I've loved k.d. lang since 1990. She was a great inspiration for my becoming a vegetarian and a role model during my coming out process. For these things alone, I am deeply grateful. But she has given and continues to give me so much more.

I saw her in concert last weekend in Santa Barbara after not seeing her for at least 12 years. It was like reconnecting with an old, dear friend. Watching her roam the stage in her bare feet, vest and tie, singing flawlessly all the while, I remembered why and how much I love her. Palmary voice aside, I see myself in her — a big-boned gay gal with short, tousled hair who loves music, lives honestly and flirts relentlessly.
The median age of the crowd was at least 45, and seemingly more straight than gay. (Maybe all the homos were down the street at Swan Lake. Hard to know.) But those older heteros gave that singing dyke several standing ovations and brought her back for two encores. Gotta love them for that. They certainly loved her.

k.d.'s band was, as usual, spot on as they worked their way through a catalog of music ranging from cabaret to honky tonk to pop to folk to whatever other genre you can think of. A rendition of Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah” brought the house down, much like when she used to do Roy Orbison's “Crying.” The intensity of emotion funneled through k.d.'s gentle rendering is mesmerizing on CD and video, but to witness it live is nothing but chilling. I think she may have displaced Jeff Buckley's version of the same tune as my favorite.


What makes k.d. so beguiling is multi-faceted. First, her voice is simply one of the most pitch-perfect you will ever hear. Second, she approaches each song with honesty, inhabiting the story and infusing it with herself. Third, she has said in interviews that the voice is inseparable from life itself: “Your sexuality, your honesty, your spirituality, your physicality, your health... everything is intrinsically linked to the voice.” It naturally follows that she knows how to use and respect her voice in a way that is authentic and, in turn, she doesn't need to perform vocal acrobatics to get her point — or the song's — across. Fourth, she works the mic like nobody's business, probably better than any other singer I can think of. You can see that in the video. Watch how she pulls the mic away or to the side in order for the technology to help her convey just the right level of power or tenderness.

If all that weren't enough, the playful side of her is also incredibly charming. She flitted about the stage to songs like “Miss Chatelaine,” thanking the boisterous audience for their appreciation of quality dance. She later joked about starting to play the banjo because she heard it was a chick magnet. When a few ladies hooted and hollered their approval, she replied with, “See? It's working.”

To get a better sense of k.d. as a person, watch this interview from the Houston PBS channel. Bet she makes your heroes list, too.