So I saw the lovely Norah Jones and M. Ward last night at Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) and it was gorgeous as expected. First of all, PPAC is this crazy old building with lush red curtains and tons of ornate gold detailing and the like--kind of like an opera house, so it was a great venue to see this particularly cozy show on an icky Providence evening.
My only complaint was that the pricey tickets (we were the youngest people there probably so she knows her audience $$) had us pretty far from the stage and packed in like sardines.
Anyway, M. Ward is really wonderful but I want to like him more than I actually do. He's clearly a very talented guitar player and he has a very unique and pleasant voice but his songs are very meandering and relaxed which can alternately be chill and boring. I like him best as an addition to other artists I love: he played with Bright Eyes when I saw them at Somerville and was a really fantastic addition and came and dueted on a couple of songs last night with Jones which was really great. P.S.: M. Ward guests on Bright Eyes' new Casadaga, out now (but I haven't had a chance to spend any time with it yet).
Norah Jones and her band were fantastic. They gave just the highest quality performances, she has an absolutely breathtaking voice, the lighting and set were really complementary and the band is so tight--sometimes jazzy (for the older stuff), but not in a way that would turn me off(somebody needs to teach me about good jazz) and sometimes old-time string bandy (from her new stuff). She is really adorable too--she wore a flirty little dress like the one on the cover of her album and these sparkly Dorthy shoes and told nice little anecdotes to the audience. Apparently she went to the mall (the highlight of all Providence) and as somebody was trying to sell her something, he said, "Hey, you look like Norah Jones," to which she replied, "Yeah I get that a lot." The guy then said, "Yeah, i don't like her that much." And then he realized it was her: "You're are her, aren't you?" Norah: "I'm afraid so." Oops.
She told us she didn't cry herself to sleep or anything and the crowd gave her lots of love so she'll be alright.
Providence Place, the site of the crime. Gotta love that gaudy monstrosity, don't you?
1 comment:
Once again, I was at that scene of the crime and it was delightfully satisfying! The warmth and impecable timing of their perfomance was the highlight for me. Everyone in the band was just swimming ever so gently in and out of these comforting and melodically rich feals. I agree that it was the perfect show for such a blustery Providence Night. The New Englandy seafood dinner to top things off was just right to help ease me into my very usual winter hibernatory state. Thanks for sharing another great night!
Phil
Post a Comment