Aretha Franklin proves who's boss at Metro Square

By Janice Yeung

Aretha Franklin beamed on stage at her free concert kicking off the 25th TD Toronto Jazz Festival Friday night, June 24. With the crowd singing along to her tunes – both classic and new – the Queen of Soul seemed delighted as she snapped her fingers, swayed to the beat and delivered the mostly upbeat songs in her deep, expressive voice.

There was an estimated crowd of 18,000, about 1200 of which had camped out hours before to secure a spot inside the mainstage tent where Franklin performed. The remainder spilled out from David Pecaut Square onto King Street West and watched the show on jumbo video screens.

The crowd had good reason to think Franklin might not be at her best: the diva fractured her toe in Dallas a week before the show and underwent undisclosed surgery last winter that resulted in the loss of 85 pounds. This concert was one of the few dates on a comeback tour after canceling six months of shows.

But speculation that the diva is still bogged down by illness seemed unfounded when she took to the stage in a white goddess gown. For the first half of the concert, which began with her popular 1967 soul single "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", followed by feminist anthem "Think" and dreamy R&B gem "Master of Eyes," Franklin’s voice seemed a tad hoarse. But her pipes warmed up and she made a glorious comeback after a brief intermission, belting out current single "How Long I’ve Been Waiting" from her new album A Woman Falling Out of Love.

Returning to her “Atlantic Records days,” as she called them, Franklin sang "Baby Baby Baby" and brought the concert to a thrilling, climatic high when she accompanied herself on piano for an extended, bluesy version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Repeatedly chanting “Hallelujah!” in the final two minutes of the song, the daughter of a respected Baptist minister showed that she’s at her best when she draws on her gospel roots.

The crowd cheered when Franklin made fun of her injured toe, describing how she tripped on a pile of designer shoes. She joked that the owner of the upscale Jimmy Choo brand called and promised to send her even more slinky heels.

Responding to the love shown by the Toronto audience, Franklin returned to the stage with a camera after her last song and took multiple photos of the crowd. “You all are amazing,” she said. “I wish I could wrap you up and take you home!”