Sheryl Crow has gone through many things over the last year. She lost her record deal, was diagnosed with meningioma (usually diagnosed as a benign brain tumor) and had to deal with a stalker who was recently ordered to stay away from her. You can say she has had a lot to deal with but what life deals you makes you stronger.
This wasn’t the case at Artpark this past Tuesday night as the jovial Crow and her 4-piece band played a hit laden that comprised of almost every hit she has had. The sold out crowd was greeted with “Steve McQueen’ off of 2002’s platinum selling “C’Mon, C’Mon.” Dressed in a dark blouse and brown jeans with Indian like designs on them, Crow looked and sounded great. She interjected jokes throughout her evening, none more apparent than before “Can’t Cry Anymore,” where she went on to say how she was a “good dancer, good cook and had a big rack,” as she called out to her sound guy who started to laugh. Before the Cat Stevens classic “The First Cut is the Deepest,” Crow announced that she has a record coming out soon. “I don’t know when, as I don’t have record company right now,” then proceeded to sing “Fu*k Them” to a roaring crowd approval. It shows the lack of loyalty there is to the artists today when a multi-Grammy award winning artist can’t keep a record deal. Crow said she would sell it out of the back of her van if needed (which garnered heavy laughter.) Later in the set she played a new song off of the untitled release called “Shotgun.”
Crow showed her diversity as she did go back and forth all night between singing and playing guitar. She also dusted off the old accordion for a spin on “Strong Enough.” Her drummer showed off his skills by playing the drums with his hands, creating a brush-like effect on this song as well.
During “If It Makes You Happy” Crow’s emotion was so heartfelt, you could tell every lyric and chord seemed to have extra meaning. This was the highlight of the night for me, besides my personal favorite song of hers, “Soak up the Sun.”
As the performance came to a close, Crow commented on her first appearance in Lewiston, NY and remarked how she enjoyed walking around town before the show. Let’s hope she makes the trip back for a future show in the not too distant future.
Setlist:
Steve McQueen
All I Wanna Do
Members Only
Can’t Cry Anymore
My Favorite Mistake
A Change Would do You Good
The First Cut is the Deepest (Cat Stevens cover)
Real Gone
C’Mon, C’Mon
Strong Enough
Home
Shotgun (new song)
If It Makes You Happy
Soak Up the Sun
Encore:
You’re no Good (Linda Ronstadt cover)
Everyday is a Winding Road
We would like to thank Pam Wertheimer from West Mgmt. for the photo pass and Maria Costello from Artpark for the tickets to review the show.
