Gwen Stefani
Photos/Review by Rahav

God I love Gwen Stefani. I love her even more when she brings it the way she did at Z100’s Zootopia 2005 at Madison Square Garden. Her act was a jolt of energy and fun. She looked amazing and her dancers were a hoot. I have to confess, my favorite part of the show had to be when Gwen changed outfits....ONSTAGE (behind a riser). While she was mostly hidden, the fact that she allowed herself to be visible behind the band as she tore off pieces of her clothing just adds to these strange and painful feelings I have every time I think about her. Sigh....

When she came back out a drum line did too and she ripped thru her current hit “Hollaback Girl,” from Love. Angel. Music. Baby (Interscope). It was over all too soon.

The good news is Gwen has announced a tour with the Black Eyed Peas scheduled to kick off in October. Finally, we’ll see more than just three or four songs before she’s off the stage. I’ll be there.
 

Rahav is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, The New York Post, DJ Times and numerous other publications around the U.S. and world.  Rahav  has been a professional photographer for over 15 years.  His work has also recently appeared in Mojo, Le Monde, The NJ Star Ledger, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, TV Guide and New York Magazine . Corporate clients include Tommy Hilfiger, Capitol Records, Sony, A&M records, DRG records, Rubinstein PR, Shorefire Media, Advanstar and many others.  His work has appeared on album covers, advertising campaigns and television. A student of photography at Parson’s school of design Rahav began his career photographing theater and music and has stayed in those fields expanding into editorial and advertising portraiture. www.photopass.com.

Sarah McLachlan’s Ecstasy In The Garden
Review by Dan Brown
Photos by Wayne Herrschaft
 

“Holy crap, we’re playing Madison Square Garden.” Sarah McLachlan’s words might have sounded a bit out of character, but with the modern day folk hero in the midst of a tour that was bringing her into the largest venues she has played since her first record dropped seventeen years ago, the crowd could only reward the singer’s awe and honesty with a standing ovation. The applause was a testament to the bond between McLachlan and her audience, as this evening proved to be as much a victory for the fans as it was for the artist herself.  The staging was also the more ambitious than any of McLachlan’s previous tours. A medieval garden setting with stone stairways and pillars that reached above the stage before taking on the form of tree tops. A piano sitting on a platform stage right surrounded on three sides by decorative iron railings made Sarah’s solo performances feel more intimate, and three large screens, one serving as the stage backdrop and one hanging on each side of the stage, brought a flavor of intimacy to the arena setting.

As with most tours of this size, the song selection was aimed at satisfying an audience who wanted to hear all of the hits. McLachlan confirmed her “aiming to please” intentions early on by assuring the packed room after the opener, “World On Fire,” that she believed the show would contain “something for everybody.” Staying mainly with choices from her last three studio releases, Fumbling Towards Ecstacy, Surfacing and Afterglow, the audience ate up the big numbers that included “Building A Mystery” “Adia” and “I Will Remember You.”

McLachlan also made sure to pull out some of her deeper cuts for the longtime fans while including a few surprises to make sure the set didn’t cross into the area of being stale or predictable. Midway through the show, Sarah took a seat on the stage left steps with guitarist David Sinclair for a run at McCartney’s “Blackbird,” explaining to the crowd that this had always been one of her favorite Beatles’ songs.

A large part of what makes McLachlan’s live show special is hearing how some of the songs evolve from one tour to the next with reworked arrangements. The most noticeable evolution was felt in a very guitar heavy and bluesy run on Surfacing ballad “Witness.” As so much of McLachlan’s signature sound comes from her high range, it was interesting to hear her explore this more raw and soulful area of her voice.  The set finished strong with Afterglow’s “Train Wreck” followed by two of her most up-tempo and commercially successful songs “Possession” and Sweet Surrender.”

For the encore session, McLachlan’s drummer (and spouse) Ashwin Sood returned to the stage first, and with an ice cream cone at his lips the crowd knew just what the next song would be. The Ice Cream sing-along is a staple of the McLachlan show, and with props and the lyrics scrolling on the backdrop screen the tune has reached “anthem” proportions. The ovation that followed turned into the audience clapping in time to the kick drum as the band launched into Peter Gabriel’s “Salisbury Hill.”

The full band portion of encore set ended with “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy,” then Sarah returned solo to the stage and performed “Dirty Little Secret.” Standing center stage, McLachlan thanked the crowd for making this landmark show so special for her, as one last standing ovation let her know that the pleasure was ours.

Dan Brown is the managing editor of WomanRock.com, the entertainment editor of Good Times Magazine and the founder and editor of IndyZine.com - The Online Magazine For Independent Artists.

Wayne Herrschaft is a contributor to WomanRock.