Adele

This week we finally got to see Adele perform at the Orpheum.  We had been booked to see her in May when she had to cancel many performances due to illness.  Luckily we were still able to go to the new date of August 9th when it was announced.

It was also our first time seeing a performance at the Orpheum, which is a beautiful downtown building built in 1927 and at that time was the largest theatre in Canada seating 3000.  It was on the brink of demolition in 1974 when the city stepped in and bought the building, renovating it and now it stands as as one of the most desirable venues in the city and the home of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

We are always surprised how quickly we can get around Vancouver, so having made it from home to the theatre bar in 30 minutes door-to-door on Tuesday evening we were in plenty of time for a drink before the support act started.  A few snaps inside the Orpheum;

The support act was a relic dug up from many decades past…..Wanda Jackson the apparent ‘First Lady of Rock & Roll’ as she introduced herself as.  She was entertaining in a ‘watching your gran on stage’ kind of way and actually quite funny when she fell over.  Oh well, she was certainly a character and seemed to enjoy herself.

At around 9pm Adele came on stage to a thunderous welcome and a completely full-house.

We had good views from our seats, close to the front of the lower balcony.

She carried her very sixties style through with her big hairpieces

And living room lampshades adorned the stage.

She was very charismatic and chatty and had the crowd roaring, after her song Hometown talking about her home of Tottenham currently the scene of rioting and being nervous starting her new North America tour here in Vancouver and not having played live for about a month or so.

We didn’t of course video all the performance but did capture some more chat and Take It All.

A terrific performance, we think possibly once of the best live shows we’ve seen, she’s actually even better live than her recorded versions.  After the show, the crowds leave the theatre and disperse and we appreciate once again how easy it is to see a big event in Vancouver – 30 minutes drive in, park virtually outside the venue, see it and 30 minutes home again. 

Thanks Adele for a great show, we look forward to seeing you again in the future.