Chantal Kreviazuk brought her Get To You tour to Sarnia’s Imperial Theatre Friday March 11th with special guests Madison Violet and the near capacity crowd was treated to a night of great music and entertaining stories from the Winnipeg born singer/songwriter.
Alternative folk/pop duo Madison Violet got the crowd warmed up with a short but energetic set of their East Coast roots inspired music. Known for their lush harmonies, Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac were a perfect choice to open the show. Lisa MacIsaac’s soaring backing vocals blend seamlessly with the whiskey-tinged vocals of MacEachern and take the audience on a sonic ride with their gorgeous melodies and heartfelt lyrics. MacIsaac is the sister of fiddler Ashley MacIsaac and cousin of Natalie MacMaster and is an accomplished fiddle player herself. The duo have been together for over 20 years and nine albums and have garnered several music awards and a Juno nomination.
Chantal Kreviazuk performed her set seated at a large grand piano with coffee mug at her side and cell phone propped next to her keyboard to stream to her Instagram and Twitch followers. The atmosphere was homey and comfortable and she engaged the audience throughout the show as if they were in her living room like her personal guests.
She told the crowd that her show was meant to be a reprieve from the serious problems in the world, but she couldn’t help but share her feelings about the war happening in Ukraine several times. Chantal comes from a Ukrainian and indigenous heritage and she’s feeling the heartbreak of this conflict quite personally. She mentioned that at her first show of the tour they lit the balcony up in yellow and blue lights and it was difficult for her to keep her emotion in check during the show.
Despite all this solemness she managed to bring a lot of humour to her show. Before playing her huge hit, Feels Like Home, she told a funny story about being asked to record the song for the show Dawson’s Creek and being slightly miffed that they weren’t asking her to write a song but for her to perform a song written by some guy named Randy Newman who she had never heard of. Of course she decided to record it after talking to her husband Raine and finding out who this Randy Newman guy was and we’re all the better for that. She also told the story of writing her big hit Surrounded at the age of 18 about her first love committing suicide. It’s a sad story but also very touching to hear her talk about what a special human he was and how he impacted her life. She really wears her heart on her sleeve and I think it’s nice to see that kind of honesty in a performer.
She was also very funny throughout, joking with a couple vocal audiences members, telling one who interrupted her, “Hey, this is my show” and then smiling and let her speak. At one point she removed her jacket and leaned down to someone sitting in the front row remarking they looked cold and letting them use her jacket to cover up for the remainder of the show.
The evening’s set consisted of mostly familiar hits with the exception of Get To You from her most recent album by the same name. I would have loved to have heard more songs from that album as I think the album is one of her best, but Chantal understands that people come to hear the hits and that’s the type of person she is. If you want to support the people of Ukraine with a donation there is a website that Chantal has been personally endorsing. www.unitewithukraine.com.
Chantal Kreviazuk
Sarnia: Imperial Theatre
March 11, 2022
All photos by Dan Boshart (27th Floor Photography)
Madison Violet
Sarnia: Imperial Theatre
March 11, 2022
All photos by Dan Boshart (27th Floor Photography)
