Concert Review: Sherbrooke, Canada - June 2, 2003
JP Roy:
Ahhhh ! what a night. It was a night to remember. I liked the simple setup of the show, a piano, 2 guitars and a few lights. I have seen lots of his shows, mostly with the band, but this felt a lot more intimate. I was in the 2nd row, less than 8 feet away from Chris, with my friends Jean and Don and our wifes Helene, Marie-Claude and Sylvie. I'm a tall guy, and the seat did not give me a lot of headroom. But I forgot all my discomfort when the show started. The show was exactly like in the other reviews... Chris walked on stage, the crowd cheered, and he started with Carry on. There was about 800 to a 1000 person in the crowd. It did not take long to wake the crowd, but I have seen more enthousiasm... maybe it was because it was on a monday night. Seeing Chris so close, I must say I thought he looked tired. It was the last show in Canada, so it probably make sense. But he was in good voice and gave us a great show. I particularily liked the new way he sang SAILOR, much slower than on the record, so it gave the song more feeling. And to my surprise, I also adored MOONLIGHT and VODKA, with a more up tempo beat than on the record. I never liked the recorded version, but when he plays it faster, it's a cool song. He should re-record this one. I read from other reviews that he did REVOLUTION in other shows. He did not sing it in Sherbrooke. Too bad, because I was curious to hear how it would sound when played solo. It is my favorite song (or rather group of songs). All the jokes were there, we had a blast when a lady threw a stuff toy and a letter on stage... Chris had a conversation with the little stuff dog... very funny. I wonder what is in that letter ... Also very funny was the encore with Patricia the stripper. A girl threw her bra on stage and Chris hung it on the microphone... I guess it was a prescription from his doctor... Have it filled ! ;) And a roady came on stage, in his underwear and Chris almost pulled the underwear off the guy... must have been a dare... Well, there was 2 encores, he finished with Hey Jude and made us sing while he shook a few hands. My friend Don and I were fortunate enough to shake his hand. You know, being so close of the stage has one drawback... my neck was cramped from looking up all night... What must one endure to see his favorite performer... I can wait for his next tour. A word to CdeB Maniac... Helene... where were you seated ? I was in seat 6 of the 2nd row. Tall guy with a beard who sang all the words all night long. Did you think that Chris looked tired ? Since you saw him several time in the last 2-3 weeks, you can tell. JP