I had the honour of seeing the beautiful, bold and big-voiced British songstress Adele perform live at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver on August 9th. The top-selling recording artist’s sold-out, North American tour is the hottest ticket of the summer.

Her 75-minute set blended tracks from her latest chart-topper 21 with favourites from her debut 19. Adele’s versatility shines through her easy transitions between songs, from the dynamic “Set Fire To The Rain” to the heartbreaking ballad, “Someone Like You” to a cover of the Cure’s “Lovesong.” One could not even tell that the singer had just recovered from a severe case of laryngitis, as the power, soul and vulnerability of her golden voice was in top form all night long! Adele is also skilled at captivating her audience. She was chatty, comical, cheeky and cute with her banter in-between songs, sharing tales of her travels, songwriting and personal style along with quips about past relationships and the recent London riots with her infectious laughter. I shall never forget singing along to “Rolling in the Deep,” 2011’s #1 song (and my personal anthem), with the Queen of the Pop charts herself.

Wanda Jackson, the First Lady of Rockabilly, opened for Adele. It was simply amazing to see the music legend still ‘shaking it all over’ and rocking it out after all of these years. Both women paid tribute to the late Amy Winehouse, with Wanda Jackson singing Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and Adele dedicating “To Make You Feel My Love” to her dear friend. All in all, Adele’s 21 tour was an experience I’m grateful to have witnessed firsthand!

A special shoutout goes out to The Long and Short of it All, Adele’s favourite blog devoted to her most beloved breed of dogs, dachshunds!

Photo Credit: Maurice