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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Photos / Live Reviews / setlist / News Live review: Jewel
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Jewel w/ Meiko
The Knight Theater
Oct. 28, 2009
The Deal: Folker gone country artist Jewel brings along new sensation Meiko for acoustic/vocal showcase.
The Good: The show started out with MySpace recording artist Meiko taking the stage for a 30-minute solo acoustic set. Her music was in the same vein as Jewel and she quickly had the crowd laughing as she told stories of missing Chick-Fil-A since moving from Georgia to California and stories behind some of her songs about breakups — "Boys With Girlfriends" and "Real, Real Sweet." Audience members broke up moments of silence between songs by asking where she was from and what label she was on, to which she replied, "Wow, this has never happened before. Is it question and answer time?"
Jewel took the stage flanked by two guitars and a large vase of flowers and proceeded to hush the audience with an impressive a capella version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." After the applause settled down, she told the crowd the story of growing up in Alaska and going to a local bar to sing and "hide in the bathroom" if the police showed up before singing, "Last Chance Rodeo." The night turned into a "Storytellers" evening in a way as she often told stories behind the songs she was about to sing.
She took one request early in the nearly two-hour set, "Morning Song," before stating, "I'm just your blonde jukebox for the evening." Playing a variety of songs from all of her albums, including the "Cold Song" from the obscure Bits and Baubles disc, Jewel also entertained by performing a handful of songs from her upcoming disc, another country-flavored album due in the near future.
Some of the more well-known songs were given new life by changed cadences or tempos. "Hands" was slowed down a bit, "Down So Long" got a new groove, "Intuition" was slow and funky on the acoustic guitar and "Who Will Save Your Soul" was given a new treatment as well. The singer also made light of the fact that she "sounds like Kermit the Frog" on her first album and thinks it was the fear of being in a studio. She told stories of being homeless and shoplifting food to eat, as well as personal stories of family members.
The night ended with the lullaby, "Angel Standing By," before doing one hell of an impressive yodeling showcase to close the encore.
The Bad: It was mildly entertaining when people were yelling out questions to Meiko and desired song titles to Jewel, but the rude comments that were also yelled from attention-getters from time to time weren't necessary. I'm sure the people they were with were giving looks of "shut the hell up."
The Verdict: The Knight Theater proved to be the perfect place, acoustically (in both ways), for vocals to shine. The setting gave the audience a clearer vision of the lyrics and the stories told often set up the songs perfectly. Jewel may have become a commercial success, but this evening was more about her songwriting and vocal talents than anything else. It was simply her and a guitar — no fancy lights or stage setting. It was all about the music.
Setlist
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Last Chance Rodeo
Near You Always
Morning Song
Down So Long
Life Uncommon
Hands
Stephenville, TX
Ballad of Rosie
Stronger Woman
New song (Stay Here Forever?)
New song (My Father's Daughter)
New Song (Hole In My Heart?)
New song (Let Me Feel Your Love Again)
Cold Song
Intuition
Standing Still
Foolish Games
Meant For You
Who Will Save Your Soul
Encore
Angel Standing By
Yodel
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