Miss Chatelaine entertains
k.d. lang takes the stage at Centre 200.
For Ross Hunter, k.d. lang has been much more than a musical inspiration.
Growing up and struggling with his sexuality, Ross looked to the gender-bending Canadian crooner as a role model.
“I was coming out in the mid1980s,” said Hunter, a Springhill, N.S., native who now lives in Sydney with his husband, Adrian MacKinnon. “I was 17 and trying to figure out my way, and knowing that k.d. lang was there — although she didn’t identify, she was very androgynous, which gave me a great voice to come out to because I didn’t have to commit to anything, I could just be whoever I wanted to … k.d. lang was definitely a part of that. So yeah, watching her move forward in her life and kind of come out and not come out — it’s all part and parcel. She’s a huge idol for me, a huge icon.”
Of course lang’s music is a big part of what brought approximately 4,500 people out to Centre 200 on Monday to see the Juno and Grammy winner perform as part of her Ingénue Redux tour. The tour is designed around the 25th anniversary of lang’s second solo release, “Ingénue,” a multi-platinum 1992 album that featured the massive hits “Constant Cravings” and “Miss Chatelaine.”
“For me the album was about love and angst and romance and ownership and individuality,” said Hunter, who was holding a vinyl copy of the album, which was remastered and reissued on vinyl.
A talented singer who’s performed in several local musical productions, Hunter said he’s followed lang’s career from her show-stealing 1985 Juno appearance when she famously accepted the most promising
female vocalist award wearing a borrowed white wedding dress and cowboy boots. And while he’s always preferred her early hillbilly twang, he said the Albertan mezzo-soprano’s amazing vocal gifts have allowed her to seamlessly flow from country, to pop, to jazz, to blues, to avant-garde.
“I mean she’s brilliant,” said Hunter, who said he was hoping to hear lang’s celebrated cover of Patsy Cline’s “Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray” at the Centre 200 show. “I mean the songwriting is great — it’s always strong — but it’s that voice: that voice is pure and deep and amazing.”
Another huge lang fan, Nicole Cammaert said she admires the singer’s strength and conviction.
“She’s so true to herself and I think that it’s so inspiring that she has not lost sight of who she is through her whole
journey,” said the Sydney River resident, who was at Monday’s concert with her husband, Doug Lionais. “She’s just so grounded and rooted and she’s incredibly
spiritual and she’s not afraid to talk about the things that are challenging, or sing about the things that are challenging.”
For her part, lang was also feeling the love in Cape Breton, joking about the amount of “sweetness” she experiences whenever she visits.
“What is wrong with you people here? Cape Breton; too sweet. You call everybody dear — all the time,” lang said before inviting the audience to settle in as she performed “Ingénue,” along with other songs from her vast catalogue.
“It’s a bit of a meditational record — good for a night like this. We’re just going to hunker down, cuddle up and we’re going to lull you into hypnosis. True story. So sit back and relax and I’ll chat with you when the record’s over.”