k.d. lang

Twenty five years ago I was lucky enough to experience k.d. lang perform songs from her, then-current, album ‘Ingénue’ at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Today, k.d. and I were both back in the same venue to mark that classic album’s quarter century.

Barefoot and besuited on an exceptionally balmy evening, lang enchanted the packed auditorium. The voice which so impressed such vocal luminaries as Roy Orbison and Tony Bennett is still absolutely phenomenal, her charm and humour still very much to the fore and her presence undeniable.

She and her virtuoso 7-piece band performed ‘Ingénue’ in full before running through a selection of other songs, including ‘Honey and Smoke’ from 2016’s excellent ‘case/lang/viers’ album, and a triumvirate of ‘Hymns from the 49th Parallel’ by lang’s fellow iconic Canadians - Joni Mitchell’s ‘Help Me’, Neil Young’s ‘Helpless’, and (inevitably) Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, the last of which (inevitably) brought the crowd to its feet, and the house down.

A night to remember!

Another day I’ll always remember is the one 31 years ago when I actually met kd on the mean streets of Vancouver. At the time, her ‘Shadowland’ album was riding high in the Canadian charts and was also on heavy rotation chez Booknerd. I was absolutely thrilled to meet her, of course - in fact, I was the very definition of a gibbering idiot! You can see visual proof of that momentous meeting in Extras - along with more shots from tonight’s show. Thanks to my dear friend SuMay www.blipfoto.com/entry/2565253785358172230 for recording that long-ago moment for posterity (my terrible shorts, glasses, hair etc included - but, hey, it was 1988...).

Here are the big hits from ‘Ingénue’...

‘Constant Craving’ https://youtube.com/watch?v=oXqPjx94YMg and ‘Miss Chatelaine’ https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlxJi9tm1BI