The back room of the Rivoli was not at all what I expected, but it was exactly the right atmosphere for the show Adele was about to put on. A small, low-lit room in the back of the restaurant contained minimal seating, a bar about the size of a hot dog stand, and a stage barely big enough for the piano, chairs and microphone it elevated. The merch table was two square tables put together in front of the sound booth, covered by a plain white tablecloth with her music on display. By the time I arrived, there was no seating left so I grabbed a drink and found some wall space to lean upon.
The wait was short before she appeared on stage – Adele burst onto the platform five minutes early, anxious to perform. She was nervous, but interacted well with the crowd. Her storytelling was both candid and comedic which allowed for the listener to have a deeper connection to the music, even though her songs already have a personal nature. As soon as Adele was comfortable with her guitar, she introduced “Daydreamer” as her first song and began to play. I felt a certain sense of pride as she started singing. Having listened to 19 on repeat for days on end, and having bragged about the young Brit to everyone and their dog, there was a secret happiness inside me that developed upon the realization that her live performance was going to stand up to, and possibly outperform, the quality of her record. After finding her groove while crooning through the first song, she continued with “Crazy For You”, displaying great focus and control in her jazzy vocals. It would have been very easy for her to lack discipline with the bluesy pitch, but Adele showed that she has the strength to pull it off effortlessly. My favorite song from 19, “Right As Rain”, was next; for this song she passed off her guitar to Ben Thomas as he made his way on stage. This freedom from the instrument allowed her to open up vocally, giving more punch to her lyrics (which, considering the cheekiness of the song, is a must). Pianist Steven Holness joined the others on stage for the fourth song, her first single “Chasing Pavements”. The addition of the piano filled out their sound while maintaining a minimalist nature. A cover of Sam Cooke’s “That’s It, I Quit, I’m Movin’ On” followed, which ended up being my favorite song of the night. It was evident Adele had let go completely and was having fun singing the song; the energy was electric and could be felt from wall to wall as it infected every living body in the room with a stong case of the “move and grooves.” After two more songs, Ben and his guitar left Adele and Steven to do their own thing. The first song sung exclusively with piano was “Melt My Heart To Stone”; a song that really bares her vocal abilities. It was during this song that I plainly saw the growth that Adele has the potential for as an artist, and as cliché as it may sound, she really has nowhere to go but up. Her final song of the night (which doubles as the closer on 19 as well), “Hometown Glory”, bore my only (and notably minor) complaint of the evening; during the line “Shows that we ain’t gonna stand shit/Shows that we are united/Shows that we ain’t gonna take it,” Adele censored herself, simply leaving out the word “shit.” These lyrics are delivered passionately and were written for a reason in the first place. I could understand her being concerned that she may offend someone in the audience, but I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of the sold out crowd was already familiar with the song and understands the context. I suppose this may have also been a result of performing this song on various network television talk shows, but ultimately, it is irrelevant as the song was well chosen and beautifully performed. Adele is an amazing singer who brings a gentle rawness out of her music with her lyrics and clarity of voice. I loved every second of her show – which was only about 45minutes in length – and will be impatiently awaiting her return to Toronto when she’ll be accompanied by her entire 8-piece band in the summer. Whether or not you had a chance to see Adele perform during her small tour, definitely keep an ear out for the next show and grab your tickets before another lucky concert-goer gets your spot and the “Sold Out” sign gets posted on the ticket wicket. You will not be disappointed.
Adele has a small repertoire of songs, and I’m sure that once played several times over a long enough period, she will become comfortable with improvising and varying her songs from their recorded counterparts. She has the capability to do so now, but when those intimidating notes come she holds back just a little bit. That is not to say it took away from the songs in any way, but that there is incredible room to evolve and I cannot wait to watch her progression as she matures her musical abilities.
