Emotional return to live music at Theatre Lac Brome in Knowlton
Angel Forrest with Patricia St. Onge as the opening act
The theatre was ‘sold out’ with forty-five patrons in the auditorium for the live show on Saturday night. Ellen David, the artistic director of Theatre Lac Brome, spoke at the beginning of the evening. In the half year since the start of Covid-19 it has been hard times for live theatre and live music. As she pointed out, live shows are the first things to close and the last things to open up.
The opening act was Patricia St. Onge, who was debuting songs from her first produced CD, “Give It Some Time.” Patricia’s compositions are very personal and they resonated with the audience. For two of her five numbers, her daughter, Emma St. Onge-audet, sang along with her. One of her songs was “Count Your Blessings”. In these odd times we are in, it is important to acknowledge that we have much to be grateful for. Patricia started off a little nervous, but after the first song, her confidence was in full swing and her set was warm and heartfelt.
The majority of the evening was devoted to Angel Forrest performing from her vast repertoire of her own material and several covers. Accompanying Angel in every song was her partner and husband, Denis Coulombe. He sang and played the guitar. The love and warmth between them was palpable. The onstage banter was perfect between numbers. Angel is not very tall, but her personality fills the stage. She is flamboyant in her attire, her hair, and her mannerisms. She moves about seamlessly during her singing. She has a fuzzy pink rug on which she stands to sing in her bare feet. Denis sits on a chair, playing his guitar, and wearing his boots. They have written a song about themselves called “Barefoot and Boots” and it is a true testament to the depth of their love and partnership.
On a few numbers, a friend, Barry, played on his harmonica. It was a great blend with her bluesy, sweet, dark and rich, lyrical voice, and Denis’ vocals and guitar. In another number, young Logan Ryder, who knew all the lyrics to one of her songs, came up on stage, and he held his own with Angel.
Angel’s voice is strong, reverberating, and haunting. She channels her inner Janis Joplin in a few covers. She sang “O Lord, Won’t You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz” a cappella while Denis replaced a broken guitar string. The last number of the
evening, a raw and touching rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation.
Angel’s career has stretched over thirty years. On Sunday morning she and Denis were setting off in her special trailer for a thirty-seven day trip across Canada, heading to British Columbia.
During intermission and after the show both artists had CD’S for sale. Angel also had t-shirts. Buying CD’S is one way of directly supporting artists during these Covid-19 times. Angel has made eleven albums during her career.
It was a very emotional evening. For everyone in the audience it was a first time experiencing live music for nearly half a year. The crowd many have been small but they enthusiastically clapped and sounded like a full theatre! More live shows are planned for Theatre Lac Brome over the next few weeks.