Photo by Linda Nguyen (@L_Nuggie)

Alright, I know I promised a post-concert review in yesterday’s post, but after getting home and relaying the awesomeness of the evening to B-rad, it was pushing midnight and I was one tired (though happy) girl. I decided to sleep on it and return bright-eyed and bed-headed to gush about the evening.

But first, let me share a little gem from my subway ride, because I do love a good TTC tale. I was on the train heading to Queen, quite engrossed in my Metro crossword, when suddenly there was a woman sitting on my lap. Literally. I’m not totally clear on the details, but it seems that a somewhat elderly lady had gotten on the train with a friend, and when the train took off, she hadn’t quite made it to her seat and lost her balance. So there she was, sitting on my knee, holding on to a centre pole and trying to pull herself back up. With some help from another rider, we got her to her feet and into a seat where she said…nothing. Not “Thanks,” not “Hey, sorry about the mall Santa routine back there,” nothing. She didn’t even respond when I asked if she was okay. At first I thought, “Well, that’s odd…” but there are plenty of reasonable explanations for it, ranging from embarrassment to the fact that I’m a notoriously quiet talker. Bygones.

Anyway, I made it to Massey relatively unscathed and picked up my ticket. I’d thought that being close to the back of the main floor might be a bad thing, but I was happily surprised to find that I had a great view of the stage. The opening act for the evening was David Martel from Montreal (whose album you should also buy on iTunes because he’s pretty darn cool). Along with a fantastic cellist (whose name escapes me) and bandmate Natasha Landry doing vocals and playing a very cool mini folding xylophone contraption, Martel put on a great show that featured stripped-down versions of songs from his album, I Hardly Knew Me. When your set ends with a singalong-turned-whistle-along, you get two big thumbs up from me. That’s entertainment.

After snagging a copy of I Hardly Knew Me and chatting with David and Natasha (who were both lovely), it was time for Ms. Adele to take the stage. She opened with Cold Shoulder, which seemed like a natural choice due to its upbeat, energetic tempo. Of course, she could have opened with “I’m A Little Teapot” and I’d still have thought it was incredible. It’s just that voice… that brilliant, powerful, soulful, incredible voice. And her attitude on stage is fabulous as well; after the first two songs she was joking about how she hadn’t meant to be dressed so casually in an oversized sweater (“I sleep in this jumper”), but had gotten cold on her tour bus and didn’t realize what she was wearing until it was too late (“Oh f*ck, I’m in my pyjamas.”) Incredibly talented, and also incredibly humble.

So. Highlights? Well… everything. Apart from the material from 19, which I already adore, I was a big fan of the covers. She knocked out some excellent renditions of Many Shades of Black, Etta James’ “Fool That I Am,” and Sam Cooke’s “That’s It, I Quit, I’m Movin’ On.” In the encore, she also performed a song that will hopefully be on her next album (but isn’t finished yet), called “Stand By Me.” But, being the completely biased critic that I am in this case, my favourite songs of the evening were definitely Hometown Glory and the Bob Dylan cover, Make You Feel My Love.

Solo concert adventure over, I’m back at home and waiting (im)patiently for Adele’s next album. Looks like I’ve got a new girl crush…