Jann Arden - Kelowna Review

Jann Arden Concert Review
November 21, 2009
Prospera Place, Kelowna
8.5 out of 10
By Mark Stone



I’ll admit it: when I got the call to review the Jann Arden concert tonight at Prospera Place I wasn’t terribly excited to go. I enjoy Arden’s music but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan. I wasn’t sure what I was in for, but I sure am glad that I went.

It would be almost impossible for anyone with a love for music not to come away from tonight’s show knowing they’ve seen not merely a good concert but a great one. Arden last played here less than a year ago on December 12th, and if tonight’s show is any indication she’s more than welcome to make an annual visit.

Despite getting off to a rather slow and almost forgettable start, from the fourth song on, Jann Arden and her extraordinary six-piece band (made up of a drummer, a keyboardist, a violinist, a bass guitarist and two guitarists) had the sparse crowd of 1,500 practically eating out of the palms of their hands. It’s ironic that although she may not be all that showy, Arden seems intent on putting on a great show. It’s not all about the music for her; she appears equally comfortable standing in the middle of the stage talking to her audience, telling stories and being genuinely funny.

When she first began her dialogue with those in attendance, she mentioned her time in Kelowna and how she almost didn’t make it here given the terrible highway conditions (she also made mention of our city in a tweet on Twitter this afternoon: “had a great walk around kelowna with midi. snow storm last night..crazy. stuck on highway for hours. glad to be here! Home tomorrow!!!”). Arden also took a jab at the first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, who was supposed to play here tomorrow but had to cancel. Ya know what? As much as it would have been nice to have Clarkson play here, having Jann Arden perform more than makes up for it. About half an hour through the show, Arden even engaged the audience in a brief Q&A session, encouraging questions of any type. It was hard to hear the questions, but she managed to keep it entertaining.

Highlights of the show were plentiful: some impressive new songs from her new CD Free such as the Nashville-inspired The Devil Won and the heart-wrenching Everybody’s Broken; a beautiful cover of At Seventeen by Janis Ian; two very slow but equally impactful versions of Insensitive and I Would Die For You sung back to back – and just for fun she switched things up by doing a reggae version of the latter song. The band was able to strut their stuff while Arden took a quick break and played a fabulous version of Sly and The Family Stone’s Higher. Arden isn’t kidding when she says she’s got one of the best back-up bands in the business. She also provided a ton of laughs while introducing the band by the way of a slideshow of them as kids. Her commentary was spot-on hilarious and got funnier as the photos progressed to her own family pictures.

Before I go on too much about Jann Arden, comedienne, I must talk about Jann Arden, singer. Her voice may have wavered once or twice, but this woman can sing. Her pipes are as strong as ever and she made great use of the nice acoustics (I guess it is possible to get good acoustics in Prospera). For some reason I was hearing some Alanis Morrisette in her voice – Arden’s is equally as powerful but she puts on a better show than Alanis.

My only gripe would be about the disappointing crowd. I think if people knew what they were in for and how good of a show Arden puts on, Kelowna would have easily had a full house. It was no surprise when the crowd gave her a standing ovation after her last song, Good Mother – it couldn’t have been more deserved.

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