Norah Jones hasn’t gone to the dogs. But one of her new songs pays tribute to a girl’s best friend.
“You never lie and you don’t cheat,” Jones sings in “Man of the Hour,” a humorous tune about a faithful Fido who’ll “never make me cry.”
Jones, who soared up the record charts early in the last decade with “Don’t Know Why” and “Come Away With Me,” has included the song on her current album, “The Fall,” a blend of moody rock, blues and alt-country that veers from the strictly jazz-inflected music of previous albums.
And all the kind words for the dog in “Man of the Hour”? Perhaps she’s poking fun at the demise of a long-term relationship with a dog of another kind. The cover of her new CD features a number of canine friends.
Looking feisty and fun in a short, sleeveless dress and red pumps, Jones put on a colorful, lively show Sunday night (April 18) at the Paramount Theatre that offered a mix of wistful, sometimes melancholy ballads and sassy, upbeat rockers.
Jones hired a new, five-member band last year that features guitarist Smokey Hormel (a truly wonderful player) and backup singer and guitarist Sasha Dobson, who opened the concert with her own set.
Jones played a bright-red electric guitar on the first three songs and shared the piano with other band members now and then. But it was her soaring voice that made the show.
The Seattle concert was the start of a new leg of her current tour, and the set included songs by the Kinks (“Strangers”), Tom Waits (“Long Way Home”) and Rodney Crowell (“Bull Rider”), as well as a few from the new album. Among them were the lively “Chasing Pirates” and the wistful “Back to Manhattan.”
“Sinkin’ Soon,” from her last album, was a Dixieland-flavored funeral march that featured eerie stage lighting.
Jones and Dobson teamed up for duet on Crowell’s “Bull Rider.” The two singers have been friends for 11 years and also perform in a New York “chick-a-billy” band, Puss n Boots.
The audience spanned several generations, from teen party girls to silver-haired couples in their 60s and 70s. Not many artists can appeal to that broad an audience and keep everyone happy.
Jones opened with “Tell Yer Mama,” “Light As a Feather” and “Chasing Pirates” — all of them songs from “The Fall” — allowing her to show off what she has learned as a vocalist over the last few years. But when she sang such old favorites as “Sunrise, Sunrise” and “Don’t Know Why,” she stuck to the vocal style and arrangements that her fans remember.
Jones closed the main set with “Lonestar,” a nod to her Texas roots. A quick encore featured “Home Many Times” and “Come Away With Me,” featuring Hormel on guitar.
Are you a longtime fan of Norah Jones? What did you think of the concert. You can comment below.
I was lucky enough to score a last minute ticket 5 rows back from the stage in the center of the Paramount. Norah does have wide appeal. I was sitting next to a grandmother (“Norah’s my favorite!”), her daughter and husband and her grand-daughter with her boyfriend. Norah’s stage presence is fabulous, and I was surprised when I realized the opening act (Sasha Dobson) was also in Norah’s new band. Her lighting engineer gets top marks, but the sound man could tune his act up a little. For a great hall like the Paramount, I’m sure he could have cleaned it up some, toned down the bass and brought the vocals forward a little clearer. Norah is a very talented songwriter/musician/vocalist not (to mention easy on the eyes!) and I’m looking forward to her next album with much anticipation.
I was sorely disappointed in the Jones concert. First, an hour of Dobson was an hour too much. Norah seemed not to have a connection with her fans and does not understand that they are there to hear her earlier stuff -really. Smokey Hormel was great.