song she has written. The singer talks about walking down the road of life, “looking for someone that is looking for me,” and on her wedding day, finally being able to say that she is glad that she waited for that day.
There are many facets to Sarah Slean’s music and her performance, which included an almost vaudevillian dialogue with her audience, which was juxtaposed to songs such as her whimsical, “Willow.” At times Slean’s music possesses gentle pop melodies, some of her songs have operatic overtones and then there are the rock symphonies. When she is not singing Slean is equally at ease, cavorting about the stage as she adopts a cabaret demeanor and flirts with her audience.
With her shoeless left foot pounding out the beat, as she played the piano, Slean led her backup band of Dean Drouillard (guitar), Chris Banks (bass) and drummer Mark Mariash though the very fast paced “So Many Miles.” The song reflects upon Slean’s experiences while living in Paris, France a few years ago, as she toured her CD Day One.
Slean introduced, “When Another Midnight,” as a song written in the midst of an existential crisis, “Please Be Good To Me,” as a song she said she might imagine Dolly Parton wanting to record, and “Universe,” (1998 CD-Universe) being written when she was seventeen and naked. Then she said, “I think more songs should be written when you are naked.”
Sarah Slean’s music appeals to people of all ages as evidenced by those who turned out for her Vancouver concerts. She is a tremendously gifted entertainer, a superb composer, and a good pianist, who possesses awesome vocals, which compliment her insightful lyrics. Sarah Slean is an artist that you do not want to miss when she comes to your city, so you had better check out her website for her tour dates or her myspace site to listen to her music.
Reviewed by Joe Montague
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Reviewed April 29th, 2008
Riveting Riffs wishes to thank Live Nation for making it possible for us to review this Gig
