Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

Sarah McLachlan @ The State Theater, Minneapolis, MN 2014.7.08

After a long pause, Sarah McLachlan has returned to tour with her full show, this time back to the intimate venue of The State Theater, where she played on the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy tour in 1994.  At this point in her career, it would be nice to see Sarah revisit her 25 years of material (I would have been happy to see the entire Touch album performed (or Fumbling)), but she acknowledges more enthusiasm for her new material which comprised a large portion of the set, forcing omission of any track from her first two albums.  With the release of 2010s Laws of Illusion, her newer material has seemed flat, lackluster, and a little formulaic, conforming to her most stereotypical sound.  She even acknowledged her writing trends toward writing the same story over.  Fortunately, the live performances breathe a fuller life into the songs, and the newest material from Shine On came across well along with her mid-career tracks.  Playing live is really where McLachlan shines, and in small, close environment like this one songs like Witness came across with a blues-club kind of feel.  But, the real energy of the show could be felt in the now live-set staples of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Fear, the latter showcasing the extreme limits of her unique voicing (and after a day off she seemed to hit all the vocal notes perfectly).  Overall, the set could have benefited from some tracks that stand out by featuring a more kinetic tempo (Plenty, Into The Fire) or the depth of McLachlan's younger perspective (Wait, anything from Touch).  What we did get was, however, satisfying and impressive as always: Mclachlan still comes across as an elite musician.  Hopefully her future will hold more frequent touring and glimpses back into the pre-Surfacing days.

+: Fear, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, Possession, Sweet Surrender

-: No Touch, Into the Fire, Plenty, Wait

Setlist: Flesh and Blood - Building a Mystery -In Your Shoes -Adia -Answer -Broken Heart - Fallen -World on Fire -Loving You Is Easy -Monsters -Stupid -Song for My Father -I Will Remember You -Brink of Destruction -Hold On -Love Beside Me -Fumbling Towards Ecstasy -Witness -Fear - Sweet Surrender- Possession- Angel- Beautiful Girl -Ice Cream -The Sound That Love Makes