VANCOUVER -- Picture it: you're surrounded by 5,000 dancing people, all watching the stage. A 10-piece band is decked out in polyester, the horn players are blaring fat funk riffs in time to a man ripping away solos on the Hammond organ. A tall 'fro-d frontman takes the stage, thick sideburns down his chiseled face, his slim figure surrounded by light blue rhinestone-studded denim.

Does anybody know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

For a man who has a history of putting on legendary live shows, the announcement in recent weeks that Lenny Kravitz was playing a Vancouver date created a near-immediate sell-out. The fact that the lucky ticket-holders would be witness to the very first date on Kravitz's world tour in support of his latest disc, "5", was definitely an unexpected plus.

As first shows go, the benefits tend to far outweigh the negatives and such was the case for West Coast fans on this cool, clear night.

One concern for opening dates is that the flow amongst all the players -- both onstage and behind the scenes -- can be a tad clumsy at times.

On the positive tip, a tour kickoff usually finds a band fresh, excited and completely buzzed with the fanfare that surrounds them. With Lenny Kravitz's premiere performance, it was dead-on nearly all the way; the fans knew it, the band knew it and the frontman himself proved it by having a two-hour ball, performing hits new and old.

The set kicked off with an instrumental from the new album, a track entitled "Stone Cold Player"; the gear-filled stage was functionally laid-out with the three background singers high on a podium stage left, the massive drum kit and gong raised up in the back and the many other musicians strewn around the prop-free setup.

Following the instrumental, Kravitz strolled out sassily, in his best keep-on-truckin' demeanor, grabbing a centre-stage mike and kicking into "Live", a '70's funk-inspired number from his new disc. After that, the night zoomed by, the band and frontman jamming endlessly over the next couple of hours, many tracks weaving deftly from one right through to the next. As many as five tracks in a row were played, giving the band -- and the man -- a solid, exhaustive workout.

It was nearly six songs into the set -- right after "Freedom Train" and just before "It Ain't Over Till It's Over" (from 1989's "Let Love Rule" and 1991's "Mama Said", respectively) before Kravitz had any opportunity to even speak to the crowd, offering only a "how y'all doin' tonight?" query, which resulted in cheers from the already-adoring group.

And as for the fanfare? The enthusiasm was genuine, a rare outpouring from an often lazy town; the truth is that Kravitz's performances are famous for good reasons: First off, the singer earns his keep by offering up two-hour sets each night. Secondly, whether it's his improvisational bent or simply his love of playing live, the frontman is 100% present during his performances, working the crowd, pacing the stage, pushing his players for deep-reaching solos. Finally, the singer plays not just to the crowd but also very specifically for the crowd by stringing a virtual greatest hits set list together each and every night.

In spite of the fact that he's been performing the likes of "Mr. Cab Driver" and "I Built This Garden For Us" for nearly a decade, he consistently provides genuinely emotional performances for his adoring audiences. And if you can't 'feel the vibe' that his fans give back, all it takes is a walk straight into the middle of the 'pit', where you can witness (if you dare) the die-hards singing their hearts out to every song, both with his encouragement ("Let Love Rule", "Stand By My Woman") and without, particularly noteworthy on the incredible "Fly Away" from the new album.

And what would a Lenny concert be without a marathon-length jam? On this night, it was "Always On The Run" which extended nearly 15 minutes in length, never once over-indulgent, rarely anything but completely joyful.

Yes, it's true that Lenny Kravitz's new afro, his old clothes and his outdated ways may provoke feelings of days long-since passed, but given the choice between the age of emotionless sets and the age of Aquarius, I'll take the latter.

Set List

Stone Cold Player

Live

Supersoulfighter

Tunnel Vision

Freedom Train

It Ain't Over Till It's Over

If You Can't Say No

Don't Go And Put A Bullet In Your Head

Can't Get You Off My Mind

Stand by My Woman

I Built This Garden For Us

Does Anybody Out There Even Care

Let Love Rule

Mr. Cab Driver

Fly Away

Always On The Run (Mama Said)

Rock And Roll Is Dead

Are You Gonna Go My Way

Encore

Believe

In My Life Today

What The Fuck Are We Saying?

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5