One week after dropping a new album, Be Myself, that is stylistically more similar to her music in the 1990s than anything released in the last decade, Sheryl Crow treated the Orlando crowd on April 29th to a performance that was half nostalgia and half celebration of the new material. Over the course of the 2 ½-hour set, Crow and her band played seven songs from Be Myself and ten from her first three albums, with only a few songs representing the Crow middle years. That means no country – with the exception of the rousing “Best of Times,” no Memphis soul, and little soft folk. Instead, the emphasis was on upbeat pop rock songs with a slight blues or country tinge, full of guitar hooks and grandiose sing-along choruses. It was Sheryl Crow at her finest.
Crow began the show with four early hits, leading off with the slide and steel guitar-heavy “Every Day is a Winding Road.” Before the cheering crowd could even settle in, the band then went through “A Change Would Do You Good” and “All I Wanna Do.” It seemed early on as if the performance was going to be just a greatest hits show, but after the initial radio hit salvo, Crow introduced three songs from the new album.
Playing so many new songs for a crowd expecting their favorite hits is always risky, but with the long set-list there were plenty of crowd pleasers to go around. Most of the new songs were well received, especially lead single “Halfway There” and the set’s most aggressive rocker, “Heartbeat Away.” Crow jokingly introduced the latter as a prophetic fictional tale of Russian hacking and espionage before ripping through the song with an arena rock intensity, aided by the chops of veteran blues rock guitarist Audley Freed (The Black Crowes, Cry of Love).
At 55 years old, Crow showed no signs of slowing down. Onstage she was energetic, joked around with the crowd between songs, and her voice sounded as great as ever – mostly subdued but capable of full-throated bellowing that filled the theater. Throughout the concert, Crow alternated between playing guitar, bass, and keyboards, while occasionally working in some harmonica.
In a set full of uptempo pop rock, two of the finest moments came when Crow slowed things down. From the opening line of “Strong Enough,” Crow was captivating, soulfully crooning about the struggle to love and trust one another. Similarly, the greatest part of the encore was the slow soulful ballad “I Shall Believe.” Wanting to end with another uptempo song, Crow closed the show with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” Though the band performed it well, it was an odd choice for a closer by an artist who has so many of her own hits from which to choose. The dynamic “If It Makes You Happy,” played a few songs earlier, would have served the same purpose while staying within Crow’s catalog.
Throughout the show, Sheryl Crow showed why she has been able to consistently release hits over a two-decade period. Whether she’s playing rock, pop, country, soul, jazz, or any combination thereof, whether playing fast or slow, Crow is one of the best in the business at crafting great melodies that stick in your head and beg you to sing along.
