Michael Bublé: Crazy, and I Love Him For It – E.G. Anderson
PHOTO GALLERY (all photos by E.G. Anderson) – click any image then click NEXT or hit “n” to move through the pictures…
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If you live downtown, you may have heard the thundering applause echoing around the neighbourhood on Saturday night, as Burnaby native Michael Bublé ended his show at the Save on Foods Memorial Centre. Inside, the packed stands were lined with people dancing, swaying and applauding; it was a stunning ending and a deserved one.
I confess that as I was waiting impatiently for the show to begin, I was not a Michael Bublé fan. I had heard him described as being a watered-down Frank Sinatra, a young man who sang songs for old ladies. When I prepared for the show by listening to a bunch of his songs, I wondered how these easy-listening, light-jazz love songs would be able to fill a stadium with sound and excitement.
When opening act Naturally 7, a New York-based a cappella group, took to the stage, it seemed they were destined to outshine the headliner with their smooth dance moves and booming voices. Bringing their talents to the art of vocal play (mimicking instruments with the human voice), they delivered a bombastic set of songs with gospel, hip hop and R&B flavour.
Opening up with “Cry Me a River,” one of his most melancholy songs, Bublé quickly subverted my expectations, as he made full use of the tremendously talented musicians he had brought with him to deliver big band sound. Following up with two more songs from his newest album, the swinging “All of Me” and angst-filled “At This Moment,” Bublé quickly set a high standard for the rest of the night.
For almost two hours, Bublé swaggered around the stage and sang to perfection. Highlights included an emotional, powerhouse version of “For Once in My Life” and a warm rendition of “Some Kind of Wonderful” (with help from openers Naturally 7). Switching from a wild multimedia set up ‒ with multiple projections of himself and dazzling stage effects ‒ to a subdued single spotlight, Bublé managed to transition between an intimate café gig and a stadium show. More than once, Bublé had his audience on their feet and singing along.
Yet, as much as I was impressed by Bublé’s live, on-key singing, the fabulous backing band and the bright lights, what really made me love Bublé was his irrepressible stage banter and comedic flair. In between songs, Bublé asked how many people in the audience were high, acknowledged that people still thought he might be gay (despite being recently married to a supermodel), and apologized to all the men in the audience who had been dragged to see him by their wives and girlfriends.
As he took a respite to introduce the members of his band, Bublé presented one of the musicians as being from Victoria, and once the cheering died down admitted that the man was actually from Texas. Would anyone expect Bublé to tell an audience (with more than its fair share of older women) that one of his band members was a “dirty slut” who would make love to anything that “wasn’t nailed down” and compare another to a virginal Edward Cullen?
Did I mention that he impersonated a priest and Michael Jackson? That he sang snippets from Disney’s Aladdin and Journey’s music catalogue? Should Bublé ever tire of music, I would go and see him as a stand-up comedian.
Without wanting to spoil the show for Bublé fans and their reluctant companions (as this was only his second performance in his new tour), I will say that those high-priced seats on the floor are worth it (someone got a kiss on the cheek) and that you shouldn’t be too quick to leave your seat once the lights go down.
- E.G. Anderson
