James Blunt in Concert

It's the second time I've experienced it. The first time was Damien Rice, this time was James Blunt. 

One man. One voice. So powerful. 

How can one voice be so powerful. It moves an entire arena full of people. It makes people forget their worries. It makes the grumpiest of the grumpies relax and sway. 

And grumpy we could have been. 

As seems so typical of high powered performances nowadays (take Madonna's for example, from what I've read), pop stars are used to starting their shows late. I believe Madonna started her 7:30 show at 9 something. This time, James didn't take on the stage until a little past 8:45. What filled the gap between the opening at 7:30 and his appearance was a mediocre band called White Falcon. They filled in the space when people wandered in late, went for beers, or just sat and mingled. Poor them. They performed well, but they were no James Blunt. 

And the the stage crew took on a longer-than-expected stage-change time, unvieling an amazingly unexpected electronic backdrop in the middle of GM Place. I didn't even see the capabilities of the backdrop until well into the show when it expanded and lid up all sorts of ways. It was amazing. The lasers. The flashes. The crystal balls. 

The man who stood as the center of attention for more than two hours capativating the audience with nothing more than just his rusty, powerful and amazing resilient voice. 

I dunno if it's the lights, the smoke, the mike tuning, but it all sounds so much more intense when he takes the stage. I had already felt anxious about the late start, for I have to get up early tomorrow and will be on call through the night so I didn't want the show to start too late. I was worried. I almost just wanted to get it over with and go home. 

And then he came out, and I forgot I had to sleep early tonight. 

Despite having only two CDs, it was enough. All his songs were so much better live, and he was singing with so much more soul than in his albums. He was a real entertainer, too. He knows how to work the crowds, who don't need much working, because we already loved him. 

Thanks, to Amy and her keen ticketing skills, we got floor tickets for the show (my first time on GM place's floor!!!). It was amazing. I was double-lucky because despite not allowing "cameras" (in quotation because it seems that only LARGE cameras like mine were prohibited), the man at the door listened to my pled ("....but I ALWAYS take pictures in concerts...!") and let me tuck my D80 and the LARGE LENS in. It was awesome. I love concert photos. I wanted to capture every moment so that I can saviour it later on. 

Concerts are always worth the money. It often doesn't seem so before the show. But once you're in it, it makes you forget. It's why we go to entertainments. We need to be entertained beyond what we're capable of ourselves. 

And the last act, when James ended with disco-like lighting and party papers raining down on our floor-folks, it was quite a scene. It was a real party, right up to the very end. 

James Blunt, GM Place, Vancouver, November 17th, 2008. 

Here are a few shots from that night. Gonna upload newleaf gallery soon with a few more. 

In the end, they released a bunch of party paper strips that rained down on us. The finale was amazing.