With Serena Ryder’s Christmas Kisses Tour landing in Victoria like Santa’s sleigh on a rooftop, we can officially declare that the holiday season is upon us.
On one of the first truly chilly evenings of year, it was a fitting feeling to bring people of all ages together for some festive cheer. The lobby of the Royal Theatre was filled with multigenerational families sipping hot chocolate and looking forward to singing Christmas standards with one of Canada’s best singers.
With the oversized presents on the stage, stars hanging from the ceiling, impressive oversized spotlights, and a lingering scent of mixed mulled apple cider and pine trees (something we could only describe as “Christmas smell”) hovering over the crowd, it was clear we were in for a very festive show.
[Author’s note: I could have been imagining this smell or having a holly jolly stroke.]
Beaming with a huge smile and waving to the very excited crowd, Serena Ryder took to the stage with her backing band and quickly launched into holiday standard, Let it Snow.
Obviously, the Toronto-based singer’s holiday album, Christmas Kisses, was the driving force behind the show. With soulful renditions of White Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, and I’ll Be Home for Christmas, each time Serena launched into a Christmas song, a boisterous few would sing along in the crowd. Santa Claus is Coming to Town brought her out of the spotlight and into the audience to sing with the crowd.
To the crowd’s surprise, despite the evening being billed as a Christmas concert, Ryder peppered in several of her singles. throughout the night including What I Wouldn’t Do and, of course, her mega hit, Stompa.
Although this was a Christmas concert, it seemed some concert goers were determined to put themselves onto Santa’s and Serena’s Naughty List, yelling requests at any chance there was a moment of silence . . . including during a very personal anecdote about recording Christmas Kisses and its inspirations.
There were also demands from a single attendee that the lights were too bright and that the band should turn them off. Let’s just say you could hear a collective eye roll of most of us in the theatre as this person made a point of interrupting the show several times. Ryder — the ever professional — took it in stride and said “she would see what they could do” before launching into her next song.
Before the show’s intermission, Serena Ryder pulled up a seat between her keyboardist and bassist to sing a heart-wrenching arrangement of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It was deserving of the standing ovation it did not get.
Serena Ryder’s Christmas Kisses concert was full of cheer, laughter, and holiday spirit. Even the Grinchiest Grinch’s heart would have grown three sizes during that night. It was an apt way for us to kick off our holiday season.
