Bryan Adams, Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, RyanDan and your host Jann Arden made One Night LiveTM the concert event of the season.

February 28^th 2008
By: Kindah Mardam Bey

Bryan Adams, Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, RyanDan and your host Jann Arden made One Night LiveTM the concert event of the season. Twelve thousand people dug deep into their pockets last night for the Sunnybrook Foundation to raise money for a new facility to assist infants and their mothers after ‘high risk' childbirth. As Sir Francis Bacon says in Of Goodness And Goodness Of Nature ‘In charity there is no excess,' One Night LiveTM appealed to that philosophy as this unique concert and charity event that was both a dynamite evening and benefited a good cause.

First up was newcomers RyanDan, twin brothers who are Toronto natives but have made a name for themselves overseas and returned home, for the first time at the Air Canada Centre onstage, for One Night LiveTM. They sang ‘High,' ‘The Prayer,' ‘The Face,' and their up and coming hit ‘Like The Sun.' Belting out the lyrics to ‘High' seemed a fitting start to a charity concert, RyanDan sang ‘If we all hold our hands up high we can carry the world.' Relevant songs about change, working together, and motherhood seemed to be a running theme of the night, which all related back to the Sun Life Financial sponsored event. The lads were so thrilled to be in Toronto, singing at the ACC, that they ‘took a moment' onstage to absorb the experience.  

Then Jann Arden, the funniest woman ever born, was welcomed to the stage to sing such hits as ‘Insensitive,' and ‘Where No One Knows Me.' Jann also did her cover of Janis Ian's song ‘At Seventeen.' Arden pointed out that as a teenager, when she discovered the song she was so pleased she had ‘found someone who was more depressing than myself.' Arden also joked that Shania Twain was removed from the evening's line-up as Jann had ‘kicked Shania's ass outside a bar in Etobicoke' the night previous. Arden also welcomed McLachlan onstage for a rendition of ‘I Would Die For You' where an uncanny harmony was found in these two beautiful women's voices. Also, this was the song I couldn't get ‘out of my head' post-concert. In fact, I'm still humming it. Lastly, in Arden's set she sang ‘Good Mother,' which befitted the Sunnybrook Foundation's focus. ‘Good Mother' is one of those all-time favourite uplifting songs (seriously, girls out there, sing along with ‘Good Mother' and it will make any day brighter) Arden sung it with heart and devotion to the words. The crowd went nuts when the song was done.  

The bewitching Sarah McLachlan was the next to enter centre stage and bring her ethereal presence to the event. I've learned you never get bored watching McLachlan, whether it is on TV, or onstage as she seems so warmly enigmatic and enchanting it is hard to move your focus away from her. McLachlan sang ‘Building A Mystery,' ‘Aidia,' ‘Falling' and ‘The One' which had all the appearance of being effortless declarations on her part. McLachlan did establish that she was a little ‘rusty' after being on a leave of absence while taking care of her eight month old child. She also shared with the audience her own experience with labour, how the first one was very difficult and the second was a C-Section, and how facilities like the Sunnybrook are so imperative for Mother and infant care. Only once did McLachlan forget her words, and as far as I could see, ‘rusty' seemed to still have a great performance attached to it.  

McLachlan also sang ‘World On Fire,' and spoke about the video that was made for $15. She took the original budget of $150,000 and helped an unbelievable amount of people in third world countries. The video shows what was done with the money. McLachlan explained that the song is one of her favourites because of what was done with the money from the video. She seemed to turn ‘World On Fire' into a more classical version, which was simply gorgeous. She also sang ‘Ordinary Day' from the Charlotte's Web soundtrack as it had been requested; Sun Life Financial was the sponsor of I One Night LiveTM and they use Sarah's song in their commercials. Besides, the song fit well into the theme as it has a strong emphasis on the beauty of everyday miracles, which is the same currency that Sunnybrook deals with. McLachlan performed a duet of ‘Angel' with Josh Groban, which was poetic and symbiotic. Of course, what would a Sarah McLachlan performance be without her ode to her husband called ‘Ice Cream.' I saw her sing this at Lilith Fair many years ago, and she still seems to connect so sweetly and deeply with the song today as she did back then. When Jann Arden introduced McLachlan she called her a ‘Canadian treasure,' and it would appear so.

Next up was the only non-Canadian performer, but definitely considered an adopted son of the great white north, Josh Groban brought down the house with his first song ‘You Are Loved (Don't Give Up).' Groban expressed that this was ‘one of the biggest charity events I've been to in my entire life,' which held a lot of weight as he performs continuously and tirelessly for causes. Groban sang ‘To Where You Are,' ‘Un Dia Llegara' (with inspiring guitarist Tariqh Akoni), a great rendition of ‘Machine,' and the ever moving ‘February Song.' Gypsy violinist Lucia Micarelli was barefoot and on-hand to rock the violin as well. Groban mentioned this was his second birthday in a row in Toronto and will be performing at the ACC again on March 5th. He even had a little ‘play' on the keyboard and did a belting turn on the drums. Groban is a communicator and his songs, dedication to how they are sung, and connection to his audience, shines through each and every performance he commits himself to. So when he dedicated his final song of the evening to the generous Aubrey and Marla Dan who donated 8 Million dollars earlier that day to Sunnybrook (read article ), it was the respectful ‘You Raise Me Up.' Magic. 

As the evening progressed, starting out an hour later than originally intended, and with slow moving set changes (all done by wonderful volunteers), it was hostess with the mostess Jann Arden that filled the forty-five minute void of a set change between Groban and Adams performances with a half hour comedy sketch. It was so raunchy, and hilarious, the only comment I can make is that I had tears rolling down my face with laughing, and don't ever accept a second-hand-handbag from Jann Arden's private collection. 

After a brief intermission Bryan Adams took the stage. No, I take that back, Bryan Adams commanded the stage. Many people were filtering out before the midnight performance of Adams, but if you stayed, you realized how staying after the pumpkin-hour was worth the effort. This was the only one of the group I had not previously seen perform, and was blown away by his stage presence, and immediate audience appeal. Adams is so enticing on stage he could get my 80 year-old Gran hot under the collar, had she been there. Adams sang ‘Cuts Like A Knife,' ‘Somebody,' ‘Can't Stop This Thing We Started,' ‘Please Forgive Me,' '18 ‘Til I Die,' ‘Let's Make A Night To Remember,' ‘Summer of '69,' ‘Back To You,' ‘Run To You,' and a slew of other hits. He also performed ‘Heaven' with all the other singers of the evening and also brought a woman from the audience up to sing his hit duet with Mel B ‘When You're Gone.' It was a brilliant moment as the girl kept up with Adams, and when she fumbled her words he made the effort to help her out. Of course he sang ‘Everything I Do (I Do It For You),' as some might have a vague remembrance of it being a mammoth hit in the 90s.

The evening was so enthralling, exciting, and dynamic, that in the wee small hours as I commit this to paper, my pulse is still beating in synch to many of the night's hit songs. So when events like this come to your town, and you can take advantage of a spectacular evening of entertainment as well as help a worthy cause, I suggest you get the hammer out and raid the piggy bank.