Norah Jones’ fan-base comprises mainly of young to middle aged females, while her live performances epitomize the ideal “date show.” There’s smooth sultry vocals, polished jazz chops, a mellow vibe and just the right amount of foot-tapping to make you wish you were on a blanket in a park with a bottle of wine instead of in a cramped seat. But for most men in the audience, it’s hard to not develop a crush on Norah Jones. With her exotic beauty and girl-next door charm, she’s the woman every guy would love to bring home to mom.
So back to the real world and there was that cute Norah Jones, wearing an eye-catching dress along with yellow high heels, announcing, “it sure is big in here,” to the crowd in the 5500 capacity theater. This lengthy tour in support of her fourth studio album, The Fall, has seen her visit primarily middle sized theaters coast to coast, with most venues being in the 2000 capacity range. So this Dodge Theater date was certainly a step up size wise, not that the multi-Grammy winner hasn’t seen the big stage since she breakthrough with her 2002 debut Come Away With Me.
Gone from this tour are her longtime New York musical partners (Lee Alexander, Adam Levy and Jesse Harris), replaced by L.A. session musicians – drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, Smashing Pumpkins), guitarist Smokey Hormel (Tom Waits, Johnny Cash) and bassist Gus Seyffert (Flight of the Conchords, The Bird and The Bee). The lineup was completed by keyboardist John Kirby and singer/guitarist Sasha Dobson, who opened the show and also plays in an all girl country band with Jones.
“I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for eight years, I’m starting to feel old. Wait till when I’m old, I’ll feel really old,” joked Jones between songs. Aside from a clever Kinks cover (“Strangers”), the majority of the set-list included songs from The Fall, with Jones moving between instruments – electric piano, upright piano and guitar. Most surprisingly, Jones proved she is a capable guitarist as she handled her rhythm guitar role well for the opener “Tell Your Mama” amongst a handful of other new numbers that saw her handle the six-string. The new-wavy first single off The Fall, “Chasing Pirates,” received as much a positive reception as some her earlier classics. But it was these older tunes that she plays at most every show (“Come Away With Me”, “Don’t Know Why), that seemed more of a forced motive than an out-pour of passion from the artist.
But when Jones played the songs you knew she was “feeling,” such as her cinema-graphic ode to NYC, “Back To Manhattan,” or a tribute to her pet dog(s), the tongue in cheek “Man of the Hour,” it was then that she appeared most in the zone. Although Jones’ music catalog leans towards the soft-rock side, she’s a Loretta Lynn in disguise, with a deep love and respect for country music, which she showed off on a cover Johnny Cash’s "Cry Cry Cry," before closing the set with her country-jazz ballad "Lonestar.” That would soon be followed by unplugged version of the bluegrass composition "Creepin’ In,” which was originally recorded with Dolly Parton. Guys and gals might have been at the show for different reasons, but there’s no mistaking that the jazzy voice of Norah Jones is undoubtedly a guilty pleasure, and for that reason, her live shows fill a void, whether you care to admit it or not.
