Adele

Dan wasn't supposed to get me a birthday present. We made an agreement when I bought my iPhone, back in February, that it was indulgence enough. I made him promise not to get me any other gifts in April - except for a nice dinner out, which, let's be real, is all I ever really want anyway.

But he, being the thoughtful darling that he is, couldn't resist surprising me with a little extra something on my birthday. One of Dan's most endearing quirks, is that he resists buying "stuff" as presents, would rather give time and experiences, i.e. things to go and do. So, true to form, at dinner on my birthday, he handed me an envelope stuffed with a funny card and ... tickets to see Adele in concert! That very Saturday night, now several days ago.


The above album, 19, was one of my favorite musical discoveries last year - Adele's voice is mesmerizing and rock-solid, her songs smooth, inviting and layered. I don't go to see live music nearly as much as I'd like, and didn't even know she was coming to Boston - but Dan had been scouring LiveNation for months, waiting to find tickets to a show he knew would mean something to me. He's, in fact, the one I have to thank for introducing me to Adele in the first place; he downloaded the album after hearing about her on one of his music podcasts (he's hip like that) and we both got hooked.

I'm possibly my least eloquent when discussing music; I know what I like and what I don't and can't often articulate the whys or hows therein. So I won't really try. I'll leave that to the experts and the truly talented (him and her and probably also her). Or if you want the full journalist take, here's the Globe article about Saturday night. I'll just say that Adele was incredible in concert, she didn't just sound as good as on the album, she sounded better. There are so many singers with generically "good voices" that, to be honest, its tough to impress me with vocals. But I had chills listenint to Adele's voice soar through the Orpheum, she is the real deal. While I think her songwriting should mature over time -- she was only in her teens when she wrote the album, after all -- I have gotten into almost all of the tracks, some of the lyrics are unexpectedly poignant, and appreciate that she manages to pen the usual love/relationship material without being overly trite or banal - her lyrical voice is very promising and could one day match the innate talent of her stunning pipes.


We missed all of Game 7 of the Celtics/Bulls play-offs for the concert, but it was well-worth -- even Dan, the real basketball fan, thought so. Our concert seats were pretty nose-bleed, but I still managed to take a few grainy videos of my favorites songs. I hesitate to even post the medley of clips because the pea-sized microphone on my digital camera took such awful sound and I don't want anyone to judge Adele's voice based on it. But if you're interested in seeing wobbly, fuzzy-sounding clips of a few of the best songs from the concert (Hometown Glory/Chasing Pavement/Make You Feel My Love), go ahead, take a gander:

Adele from Christina on Vimeo.