Sure, her videos and latest album, “0304,” poke fun at the image of a female rock star and at the same time give in to it. But on this night, it was just Jewel and her acoustic guitar. No band, no flash, little makeup. Just a hippy shirt, Capri pants, hair pulled back, and an inimate connection between her and the audience.The show opened with an a cappella version of “Over the Rainbow.” Immediately after, the crowd began shouted requests, and continued to the end. While it bordered on rude, it was a compliment to Jewel, whose fans are obviously educated about her music and fully dedicated to her.
Also from the opener, I was floored by Jewel’s voice. It’s exactly as it sound on record. Her talent is purely God-given, it seems she never has had to do two takes during a recording session. Her voice was in the top few I’ve ever heard live. It may have been the best.
Jewel was down to earth during the show, too. She talked to the crowd continuously, laughed, and didn’t hide anything. Early on, before starting a song, she consulted a binder of music, saying she forgot how it went. She fumbled through the binder, not finding what she wanted right away. Then she went to the table of contents, showing she’s as human, organized and perhaps nerdy, as any coffeeshop musician. During the search though, papers flew out of the book, to which the audience gasped.
“What, you’ve never seen papers fall?” she asked.
“Hey Jewel, I could be your administrative assistant” a crowd member yelled.
“That would make my best friend pretty mad” Jewel replied, inferring that a friend already had the job.
Later on, Jewel complained about her nails being too long to hold down guitar chords.
“Does anyone have a nail clipper?” she asked the crowd. After no reaction, she added, “I’m serious.”
A roadie quickly came out, and Jewel proceeded to clip nails on her left hand, with her back turned, but still in front of the audience.
Jewel also shared a great story about an escapade to Mexico with a friend of hers back before her debut album, “Pieces of You” was released. The pair ended up joining Mexican police in a drug bust. The story lasted 10 minutes, and was hilarious. It makes you wish you were as artistic, crazy and risk-taking as Jewel.
Jewel’s set included several hits including “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “Hands,” and “You Were Meant for Me” but left out many more such as “Jupiter,” “Down So Long,” “Intuition,” “Standing Still,” and “Foolish Games.”
She focused on touching, folk-based ballads, like “Carnivore” and “Morning Song.” She also added an a capella version of Jessie Mae Robinson’s “The Other Woman.”
At one point, again looking at her binder, Jewel admitted, “It seems I just don’t want to play anything I know tonight.”
Jewel also previewed new material, which seemed as folky as ever. One memorable lyric was “I’m 31, and it ain’t over yet.” That seemed a true mantra for Jewel, who’s been on the scene for 10 years now. Her talent assures her of being around much longer.
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