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On the Road With NORAH JONES

By Scott Baker

  Stopping nothing short of brilliant, Norah Jones and The Handsome Band have continued to bring her fine song craft home for a North American Tour once again this year.
Eight Grammy Awards and over three-million new album sales later, the Texas born, New York City native Jones has proved that quality songwriting and a close-nit group of musician friends can continue to put the world on its ear.

Since the release of Feels Like Home earlier in the year (and the past months Deluxe Edition issue with three bonus tracks and a short DVD), Jones and company have toured Europe and are in the midst of wrapping up their fall tour here in the states.

 Catching up with the Handsome Band in September for three nights (Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago) along with solo opening act Amos Lee (who opened the entire world tour), Jones was more relaxed and having fun with the audience then previous tours. The music was complete with a set built around a showcase for each of her band members along with the unique musical dynamics no other show on tour now can match.

 Guitarist's Adam Levy and Robbie McIntosh, bassist Lee Alexander, drummer Andrew Borger, flutist/backing vocalist Daru Oda, and pianist/vocalist Jones took a musical journey through both her platinum releases and select favorite covers. The set remained the same each night.

Following a public address announcement on the video screens outside in Cleveland and Detroit (except for the Chicago Theatre gig where it was played over the PA with no video screens available) from television cartoon hero Hank Hill (her 'fellow Texan') telling jokingly how 'upset' Jones will get if they don't turn off their cell phones, the band launched into What Am I To You off of Home. The song gave an upbeat groove for the audience to dig into as well as for the band to warm up their magnificent chops.

Levy, who has backed Jones since her earliest solo days in New York City, took the first solo of the night, carefully crafting his robust yet clean, jazz based, complex chord voicings over the changes to bring the song to new heights. An obvious live highlight of the evening, he furthered that later in the set with his improv paintings each night on I've Got to See You Again, bringing the crowd to its loudest solo ovation at every stop.

        McIntosh, the newest member of the Handsome Band, pulled out the mandolin, acoustic, and a National ResoLectric guitar to work, anchoring the tonal changes and giving plenty of interplay between him and Levy. An alumni of The Pretenders and Paul McCartney's band, McIntosh allowed the group to gel much better than it had done on last year's tour with the brilliant out-of-bounds playing that Kevin Breit had brought the Handsome Band.

Gathering in a group circle onstage half way through the set, Jones came out from behind her piano for the first time and did it quite often throughout the rest of the night to stir the audience a bit and give off the home-like feel with the band all out front and center. Borger, a Tom Waits alum, played various slats of wood and percussion when out from behind the drum kit. Songs like Creepin  (complete with Oda singing Dolly Parton's part from the new record) and Sunrise, came across genuine and heartfelt with the different, more acoustic campfire approach, having everyone gathered around.

Each town added their own individual twist to the evening as well.

The warm Cleveland night at the Scene Pavilion, which sat on the west bank of the Flats along the Cuyahoga River caught Jones joking with the crowd, even finding out how many birthday's were in the house. Capping the encore that night, a freight ship, similar to those shipping through the Saginaw Bay, crossed behind the stage honking to Jones as the band took some time to watch it pass through and laugh with the crowd.

At Meadow Brook, on the campus of Oakland University down in Rochester Hills, a hard rain didn't keep the sold-out crowd from sitting on the lawn. At one point during the set, rain was whipping around so hard, it was sideswiping the band on stage, as Jones kept the party going, weather apologies and all.

The most surreal stop though would have been the Chicago Theatre. Similar to the State in Bay City in age and in structure (but slightly bigger), the sound of the band's mix was incredible. Levy stated backstage that every seat and section of the house got tweaked by the sound company for impeccable listening (each stop of the tour). Everywhere you walked inside, the sound was pristine. The show marked the first break and the end of the first part of the North American Tour as well. Opening act Amos pulled out a unique song for the occasion, even dressing in a suit to play the spectacular Theatre.

Ending each night's set with a cover of The Band's song Life is a Carnival, Jones and company had the audience on its feet and singing along. They would return with a two song encore each time with Seven Years and the show ending Turn Me On, both off of her breakthrough release, Come Away With Me.

With a DVD release due Nov. 16, taped this past Aug. 8 and 9, at Nashville's Historic Ryman Auditorium, this year's showcase tour will be available to watch in the comfort of home in less than a month. If her mid-west trek was any indication, this DVD shouldn't be missed.

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