McLachlan delights Portland audience

The Queen of Lilith Fair swept into Portland on Wednesday night and left thousands of satisfied fans in her wake.

Rising star Sarah McLachlan gave the sellout crowd of 5,900 at the Cumberland County Civic Center nearly two hours of music from her five albums, much to their obvious delight.

In a very short time, the Nova Scotia native and Lilith Fair creator has gone from playing theaters to arenas. Her stage show remains simple, without much theatrics, but that didn’t seem to bother her fans, as her haunting soprano voice soared to fill the facility.

McLachlan, dressed in a black outfit with a swash of purple sequins on the front, opened the show with last year’s hit, “Building a Mystery.”

In her opening remarks to the crowd, the Vancouver resident explained: “We’re going to play a nice long show for you tonight. We’ll take you on a roller coaster of emotions.”

McLachlan and her six-member band certainly did that. McLachlan wore her emotions openly, whether it be anguish or infatuation. Where some singers just seem to be remembering lyrics, McLachlan appears to relive the story behind the words.

In the “despondent” opening segment, McLachlan performed such songs as “Good Enough” and “Do What You Have to Do.” In the later “love” portion, she included “I Will Remember You” and “I Love You.”

McLachlan split time between playing a guitar and a grand piano. She showed off the wide range of her gorgeous, ethereal voice, sometimes hitting notes only dogs could hear, and she was ably supported by backup vocalist Camille Henderson.

The concert’s lighting marvelously echoed McLachlan’s emotions in a particular song, whether agony, ecstasy or confusion. The new-agey backgrounds were a bit of an enigma, including a planetary-maps backdrop, a star-field backdrop and esoteric tapestries.

McLachlan played almost every song from her current album, “Surfacing,” but her previous albums, back through 1988’s “Touch,” were also amply represented.

About the evening’s only flaw was its preprogrammed nature. McLachlan spoke little with the audience, and there were no localized remarks to separate it from Saturday night’s show in Buffalo.

Featured in her talented backup band were guitarists David Sinclair and Sean Ashby, and keyboardist Vincent Jones. When the spotlight fell on them, the wraithlike McLachlan would float about the stage, as if being carried by the music.

McLachlan first wrapped up her set after an hour and 45 minutes, but came back for two encores. With candles lighting the stage, she closed the evening with “Angels,” which she performed solo on piano.

Opening the evening was Lisa Loeb, with her three-member band Nine Stories. Loeb, best known for her trademark horn-rimmed glasses and the No. 1 hit “Stay (I Miss You),” played that hit and a good chunk of her current album, “Firecracker,” during her 40-minute set. Her attempts at banter often fell flat, but Loeb, on her first visit to Maine, did a good job of winning over a restless crowd waiting for McLachlan’s show.

One highlight was when McLachlan, dressed in T-shirt and jeans, came on stage to play guitar and sing harmony on Loeb’s “Falling in Love.” “She’s a great musician and a nice dresser,” Loeb joked.