When Sarah McLachlan returned to Calgary for the first time in 6 years last June at Lilith Fair, her set was cut short due to a curfew, leaving many of the fans who attended, frustrated. On March 6^th McLachlan returned and did more than make up for that, with a near-three-hour show in the intimate Jack Singer Concert Hall.

The Sarah McLachlan & Friends tour, she explained, allowed her to shine the spotlight on members of her band instead of having an opening act. Australian Butterfly Boucher and Hamilton's Melissa McClelland backed up McLachlan with instruments and vocals, but also had their own solo segments with McLachlan playing backup. The risk paid off as both women held their own with flying colours alongside the heavyweight McLachlan, with songs like Boucher's Another White Dash and McClelland's Passenger 24.

After many tours in stadiums as part of Lilith, and solo shows at arenas like the Saddledome, it was amazing to see McLachlan return to a theatre setting - it suits her music much better than an arena. Starting the show with an uplifting threesome of Awakenings, Building a Mystery and Loving You Is Easy, things became more somber with Stupid.

"Now onto the juicy happy stuff," she later said, laughing and adding, "just kidding" while starting one of the 2010 album, Laws of Illusion's best songs, Forgiveness. Another treat was McLachlan, Boucher and McLelland stripping down Good Enough to just a guitar, piano, and their voices. It was a chill-inducing number in an evening full of them.

Adding to the intimacy, McLachlan pulled questions from a hat that audience members had written for her in the lobby. One asked, "Is something going on with you and Butterfly?"  This caused both to crack up and McLachlan to sway towards Boucher.

"We love each other very much...and make out," Boucher joked.

"I've thought about it," added McLachlan.

The homestretch featured some of her biggest hits – Adia, Hold On, Illusions of Bliss, Sweet Surrender and Possession. The "ice cream" on the cake was the encore of Angel, again with just voicals and piano, and a singalong of Ice Cream.

If anyone had any doubt that McLachlan still had "it", those doubts were silenced. Her voice continues to be phenomenal, her catalog of songs is some of the best in Canada, and she can still put on an amazing show. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years before Sarah treats Calgary again.