Ingenue Redux

A Craving Satisfied

If you had told me, a year ago, that I would be seeing the one and only k.d. Lang live in New York City I wouldn’t have believed it.  She has been on my bucket list of artists to see live for several years and I never thought that I would have the privilege.  So I had to pinch myself as I entered the iconic Beacon Theater in New York City to see her on her Ingenue Redux Tour, celebrating the 25^th anniversary of her acclaimed and timeless album.  The theatre, opened in 1929, has a beautiful ornate neo-Grecian interior and can seat 2894 people.  The show was sold out, as expected, so I did not mind that we were seated way up in the balcony - not quite the last row though.  I was just too happy to have tickets!

The opening act was The Grigoryan Brothers, a classical guitar duo from Australia, who provided a mellow start to the evening.  After a short break the lights went down and a barefoot k.d. Lang, wearing a simple but sharp black suit and white shirt, walked onto stage and proceeded to sing the Ingenue album from start to finish, in the order in which the tracks appear on the album.  She paused after Miss Chatelaine, in which she demonstrated her playful side by strutting around the stage as a nod to the original music video, sans flowing dress, daisy earrings and bubbles, and spoke briefly to the audience.  She explained that she would have minimal banter until the end of the album, allowing the songs to work their hypnotic magic instead.

Some of the Ingenue songs were reworked for the show, including Season of Hollow Soul which started as a slower, more jazzy interpretation before building to its familiar climatic chorus. One of the highlights of any k.d. Lang show has to be Constant Craving, the song that earned her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1993.  This remains one of my favourite songs of all time with special memories attached to it so I was beyond thrilled to hear it live.

Once the Ingenue tracks were finished, she sang the delightful Honey and Smoke, a song from her collaboration with Neko Case and Laura Veirs (an aside: she jokes that instead of the case/lang/veirs title for that collaboration, she had suggested The Cameltones), followed by I Dream of Spring from the Watershed album and an appropriate track as New Yorkers eagerly await the arrival of spring.  There was also a tongue-in-cheek reference to “stormy weather”, following the infamous Stormy Daniels interview on television.

Lang concluded the set with three songs written by her favourite songwriters, which “all happen to be Canadian” as she pointed out.  First, Help Me (written by Joni Mitchell, whom she described as “scary” because of her genius), then Helpless (written by Neil Young) and finally the epic Hallelujah (written by Leonard Cohen).  How do you not get emotional when k.d. Lang is on stage performing that song?  It was a moving and memorable experience that earned Lang a standing ovation before she had even finished the song.

Finally, there were two encore tracks, namely Sing it Loud which she dedicated to the “kids” leading the movement for gun reform in the United States but also included a broader message of love triumphing over hate, and Sleeping Alone, a song which she has never recorded but performs often.

k.d. Lang’s voice is flawless and when she performs, she sings directly to the soul.  In addition to her incredible voice and stage presence, she is also very witty, making amusing comments about being a gay senior, her concerts being the original lesbian precursor to Tinder, strap-on guitars and her drummer being mistaken for her because they have similar haircuts.  She also acknowledged her amazing band of exceptionally talented musicians and I must echo her sentiments.