Story by Hal Goodtree | August 18, 2010 | Tags: arts, booth amphitheatre, music, News
Concert review by Hal Goodtree. Photos by Gina Wilcox.
Cary, NC – It’s always great when an artist appreciates the venue and the crowd. That’s why the crowd ate it up when, ten minutes into the show, Sheryl Crow looked around Booth Amphitheatre from the front of the stage and said “You know, I love this place.”
Crow brought plenty of enthusiasm to the concert on Sunday night, featuring an assortment of old hits and new material, backed by a new 10-piece band from her hometown of Memphis.
The air was steamy, like the inside of someone’s mouth, a friend said to me. KB was packed – lawn chair to lawn chair, out into the pine straw and all the way up to the Crescent.
Colbie Caillat opened the show with a dazzling smile and a strong voice. Though the crowd didn’t know most of her songs, they responded appreciatively to her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way. Step aside, Stevie Nicks.
After a quick set change, Crow and her band took the stage at 7:42 pm, opening with Our Love is Fading, a track from her newest album. From there, they rocked straight into A Change Will Do You Good. Right from the opening chords, the crowd jumped up and started dancing and singing and clapping.
Crow wore a sleeveless, sequined top and cargo pants. The new band was fairly gigantic by rock and roll standards, with two horns, two backup singers, two guitar players, two drummers (one of them switched around instruments, playing percussion, guitar and keys in addition to banging the kit), bass and keys.
The band certainly showed its Memphis roots, blending a large dose of funk with a flavoring of soul into Crow’s signature rock sound. But more on that later.
Crow seemed to really enjoy our small, woodsy venue, and took plenty of opportunities to connect with the crowd. “I love this place,” she told us after A Change.
“Last time I was here, I didn’t have kids, so I really didn’t care that much about the turtles in the pond.”
Then it was back to the music with Eye to Eye, another new track. If Crow was previously known for her country-tinged rock and roll, fans seemed to enjoy her new reggae groove with bassman Tommy Simms out front and rattling windows across Symphony Lake. Just for the record, Keith Richards plays guitar on the studio track.
100 Miles From Memphis, the title track of the new album, came next. You can hear a little of that soul sound in the bass line and the backing vocals.
Can’t Cry Anymore came next, Crow’s 1995 hit. It’s a big, cock-eyed, happy tune, kind of like a VW bus with springs that are shot. People up front were dancing and those of us in the cheap seats sang along. “I want what’s he’s on,” Crow observed about a guy dancing enthusiastically in the front row.
Then it was time to bring on the funk with a new tune called Say What You Want To, Crow’s commentary on the role of media in creating a polarized America. The song had a good beat and you could dance to it, so I’d call it a winner. They really did have the funk groove down pat.
The most poignant song of the night was Strong Enough (To be My Man). “Are you out there?” Sheryl riffed over the top of the song, looking out at the crowd. “A man with a real job? A man who’s really divorced, not just separated?” The crowd laughed. “Are you out there in a lawn chair?” she asked.
What was poignant was her voice. The simple question of a younger artist had acquired a note of longing, even loneliness.
It was about 8:30 by now and Crow took a short break. She drank a little water and shook a tambourine while one of the guitar players and bassman Simms treating the crowd to Delta-type blues.
Crow came back with Long Road Home, a little country/gospel song from the new collection.
Next came Summer Play, more reggae from the new disc. By now, you could really sense the new make-up of the band. Previously, her sound had been centered around the guitars. Now it was bass and drums. She’d played a 2/4 rock beat. Now it was funk and soul and reggae.
This was a new side to Sheryl Crow, at least from the audience perspective. Her clear, bluesy alto rang out on top of the grooving beat.
Just to drive the point home, the band followed up with Terence Trent Darby’s Signed Your Name. It’s a great song for Crow’s voice, crooning out over an insistent R&B groove. Just for good measure, the band slipped in a few measures of Miss You by the Stones.
Then, just when you thought you had a bead on the new Crow, she came back with My Favorite Mistake, her 1997 hit from The Globe Sessions. This was her tightest cover to the original yet, featuring her signature country-flavored rock and her new bittersweet feeling. Well, this always had a bittersweet song.
She played a couple of more new tunes for the crowd and then came back with If It Makes You Happy, her 1996 hit, followed by Soak Up the Sun from 2002.
It was now 9:30 and you could feel the turn toward the home stretch. Crow gave us a Motown influenced song from the new record called Peaceful Feeling and said her first good night.
The band exited the stage and everybody got up to stretch. A few folks folded lawn chairs and fled toward the parking lot. A couple of people snuck into the VIP section. The band returned.
Encore #1 was All I Want To Do, Crow’s 1993 hit from Tuesday Night Music Club. On the line, “I like a good beer buzz early in the morning,” Sheryl raised her hand, as if to say “that’s me.”
Crow saved the surprise of the evening for Encore #2, song #19 of the evening. It was a cover of I Want You Back, the 1969 breakout hit for the Jackson 5. Crow sounded remarkably like a pre-teen Michael Jackson, only as a woman. Does that make sense? The crowd went crazy. You can hear the song for yourself on 100 Miles From Memphis.
Finally, Crow sat down at the piano and mellowed out the crowd with a rarity from ’93 called I Shall Believe.
The lights came up and the band said goodbye. Moms and Dads bugged out in all directions. The Amphitheatre was empty in ten minutes.
But the turtles were still swimming in the lake. They’ll be there next time Sheryl Crow wants to come back to Koka Booth Amphitheatre.
