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.

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.

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.