You have to be versatile to go from singing stand-in for Michael Jackson to releasing your own country-tinged, often bluesy, pop-rock album.
Last night at the Bank of America Pavilion, Sheryl Crow place that versatility to serious use in a 90-minute set that was never dull, much astonishing and full of a enthralling roots aesthetic. Refreshingly, Crow has no diva airs - rather, she has a downward home vibration about her and a sense of real world struggle in her songs.
Things didn�t start off with a bang; they began with an acoustic �God Bless This Mess� in front of a peace sign, and then merged into �Shine Over Babylon� as Crow�s six-piece band and two computer backup singers appeared and Crow worked the stage care a cross between a tormented soul singer and a hardworking �American Idol� contestant.
After the good-time stomp of �Love Is Free,� Crow stirred into a series of songs off her debut album, �Tuesday Night Music Club,� including the down-and-out �Leaving Las Vegas,� a brilliant �Strong Enough� and �Can�t Cry Anymore.�
Crow�s birth certificate crataegus oxycantha say she�s 46, simply the tight, blond songstress looks at least 10 years younger, though the ache in her voice - on songs that require it, anyway - seems to be the kind that only comes with years of experience.
Crow wasn�t without social commentary, as in �Gasoline,� which morphed into a cover of the Rolling Stones� �Gimme Shelter.�
Though she didn�t spend practically time plugging her a la mode album, �Detours,� she did perform the folky title track ahead lighting into a incisive �Redemption Day.� Ominous as that vocal was, when Crow transitioned into the jubilant �Out of Our Heads� - which had more than a few crowd members dusting sour their rhythm - followed by the cheery �Soak Up the Sun,� it made sensory faculty; in price of both vocal great power and emotion, Crow moves from helen Newington Wills to sunny, jaded to jubilant with impressive ease.
Based on �You�re Beautiful� oversaturation, James Blunt may look treacly and one-dimensional, only he�s non. True, the sappy lay did make an appearance during his opening set, but it was sandwiched in between upbeat pop-rock numbers, a spirited run through the crowd and, well, other weakly emotional ballads.
The multi-instrumentalist, who took the microscope stage after ska-reggae collective Toots and the Maytals, regular managed to seem haunting on �Goodbye My Lover,� which isn�t nearly as corny as the deed implies.
Sheryl Crow with James Blunt and Toots and The Maytals At Bank of America Pavilion, last night.
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