Taking the stage dressed much like her fans, in jeans and a flowing purple shirt, Sarah McLachlan didn't look like an arena concert attraction, and for most of her two-hour show, she didn't behave like one, either. Backed by her seven-member band (including husband Ashwin Sood on drums), McLachlan presented her poppy, subdued folk-rock almost exactly as it sounds on her albums, flawlessly re-creating her ethereal sound but not doing much to make it stand out. If you closed your eyes and ignored the applause, you might think you were listening to a CD.
Keeping your eyes open wouldn't have changed that impression much, as McLachlan and her crew generally didn't move from their appointed spots, although they did shift configuration from one side of the stage to the other at times. Once planted on their new marks, though, they stayed put, giving the show the feel of a extremely well-put-together recital.
The set included nine of the 10 songs from McLachlan's recent Afterglow, as well as selections from her previous two albums, and was geared for maximum crowd-pleasing, with every hit represented. The mostly female audience responded well, and McLachlan proved she knows her fan base when her between-song banter touched upon childbirth, breast-feeding and hormones and drew nothing but laughs and cheers.
Although songs like "Elsewhere" and "Train Wreck" sounded warm and perfectly pitched, even in an arena, it wasn't until nearly the end of the show, with a hit parade that included "Building a Mystery," "Sweet Surrender" and "Possession," that McLachlan and her band loosened up, moving around the stage, interacting with each other, and finally looking like they were having as good a time as the audience.
Afterglow hasn't sold nearly as well as McLachlan's 1997 breakthrough, Surfacing, but the singer just about filled the arena, and cries of "We love you, Sarah" were heard throughout the evening. Maybe the fans were just happy that McLachlan was back, as she acknowledged that she hasn't played in town since a show at the Huntridge 10 years ago.
By the end of the evening, the energy level finally matched the musicianship, but just as things got into a groove, the show was over. McLachlan seemed genuinely pleased at the positive crowd response; maybe in the future she could learn to have as much fun as her fans.