Diana Krall: last concert of the "Quiet Nights Tour" in Canada, sounding sexier-than-ever

After an exhaustive marathon of 20 concerts in 30 days, Diana Krall ends tonight, May 14, @ the Orpheum Theatre (in Vancouver, BC), the Canadian part of her "Quiet Nights World Tour". Surely it will be a hot night (hopefully not a rainy night like yesterday), despite the 12ºC. Getting better and better, she's really the talk of the town. You go girl!

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Orpheum Theatre
884 Granville St.,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1K3
Directions Parking Google Map

Tix prices:
Orchestra: CA $92.50 - CA $125.00
Lower Balcony: CA $79.50 - CA $92.50
Dress Circle: CA $92.50
Upper Balcony: CA $69.50 - CA $79.50
Diana Krall will, once again, proudly contribute $2 from the sale of each ticket to Heart and Stroke Foundation's The Heart Truth campaign, with special thanks to founding sponsor, Becel.

Tonight's setlist:
Love Being Here With You
Do It Again
Let's Fall In Love
I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
Frim Fram Sauce
Exactly Like You
A Case Of You
Devil May Care
P.S. I Love You
Quiet Nights
Love Letters
Pick Yourself Up
If I Had You
I Don't Know Enough About You
Encores:
The Look Of Love
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
Three reviews of yesterday's concert @ Orpheum follow:

Diana Krall brings sexier-than-ever sound to the Orpheum
By Chantal Eustace, Vancouver Sun - May 13, 2009
Pics by the great Steve Bosch

Smooth-voiced jazz sensation Diana Krall brought plenty of heat to the Orpheum on Wednesday night, and her charm wasn't lost on the crowd.

For starters, the 43-year-old's latest sound is sexier than ever, drawing inspiration from Brazil and the bossa nova style, perfect for her come-hither pipes.

She has said of the music from her new album, Quiet Nights, that it's like "you're lying in bed next to your lover and whispering this in his ear."

And then there's the Nanaimo-born beauty's warmth, expressed as she punctuated songs with anecdotes and humour throughout the show.

Krall poked fun at everything from parenting — she is mother of two-year-old twins Dexter and Frank — to her marriage to Elvis Costello and being on tour during the hockey playoffs. She also spoke about growing up in B.C. And even her appreciation of the rain.

"There is no place like home," said Krall, gesturing to her sparkling red high heel shoes, a gift from her husband. "I am so happy to be home, as my shoes will explain."

Dressed in a simple black dress with her famous blond hair worn loose, she crouched at the piano, fingers dancing across the keys, her voice captivating her fans.

The concert began with the jazzy and up-tempo, I Love Being Here With You, before winding down a little with the dreamy song Let's Fall In Love.

The relatively mature audience, a mixed bag of Krall-hards seemed quietly appreciative of the music and her chatter, laughing at her banter and clapping loudly between songs.

It seems easy to enjoy crushing on the Grammy-winning star, who is most famous for her 2001 crossover hit, The Look Of Love.

Backed by talent from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, as well as Krall's trusty musicians — including guitarist Anthony Wilson and drummer Jeff Hamilton — the charismatic singer held her own.

Especially when the tempo slowed down, as with the simmering I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face, Krall seemed in her element.

She introduced this song by saying it reminded her of Costello, later laughing about their union.

"I was the nerd at band camp who married the rock star," she said, grinning. "And I played third clarinet . . . and I had a perm."

She also spoke about her musical father, who she said, was in the audience that night.

“I grew up with a lot of music in the house,” she said, listing off early influences like Nat King Cole.

She also spoke about another important night where she was engulfed in music at the Orpheum. When she was 16 years old, she said, she saw the late jazz legend Oscar Peterson perform on that very stage.

She was so inspired by Peterson’s performance, she wrote him a 12-page letter that she never mailed. Later in her career, she said, she had the chance to play piano with him.

“I feel ill just thinking about it,” she said, smiling at the memory, before changing gears and rolling into the song, Exactly Like You, embroidered with the singer’s own unique vocal yarn.

Krall's distinctive pipes sound even better live, giving off a chilly kind of heat on songs like Walk on By.

The two-hour concert wound down with I Don't Know Enough About You, eventually getting the crowd out of their seats.

And for a very satisfying encore, Krall gave a whisper calm rendition of her biggest hit to date, The Look Of Love.

Mix all of this jazz with a cool and rainy Vancouver night? You get some serious steam.
**********
Lucky Vancouverites Get Into Krall Space
by Tom Harrison
Vancouver Province, May 14, 2009

As Diana Krall's show at the Orpheum Wednesday night suggested, you can take the girl out of Nanaimo but you can't take Nanaimo out of the girl.

Krall punctuated her concert with reminiscences of growing up in Nanaimo, revealing her first gig, which was in a sports bar, the day her father brought a phonograph to her school, meeting Oscar Peterson at 16 years old, and feeling reassured by the rain.

"It took a long time to finally come home," she said.

These memories added a human dimension that balanced what could have been formidable.

She's happily married, is a mother, is on a virtually sold-out tour, has an LP in the Top 10, has a movie in theatres this week, and has the luxury of not only a sympathetic band but the accompaniment of members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Such asides as her playing of the erstwhile former Hockey Night in Canada theme, or a cruise ship version of husband Elvis Costello's "Pump it Up" changes the perspective.

She can be girlish but her lack of pretension makes her seem more real. And introduces personality.

Krall started the evening with little fanfare. She sat behind her piano, counted in "I Love Being Here With You" and she and her band were off.

Anthony Wilson, Robert Hirst (sic) and Jeff Hamilton each took one of many solos, Krall crying into her microphone "I love it."

This is a good introduction that never let down its promise. She was engaging as she was serious about the musicianship, yet as much interaction that was allowed, this is her show and she has kept everything as balanced as she has become. When the orchestra came in on the second song, the sultry "Do It Again," it was restrained, expansive rather than obtrusive. There is no tug o of war here between the subtle and ostentatious. The VSO is elegant support.

Krall returns to the Orpheum tonight.

**********
Krall at Her Most Vancouver-esque
by Fiona Morrow
Toronto Globe and Mail, May 14, 2009

There was no hiding how pleased Diana Krall was to be performing on home turf, Wednesday night in Vancouver. The Nanaimo-born jazz singer was relaxed and chatty, riffing on everything from hockey to a Nat King Cole playoff she once took part in against Oscar Peterson. "I did not win that one," she smiled.

Opening with Peggy Lee's "I Love Being Here With You," she was accompanied by her excellent band -- guitarist Anthony Wilson, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Jeff Hamilton -- as well as a sizable portion of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, conducted by her "dear friend", Alan Broadbent, for a lush, melodic, near two-hour set.

"I'm so happy to be here," she beamed, after a sigh-laden rendition of "Let's Fall in Love." "As my shoes will explain."

The footwear in question was a pair of fabulous red sparkly heels with peep-toes: ruby slippers, indeed. "I just clicked my heels in Halifax last night and, miraculously, here I am."

The shoes, it transpired, were a gift from husband Elvis Costello -- a name that cropped up repeatedly during the night, as though Krall herself was still getting used to the "band camp nerd marrying a rock star."

Later, more playfully, she introduced a track she said reminded her of Costello. "It's not 'Pump It Up' -- don't get excited," she quipped, before extemporizing on the thought of a future career on an Alaska cruise line playing the song in question with a bossa nova beat. In the end, it was the far more sultry, "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face," that was sung in homage to the man she married.

The Canucks were also on her mind -- she'd been planning to have their logo painted on her toenails -- inserting the old Hockey Night in Canada tune into "Exactly Like You" to the sell-out crowd's delight. Ironically enough, the evening was presented by CBC Radio 2 -- they must have winced to hear Krall say how much she missed the ousted theme.

George Bush's ears should have been burning, too: Krall segued into Jerome Kern's "Pick Yourself Up" (noting Obama's reference to the song during his inauguration speech) noting that the new President and First Lady, "hug you when you meet them. Unlike the other guy -- lots of Purell sanitizer spray is involved. And I'm not kidding."

But this was a night marked most clearly by the British Columbian gal revelling in the May rain (an unholy downpour on the night) and talking fondly of her childhood (her father and aunts were amongst the audience).

Though she mixed up the vocals, from bright to softly sexy to deep and mellifluous, her versatility was most notable in an impassioned version of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You," where "Darling" became an accusatory rasp. Most heartfelt, though, was surely the title track from latest album "Quiet Nights," with its very Vancouver-esque lyrics: Quiet thoughts and quiet dreams, quiet walks by quiet streams / And a window looking on the mountains and the sea / How lovely. *********
Centro Mediterranean Grill (web site, phone 604-694-0202, address: 901 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada) is located on the corner of Smithe and Granville in downtown Vancouver (pictured below). Their website describes that Centro is a popular lunch spot for lawyers and judges from the nearby courthouse, and it’s also a popular place for night-time concert-goers being really close to the Orpheum Theatre and Granville Street night clubs.
Concert and nightclub-goers are turning on to Centro’s convenient proximity to most of Vancouver’s late night venues. Whether you are attending a Diana Krall concert at The Orpheum or going to shake your bon bon at The Caprice or The Commodore Ballroom, Centro will get you there in style and with time to spare. We’re located within easy walking distance of movie theatres, dance floors and the entire Entertainment District. Centro specializes in late night, Mediterranean style dining. On weekends, you can even stop in for a bite after the show since our kitchen stays open until 1 AM.