So, here’s the deal. Andrea was listening to the radio a month ago, and heard that a local station (107.5) was sponsoring discount tickets for the James Blunt/Sheryl Crow show at the Sommet. Tickets were $10.75, which, with all the Ticketmaster fees, translates to ~$20 – still a great price. We jumped on ‘em, and I thought they’d be nose-bleed seats.
Fast-forward to last night. We get there, and the seats are amazing! We’re in the second tier, second row, right in the middle, dead-on with the stage. I could throw a plastic cup at the FOH on the floor. Nice job, Andrea!
When James took the stage, the room was empty. Maybe 30% of the seats occupied, which made the cave that much more cave-y. However, Blunt is a great musician, entertaining and quirky, and the mix was solid. People continued to filter in, so that by the time the lights came up for the set change, the room was full.
Andrea and I commented that we were a bit disappointed in the mix for Sheryl. For one, it was too loud (and I’m probably too old), and so any time there was a full moment in the arrangement – two electric guitars, plus B3, say – Sheryl’s voice disappeared in the mix. Gone. It didn’t sound like she was having problems, just that she was getting masked by all the midrange. In contrast, Blunt’s mix was just the right level, and ultra-clear. His voice was on top of the mix, with a solid foundation underneath, and you could hear the textures of the upright piano he played contrasting with the Rhodes his keyboardist played, and the plucking of the bass in the pocket with the kick. Crow is also moving decidedly more political in voice, and the audience really didn’t respond well. She may think she’s from Nashville now that she’s living on a farm south of Franklin, but she’s still not a native.
Still, it was a fun night. We got downtown early, parked, and walked around with ice cream before heading in. I don’t remember the buskers for the clubs, bars, and carriage rides being so aggressive, but it was fun to be in the chaos for a bit, to remember that we do live in a decent-sized city.
i remember that the last time i saw her a year or two ago at the ryman… just too political for me. great guitarist with her though, he was amazing. i am sure he’s still with her, tall skinny dude kinda like a young tom petty. she sounds great, i just don’t care for the “commentary”.
Hey Harry,
I want to hear more about this concert. I am a giant fan of Sheryl’s, but the new record is too bitter about Bush and the state of our union as a country, so I didn’t feel inspired to want to see her this time. Saw her at the Ryman on the last tour from the 3rd row and it was amazing, so I would like to hear what the stage set was like, what was played, high points, low points etc.
Kristi – the blonde guitarist is still with her. Actually, I think he’s been with her for years, as he’s on the Globe Sessions live DVD.
The band was nice and tight – two electric players, a second acoustic player, keys, perc, drums, bass. Couple of groovin’ backup singers that totally outshone her on the encore of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Love”.
She opened the show with a solo version of “God Bless this Mess” in front of a scrim with a graffiti’d gobo of a peace sign. Seemed like it was half and half stuff from her last two albums and old favs. I haven’t heard anything since C’Mon, C’Mon, so I didn’t know the new stuff at all, and honestly, it didn’t have the good tight hooks of her older stuff. More about diatribe, less about good pop. The sound was so overloud and overcompressed that the mix was really distracting.
I think the highlight was the fashionly-bald 40-year-old doing some sort of Cabbage Patch/WhiteBoyOverbite -on-speed during, um, something. While seated. Wish I could have taken a video.
Thanks for sharing about the concert Harry. Peter Stroud is the main guitar guy,and the musical director of the band. He has been with Sheryl for a long time, and is a great guitarist. We both really enjoyed watching him perform while seeing the “Wildflower” tour at the Ryman a few January’s ago.
I don’t like “Detours” near as much as “Wildflower” overall, but there are a few tunes off of it I really like, though not lyrically. In general, her new record is one big rant about Bush and the state of our Union, and artists using politics as a public soapbox annoys me when done this in your face ticked-off kind of way. I am a big fan of hers musically—she is one of my faves, but I am tired of hearing songs about her views on the war and politics.