Going into that show, I had very precise expectations, most of which were based on the previous time I saw them live (with Lhasa at the SAT). I was expecting a cocky, self-absorbed and annoying frontman with fabulous tunes that basically group everything I like about music in one hell of a package. Luckily for me (and him), the first part of that sentence turned out to be wrong and the second part was vastly confirmed... Mr Watson may have an annoying laugh, he may be a little self-absorbed but ultimately he's a fun , extremely genuine guy and a true artist. He held it together like few artists can. He had a stage presence that shattered the traditional audience/performer boundaries by having very genuine (can't stress that word enough) communication with us. He really felt like one of us, just higher up on a stage, with a piano, pedals, mics, marimbas and 3 fantastic musicians. Of course, there was that instance where he actually crossed the audience/performer boundary and performed a fabulous acapella version of Man Under the Sea in the audience (more on this later)....Now to the music.
So much to say.
The show opened up in a low key way with Close to Paradise, sang an octave below the album
version, hinting that maybe he didn't have his full voice that night (which was confirmed later in the show). Soon enough, greatness arrived and peaked during his performance of Slip into your skin. What a shilling moment! At the end of the song, we were all surprised and strangely impressed by 4 lamps emerging out of the ceiling and oscillating (reminding me of Coldplay's gimmick on Fix You). Speaking of Coldplay, this show confirmed something I always thought : Patrick Watson are a clever version of Coldplay, with actual musicianship and complexity beyond the guitar reverb.Then came one of the evening's biggest surprise : One of my favorite female performers, Lhasa, joined him on stage for a song that sent chills down everyone's spines. His high pitched vocals over her somber honey vocals were a thing of perfection.
And we though he couldn't top that. Which he did....
The show kept getting better with, among others, a surprise ending to Luscious life, extending beyond it's regular 3 minute duration, into a guest-drummers-meets-weird-sounds madness... Speaking of which, one of the guest drummers was so annoying as he tried to steal the show by throwing his drum kit around and jumping like a monkey... Get your own Metropolis Show !
And then came the encores.... starting with the amazing new song Midnight Express, definetly one of the show's highlights. It hints at what direction the next album is going : less obvious vocal melodies, and center-stage instrumentations mixed with untraditional drumming and marimbas ? Well if it sounds like this, I'm all up for it !The highlight of the encores, Man Under the Sea, was performed acapella in the audience (with head lamps). Another surprising moment, topped only by the appearance, two minutes into the song, of the horn section on the balcony... Prior to that, the band went into a 5-minute unrehearsed bit where they were looking for their headlamps (that some P.A. forgot backstage), which prompted Besnard Lakes' frontman to come out and present "the Patrick Watson comedy hour, featuring Patrick Watson and friends".... Again, it all felt very genuine.
Later - and surprisingly enough- Sleeping beauty was featured and had this quirkiness about it that, in my opinion, topped the album version. To end it all, the dreamy Great Escape ended the show on a very high note, including a wonderful twist in the end where the song transformed into an audience-propelled disco tune ! haha
Overall, I'm thankful to have spent that time with the Patrick Watsons (hehe) yesterday and I can certainly testify that I wasn't the only one. The audience was mesmerized, for good reason.
Watch out for this guy. He could be Canada's next Alanis, or even Celine Dion ! ;)
