I first learned of Adele when I watched her "Chasing Pavements" video on MTV back in the summer of 2008. I purchased her entire debut album "19" but rarely listened to it. When she debuted the new single off her second album "21" on the Ellen Degeneres Show a few months ago I was completely entranced. I went directly to iTunes and pre-ordered the entire album.
Little did I know that a few weeks before the album was released I would have my heart broken and that Adele's album would become the one thing that eased my pain. As corny as this sounds, I felt like she was commiserating with me; that she was sharing with me, personally, the pain she had gone through and wanted me to know I wasn't alone and that it's ok to feel like absolute garbage.
After weeks of listening to "21" on repeat in the car, at home and on my iPod I got an email from Ticketmaster saying she would be playing the House of Blues in Boston. I was thrilled and immediately emailed all my girlfriends to see who wanted to go. Fast forward to ticket sale day and I get stuck in a client meeting at work that prohibits me from purchasing the tickets. By the time I reached a computer they were sold out and already on sale on sites like Ace Ticket and Stub Hub for four times the price.
Thankfully I was rescued from my Adele despair by a friend who had purchased tickets for her and her girlfriend, but they had since decided to go their separate ways and she was looking for someone else to attend the show with her. The night she asked me, she presented me with a copy of Rolling Stone magazine which had Adele on the cover and said, "Will you be my date to Adele?" Um. Hell yes!
So tonight after a delicious dinner at Petit Roberto Bistro we walked to the House of Blues to see the woman who had sang us both through our heartache over the past several months.
At 8:05pm Adele's opening act took the stage. They are called The Civil Wars and they hail from Alabama. The duo, Joy Williams and John Paul White, immediately reminded me of the couple from the movie "Once" who sing the now famous song "Falling Slowly." They performed about eight songs, all of which had me tapping my foot. I really liked them!
They cemented me as a fan when they covered Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" with their folksy, country twang. Check it out:
You can download The Civil Wars' most recent album "Barton Hollow" for just $7.99 on iTunes.
After The Civil Wars left the stage we waited about twenty five minutes for Adele to come out. We kept staring at the open stage praying she would appear. When she did finally come out, she opened with a song off her first album called "Hometown Glory." She was wearing a black tunic that looked like what the hairdresser drapes over you while you sit in the chair. She had on black leggings, black high heels and her hair and make up looked positively gorgeous.
I loved her set! It was incredibly simple and had a coffee house vibe. The set had delicate, antique lamp shades hanging down from the ceiling, as well as some oversized floor lamps in the same style. Adele did all of her songs either standing at a microphone or sitting on a stool. Her voice is insane. I had goosebumps through out the entire set.
She sang so many of my favorites off of her current album, "21," including: "Turning Tables", "Don't You Remember", "Set Fire to the Rain" and "Take it All." Here she is singing "Rumour Has It":
Here is a sample of her belting out one of my absolute favorites "I'll Be Waiting":
There was also a positively hilarious moment during the show where Adele began singing her original smash hit "Chasing Pavements" and she forgot the words! I caught her flub and her adorable reaction:
One of the things I loved most about seeing Adele live was her stories about each song. For example, there is one cover song on her new album called "Lovesong" by The Cure. She told us that The Cure was her mother's favorite band and when she was three years old her mother took her to see them live. She said The Cure was "literally the soundtrack of my life until I was eleven. I just love them."
She also shared with the audience that "Someone Like You" was the hardest song for her to write and is still the hardest to perform because of how emotionally attached she is to the song and the person she wrote it about. In fact, she started choking up talking to us about it. I wanted to run up there and give her a hug!
For the final song in her encore, Adele performed "Rolling In The Deep." Though the song is now hugely overplayed on the radio, it was exhilarating to see her perform it live. The audience was shouting and clapping along and you could feel the elevation of happiness in the room.
For many months now, Adele's music has represented the hurt and the pain I associated with my last relationship. I know the words to every song on the album and they sting as if I had written them myself. However, tonight, that sadness was transformed into a new and wonderful memory of seeing this supreme talent perform live. I will now associate this music with the night I got to see her live and hear her stories.
Adele, thank you for everything.
