With dim purple lighting and multiple large, white origami cranes hanging from the ceiling, Jones began the night with “Good Morning,” the opening track to her latest album, Little Broken Hearts.
Review by Caroline Wuertz
Norah Jones was welcomed to the stage by a sold-out crowd anxiously waiting to hear her perform. The Fox could not have been a better venue for Jones’ power and style. Its exquisite acoustics and layout allowed for a wonderful intimacy to develop with the audience.
With dim purple lighting and multiple large, white origami cranes hanging from the ceiling, Jones began the night with “Good Morning,” the opening track to her latest album, Little Broken Hearts. She progressed through several songs from her newest album with immaculate precision and musicianship, but with a slightly reserved and distant demeanor. Having only been the beginning of her tour, Jones’ slight rigidity with her new songs was understandable.
Jones took a break from her newer songs, and brought out a few of her earlier, more familiar tunes. She gradually opened up to the crowd, and by the time she played an unexpected but exceptional cover of Grateful Dead’s “It Must Have Been the Roses,” she had the entire audience entranced. After exploring her folk-country music styles, the show took an interesting turn.
Next, she performed “Black,” a song from Danger Mouse’s album, Rome, the project that originally brought the two artists together. The darker tone led nicely into what Jones claimed to be a spontaneous set list change –“Miriam.” The classic tune “Cold, Cold Heart” from her debut album followed and erased any lingering doubts of intimacy between Jones and the crowd. Clearly more comfortable with the audience, Jones took to the piano by herself and sang out the graceful, yet humorous song about her dog, “Man of the Hour,” which provided a touch of comic relief that broke up the darker tone. Jones finished the set with her infamous “Come Away with Me,” which ended with a standing ovation from the crowd.
After a short encore break, Jones and her band returned to the stage, but far from the expected fashion of pianos, drum sets and electric guitars. The group returned semi-circle around a single microphone in the center of the stage braced with an acoustic guitar, a stand-up bass and an accordion. They played bluegrass versions of Jones’ “Creepin’ In” and “How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart,” a song whose lyrics were originally written by Hank Williams. This breath-taking encore was a perfect end to a spectacular performance.
