Sheryl
Crow Gives Good Rock In Miami Show
Sheryl Crow rolled into Miami
on Thursday (March 17) for the second date of her tour with equal
parts grace and strut. Bouncing on a stage at the James L. Knight
Center that resembled a high-budget rock video, complete with a
video screen triad, bright lights, and the requisite dramatic
intro, Crow proceeded to deliver a well-balanced set.
A keen sense of selection kept
attendees enthralled by punching in energetic and popular numbers
at the perfect spot. For example, The Globe Sessions' first
single, "My Favorite Mistake," lifted crowd volume
early as the second song in the set list. Crow showed off just
how musically ambidextrous she is by frequently rotating between
guitar and bass (she wrote much of the new record on the
four-stringed instrument).
Early shows in tours are usually plagued with some
sort of drama or turmoil, yet this performance was unusually
solid. Considered by some to be a classic rock gal, Crow took her
ode to Bob Dylan, "Mississippi," (a song which Dylan
wrote and gave to her to record on The Globe Sessions) to a
crescendo of distortion and sing-along harmony. Somewhere around
the middle of the set, she encouraged the crowd to vote with
their minds and not their media influence -- managing, once
again, to make a point without making the audience feel as if
they were trapped on an episode of Face the Nation (ala the
Indigo Girls).
Simply put, Crow has definitely come into her own as
a performer and as a songwriter. Carrying the weight of a show on
one's back takes style and finesse, and she displayed both,
working the crowd with subtleties such as substituting the word
"Miami" in as many places as possible. Highlights
included "Leaving Las Vegas," which received a powerful
spit-shine ending and a seemingly impromptu jam that could have
lasted another 20 minutes and still hit the mark.
As she winded down with two more favorites,
"All I Wanna Do" and the second encore's finishing blow
"Every Day Is a Winding Road," there wasn't a body in a
seat as Crow came full circle with the evening.
Opener Eagle-Eye Cherry did his thing to a
well-received response from those who checked in early enough to
see him perform catchy hooks, such as his cross-format hit
"Save Tonight."
When all was said and done both parties gave the
crowd what they paid for: a fine rock and roll show.
-- Adrian Gregory Glover
