“Virginia
is for Lovers,” they say. Well, last Saturday night, Virginia fell in love with Jackie Evancho. Jackie worked her magic for about 2,000 lucky
fans at Chrysler Hall, in Norfolk, Virginia, as part of this year’s Virginia Arts
Festival. The key phrase for the evening
was “charming exuberance.” Jackie was clearly in a great mood, and having a
great time. As always, she stayed “in character” while singing, and delivered
each song with appropriate emotional impact, but between songs, she was down-to-earth,
chatty, charming, and well, in a word (or two) utterly enchanting.
In one of the between-the-songs vignettes in the “Awakenings” DVD, Cheyenne Jackson asked Jackie to describe her two best qualities, and she responded “niceness and humor – for sure humor.” Well, that niceness and sense of humor were clearly evident last Saturday night. Jackie has always had the uncanny ability to connect with her audience on a very deep emotional level while singing, but to that aspect of her performances she has now added the ability to connect with the audience on a very personal level between songs. At one point early in the concert, she talked about her hair coloring. At another point in the concert, while introducing “Je t’aime” [“I love you”], she told the audience that she likes to sing this song because she loved all of us. Well Jackie, the feeling is mutual!
Speaking of love, Jackie was interviewed for the Virginia Arts Festival before the concert, and instead of asking Jackie the same old insipid questions that most other interviewers have asked her, the interviewer asked Jackie if there was a question that she hadn’t been asked before, which she wished would be asked. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
“You must be asked in your many interviews many of these same questions. Is there a question that interviewers rarely or never ask you, which you wish they would ask, and how would you answer that? "
In one of the between-the-songs vignettes in the “Awakenings” DVD, Cheyenne Jackson asked Jackie to describe her two best qualities, and she responded “niceness and humor – for sure humor.” Well, that niceness and sense of humor were clearly evident last Saturday night. Jackie has always had the uncanny ability to connect with her audience on a very deep emotional level while singing, but to that aspect of her performances she has now added the ability to connect with the audience on a very personal level between songs. At one point early in the concert, she talked about her hair coloring. At another point in the concert, while introducing “Je t’aime” [“I love you”], she told the audience that she likes to sing this song because she loved all of us. Well Jackie, the feeling is mutual!
Speaking of love, Jackie was interviewed for the Virginia Arts Festival before the concert, and instead of asking Jackie the same old insipid questions that most other interviewers have asked her, the interviewer asked Jackie if there was a question that she hadn’t been asked before, which she wished would be asked. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
“You must be asked in your many interviews many of these same questions. Is there a question that interviewers rarely or never ask you, which you wish they would ask, and how would you answer that? "
http://altdaily.com/features/music/7836-catch-a-rising-star-jackie-evancho-plays-vaf
Jackie’s love of being on stage and making people happy came through to the audience loud and clear. (“I guess I’m good at it” – ya’ gotta love her modesty and humility).
The song list was unchanged from her last concert or two. (Sorry, I’m sure these are not in the correct order, and I may have omitted something. I’m writing from memory – taking notes during the concert is too distracting):
Take
Me There
Your
Love
Je t’aime
The
Impossible Dream
Memories
The
Music of the Night
My
Immortal
With
You or Without You
Made
to Dream
Lovers
Vocalise
Wishing
You Were Somehow Here Again
Ombra Mai Fu
Ave Maria
The
Lord’s Prayer (encore)
Jackie’s
new and very talented music director, Peter Kiesewalter, reprised his intense, edgy,
up-tempo, off-beat, and all-around cool piano arrangement of “Nessun Dorma,” which led to the sole
disappointment of the evening for me. As many of you know, Jackie surprised the
audience at her Shippensburg concert by taking the stage about halfway into
Peter’s piano performance, whereupon she sang “Nessun Dorma” while Peter continued to play the rest of the song.
It wasn’t perfect, I’m told – Peter’s arrangement is fast and not easy to sing
along with - but given that Jackie has only performed “Nessun Dorma” six times previously (that I know of), that surprise
performance was an epic and unforgettable moment for her regular fans.
I doubt that very many of the audience members in Chrysler Hall were aware of what Jackie did in Shippensburg, but when Peter began playing “Nessun Dorma” last night, the anticipation among the regular fans in the first three rows was palpable. Alas, history did not repeat itself. One can only hope that Jackie and Peter are working out the bugs in the duet, and that they will “surprise” us again next month, in Nashville. (Yes, I say “us,” because I will be there).
I doubt that very many of the audience members in Chrysler Hall were aware of what Jackie did in Shippensburg, but when Peter began playing “Nessun Dorma” last night, the anticipation among the regular fans in the first three rows was palpable. Alas, history did not repeat itself. One can only hope that Jackie and Peter are working out the bugs in the duet, and that they will “surprise” us again next month, in Nashville. (Yes, I say “us,” because I will be there).
Here are some quick impressions about the songs:
“Take Me There”: My 28 year old daughter came with
me to the concert. It was her first Jackie Evancho concert. This was her
favorite song of the evening. (Team Evancho, take note, if you want to attract
more younger fans, give us more songs like this).
“Your Love”: Soaring, beautifully bittersweet. I
held back tears – NOT.
“Je
t’aime”: Jackie sang this one with a little less intensity
than she did for the “Awakenings” DVD. Her delivery was a little sweeter, a
little more delicate. In my opinion, this was perfectly appropriate, given that
she had just told the audience that she loved us, and basically, was singing
the song to us. She “re-purposed” the song from a desperate break-up song to a
straight-up, very beautiful, love song. And we loved it.
“The Impossible Dream”: One of the audience
favorites. Performed flawlessly. Powerful, inspiring.
“Memories”: Over the last nine months that I have
been watching the “Awakenings” DVD, this has gradually become my personal
favorite from this DVD. My wife passed away last December, and watching Jackie perform
this this song with one of our daughters seated beside me was a particularly
emotional experience, for both my daughter and myself. (Yes, we both shed a
tear or two, or three).
“The Music of the Night”: This song may not have
afforded me the most personal emotional experience of the night, but the two
high notes in this song were for me the two musical
highlights of the evening. Most people would exclaim, metaphorically, that Jackie
“nailed” each one of these notes. Absolutely true, of course, but Saturday night
a different metaphor came to my mind. For me, Jackie soared to the heavens
where such notes reside, and brought them down to earth to share their grandeur
with us.
“My Immortal”: Jackie’s piano playing continues to
improve, but she still felt constrained to remind us that she is a beginner on
the piano, and asked for our forbearance if she made any mistakes. In my
opinion, she is still a better singer than a piano player, but she delivered a very
credible (creditable?) piano performance of the first part of the song. I don’t
think it will be very long before Jackie plays the piano through the entire
song, and does so without any apologies.
“With You or without You”: Jackie was in rare form
here – even for herself. As she has done in previous concerts, she told the
audience that she might dance during the song. I wasn’t at Shippensburg, but in Red Bank, she
really didn’t dance very much. However, Saturday night, she danced up a storm,
moving back and forth across the whole stage. It was clear she was “into” the
music (OK, when is she not???). Fun? I
would say she was “having a blast!”
“Made to Dream”: Jackie told us she likes this song,
because she feels like she is singing about herself. Well, we totally agree.
She was made to dream – and to
inspire the rest of us to do the same.
“Lovers”: Disclaimer:
This is my all-time favorite Jackie Evancho song, and I have been extremely
critical of almost all prior performances that I have seen (live or on YouTube).
None of them have measured up to the masterpiece taped in 2011 in Sarasota for “Dream
With Me in Concert.” Well, finally, last Saturday night, she raised the bar for
“Lovers.” It was everything I have come to expect and/or hope for from a Jackie
Evancho performance. It was spell-binding. Time stopped. I was there, in the
field in China, chasing butterflies “until close of day.” The final high note
was magical, unworldly. (As a reality
check, since I am a clearly a biased “die-hard” fan, I just finished reading
another fan review on Jackie’s forum at “ProBoards,” and I saw that at least
one other fan in the audience agreed with me about this performance of “Lovers”).
Once again, Jackie has defied the laws of physics and has redefined perfection.
“Vocalise”:
OK, but not one of my favorite Jackie Evancho songs. (See, I can occasionally
be objective about her performances).
“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again”: Oh, the heck with objectivity – this was nothing
short of spectacular. Beautiful, plaintive, melodic, moody, gut-wrenching,
tear-jerking – all wrapped up in one short song. Jackie makes every word and
note count. She is a masterful story-teller.
Given that there are no recordings (or at least no recent recordings) of
this song, it was an especially real treat to see her perform it live.
“Ombra
Mai Fu”: I guess I have heard Jackie sing this song
hundreds of times – and it is a song she herself has been singing for six or
even seven years. But, I have never been the slightest bit disappointed. Her
command of this song is astounding. She pulled that first high note seemingly
right out of thin air, effortlessly, and stayed pitch-perfect all the way
through – as always. I have really run out of adjectives to describe this song.
“Ave
Maria”: Gorgeously musical – a great showcase for Jackie’s
vocal skills. But again, not one of my favorite songs – beyond the
gravity-defying vocal acrobatics, it’s just not very interesting. I want to hear
a story. Give me “Lovers,” or “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” or almost
any other song from Jackie’s ever-expanding and astoundingly diverse
repertoire.
“The
Lord’s Prayer”: Beautiful and moving, as always, but
her performance of this song in Dallas still reigns supreme. Also, I would
rather see a more “fun” up-beat song as an encore.
My
conclusion? Well, I traveled 14 hours on Friday, 8
hours on Saturday, and another 14 hours on Sunday (a total of 6 legs of the
trip by car, 4 legs by Greyhound bus, 4 legs by subways, and 2 legs by commuter
train). Was it worth it? Absolutely, unequivocally “Yes,” especially since I
got to spend much of the weekend with my oldest daughter, and take her to her
first live Jackie Evancho concert. Up until Saturday night, she has always
thought I was a little nutty when it comes to Jackie Evancho, but at the end of
Jackie’s first set, she turned to me, her face still a little damp with tears,
and said “Now I get it.”
May
16, 2015, Norfolk, Virginia
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