Photo by Megan True/Special to The Star
If music has color, then Norah Jones paints in a wide array of blues and grays.
Saturday night, before a sold-out Midland theater, Jones spent 90 minutes rendering tales of love, heartache and loss, most of them drawn from “Little Broken Hearts,” the breakup album she made with producer Danger Mouse.
She opened with a swinging, jazzy version of “Cold, Cold Heart,” the Hank William song she covered on her debut album. Then came five straight from “Broken Hearts,” including “She’s 22,” a song of scorn from a woman who has been replaced by someone younger: Later, she would perform “Miriam,” in which she threatens to kill the younger woman.
Jones shifted from piano to keyboards to electric guitar throughout the set. During “All a Dream” she laid down some lead guitar, scuzz-blues style. She gave her bandmates an ample moment in the spotlight, introducing each after his showcase. Other than that, she said little to her fawning crowd, which showered her with ovations and affection all night.
A sameness began to settle in about an hour into the show, a feeling of warm inertia generated by her rich, soothing voice, her band’s unwavering slickness and so many midtempo, light-jazz numbers. She broke up the set by performing a few songs solo at the piano, like a singer in a hotel lounge. Even during this low-key interlude, the crowd gave her its attention and approval — a sign that her fans know what to expect and appreciate getting it.
There were some uptempo moments, such as the cover of “Creepin’” and the poppy “Happy Pills.” The one weak moment of the night was “Election Day,” a song written in 2004 that felt dated and out of place amid the rest of the show.
They ended the set with a worthwhile cover of Gram Parsons’ “Hickory Wind,” for which they were joined by the opening act, a male-female duo called Corey Chisel and the Wandering Sons. For the encore, Jones and the band gathered around a sole microphone and delivered three songs, stripped down to accordion, guitar, bass and shaker. The first of those extended the theme of the evening: “How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart.” But she ended with “Come Away With Me,” one of her hits and a song that shifted the mood of the night from blue to brightness and implied some assurance that the lady with the cracked heart and gorgeous voice still believes in love.
There's Mr. finn's review! I threw my write up over in the 'Your ticket-sale alert: including Dave Chapelle and Aaron Lewis' thread early Sunday morning. It would be superfluous to copy it over here two days after the fact, so I won't. But it's always great to see any live show reviewed here and it's great to read other BTR contributors opinions of shows, which is why I try to throw my two cents in when I can. Another stellar review from Tim here. Someone has posted a video of Norah's lovely performance of "Sunrise" from the encore the other night out on YouTube from a half mile away, but the audio is OK.
One thing Tim mentions here that I didn't, and it would have made the show that much better, is that Norah doesn't engage the crowd all that much between songs. That is the one constant from the few shows of hers I've attended. She comes off a bit shy and humbled by all of the applause, but how shy can you be to bring your music to a large theater of people? The give and take between crowd and performer always adds something to the show, for me anyway, and when a performer says little between songs, it's a little disappointing. The plus, of course, is that it leaves time for more music.
Posted by: Geordan | October 16, 2012 at 12:01 PM
No, Geordan, to answer your question in the other thread, sadly I wasn't able to attend as my youngest son had a marching band performance down in Jeff City that day and I knew I probably wouldn't be back in a time frame conducive to going. Judging by the reviews from you and TF, sounds like I missed a good one. Like that new album though and DVRed her Live @ Artist's Den performance from last weekend so I'll have that. Her recent Storytellers performance which featured the new record was also very good.
Posted by: pellboy | October 16, 2012 at 01:33 PM
Sounds like a really good show and a nice write up by both Tim and Geordan. Keep up the good work, I enjoy reading your reviews!
Posted by: onthemark | October 16, 2012 at 02:12 PM
I see she covered GP's Hickory Wind. Way cool.
Posted by: Joe | October 16, 2012 at 04:03 PM
Sorry you missed it, Pellboy. I always love being at the Midland and to hear Norah's sweet voice live is like getting a shot that makes you feel warm all over....or was that Heroin?? Kidding, of course. I wouldn't know heroin if a DEA agent planted a baggie in my jacket pocket.....Anyway, I also recorded that Artist's Den performance on PBS. In fact, that whole Saturday night music lineup on PBS with Austin City Limits, Live from The Artist's Den, and Infinity Hall Live, are pretty special. I always check out who will be on and DVR accordingly. That's why I throw some scratch to PBS once a year (and dammit, if "Downton Abbey" didn't suck me into it's world!) , not that I need any more tote bags or KCPT coffee mugs. I will also need to seek out Norah's Storytellers episode. Wasn't even aware of that.
Posted by: Geordan | October 16, 2012 at 04:03 PM
ATTENTION RACE FANS!!!
Because they laid down a new surface at the speedway they are allowing teams extra practice times, LIKE TODAY!!!
SOOOooooo... take off work early, get the kids out school.. and head out to the track at 1:00 for a 4 hour CUP CAR practice... all your favs will there... and it only costs 5 bucks.
Practice is the way to go....
if you have never been. DO IT!
Posted by: Jeff Gordon | October 17, 2012 at 05:17 AM
I dunno what I like more. How good looking she is or her music. I'd go with her music.
Posted by: Mike | October 23, 2012 at 03:55 PM