k.d. lang effortlessly beautiful in Singapore
Ve Handojo, Contributor/Singapore
She was barefoot. She was dressed in a dark blue suit. She was as natural as the hills and valleys of Canada in her rendition of The Valley, a track from her latest album, Hymns of the 49th Parallel. k.d. lang -- with her trademark lower-cased name -- was effortlessly beautiful during an evening concert at the Esplanade Theater in Singapore on Feb. 4.
Paying tribute to Canadian songwriters from Neil Young to Joni Mitchell and Jane Siberry, the Grammy sweeper served up a musical a tour de force, supported by The Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Charles Floyd.
With a career stretching over more than 20 years, the openly lesbian artist reconfirmed her musical maturity in a 70-minute- plus performance.
Never could I have imagined before that her classic, Constant Craving, could be deconstructed then newly interpreted as a bittersweet jazzy tune.
It fitted in perfectly with the whole range of songs she sang in the Lion City, starting with a healthy opener in the form of Don't Smoke in Bed. "I do regret," she admitted in that famous sharp and crispy voice of hers, "that it took me so long to get here," to loud cheers from the Singapore audience.
Indeed, she was having a great time, which she conveyed to the whole audience. She sang, she danced, she prayed, she made jokes, and it was all within her understated, gracious personality -- a mature personality, I must say, at a level that only a courageous individual like herself could attain.
She was born Kathryn Dawn, yet she will look away when anybody -- including her mother -- calls her Kathy. The small-town girl from Consort, Alberta, is now an accomplished Los Angeles-based artist.
Surely it was no easy achievement. When she released her first album -- categorized as "country" -- in 1987, k.d. lang had already created controversy, mostly centered around her androgynous appearance.
Her signature dark suit was then associated with her coming out as a lesbian. Subsequently, nobody felt any need to question her when she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, dressed as a man.
From country music to adult contemporary, and all the way to pop, plus soundtracks for films, including Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, k.d. lang has truly gone all the way, and collected some prestigious awards.
Yet, just like every good small-town girl, home is where she is heading after such accomplishments. Hymns of the 49th Parallel -- note that this is the border between Canada and the USA -- is "my cultural fabric, my Canadian soundtrack. They have nurtured my musical DNA," was how she put it.
Her words were borne out live on stage as she lamented over her own longing for the hills and valleys of her homeland in The Valley and Neil Young's Helpless. The stage was often dimmed with blue and green lighting, and in the Far East land of Singapore, k.d. lang told us of love and life bequeathed to her through some of the best written songs I've ever heard.
Her version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah was beautifully painful. She was mischievously cute in acting and singing around the stage as Lady Chateleine. She was free as a bird as she smoked while singing 3 Cigarettes in an Ashtray.
With so many reasons for her to be happy and full-spirited, she had a little difficulty in expressing the depression in Roy Orbinson's Crying. Obviously, she was not in the mood for melancholy or drama, not even over her last partner, model and actress Leisha Hailey.
The Singapore audience did not need to cry with k.d. lang as they applauded for what seemed like an eternity, and demanded the promised A Kiss to Build a Dream On as a final encore.
With a gracious conclusion, k.d. lang gave her audience what she alone could give -- a concert to build a dream on.