Review of Melissa Etheridge at Palace, Albany, Oct. 12, 1999

by Seth Rogovoy

(ALBANY, N.Y., Oct. 13, 1999) - The last time Melissa Etheridge came to Albany, it was to give a triumphant performance at the Pepsi Arena, where Etheridge's arena-rock style ballads and anthems were given full-throttle treatments that suited her most dynamic, grandiose ambitions.

After a three-year hiatus from performing and recording, Etheridge is back with a new album and a new tour, a scaled-down version of her arena show suited for theaters like the Palace, where Etheridge performed on Tuesday night.

Etheridge didn't disappoint a sold-out crowd of worshippers, who apparently didn't balk at the pricey entry fee -- $75 and $50 per seat before service charges.

After a slow start, with one mid-tempo, dark, minor-key rocker or ballad blending seamlessly into another, Etheridge did what she does best. She took her music directly to her audience, dispensing with her able backup band and turning the stage into her living room, replete with sofa and side table.

Sitting alone on the couch with an acoustic guitar, Etheridge sang a handful of ballads and love songs, including favorites like "No Souvenirs" and "I Will Never Be the Same."

One by one her musicians joined her for this portion of the show - call it "Melissa Unplugged" - which took advantage of both the intimacy of the venue and the intimacy that Etheridge's material espouses, until all four backup musicians had rejoined her for a stirring version of "Silent Legacy."

Now, about those musicians. You don't send the music critic from the Berkshire Eagle to report on Melissa Etheridge without expecting a major portion of his review to be devoted to the Berkshire half of her backup band.

Guitarist John Shanks, whose parents live in Sheffield, was Etheridge's versatile foil. Whether he was playing shimmering textures, bluesy lead, adding Edge-like chimes or contributing vocal harmonies, Shanks, who is also now Etheridge's co-songwriter and producer, was an essential part of Etheridge's creative team.

Shanks's duties as a guitarist are made easier by the presence of superstar drummer Kenny Aronoff in the lineup. With Aronoff's rhythmic engine powering the songs, Shanks is freed from the need to propel Etheridge's heartland rockers with rhythm chords. Instead, Shanks is able to concentrate on adding colors and keyboard-like touches to the arrangements (in addition to those already provided by the band's keyboardist).

As for Aronoff, what can one say that hasn't already been said about rock's most powerful drummer? He is an invaluable element in Etheridge's mix, especially as her material grows increasingly atmospheric and she appears at times to be coasting along on the band's arrangements and her fans' familiarity with her material.

More than merely the beat-keeper, Aronoff's contributions now extend to the textural and atmospheric, as his palette includes tape loops, triggered effects and other innovations adapted from hip-hop. From all appearances he is the hardest-working drummer in rock 'n' roll, and Etheridge is just plain lucky to count him as hers.

It is still early in the new tour - Tuesday night's show was one of the very first - and Etheridge seemed to be feeling her way through the paces. She didn't need to work her crowd hard, the way she used to eight or 10 years ago, when her heroic efforts garnered comparisons to that other working-class rock hero, Bruce Springsteen. Her audience came fully primed to respond to her anthems of individualism and freedom - anthems that in the wake of her coming out as a lesbian now can be read as statements of gay pride.

And indeed the concert had an aspect of rally to it. But sometimes that was at the expense of drama - the drama that Etheridge used to build on her own, by virtue of her gift for storytelling. There was an aspect of tension missing from Etheridge's performance, a lack of commitment or an unwillingness to give herself over to the moment.

Etheridge came closest to succeeding when she just sat back on the couch and sang her songs straight from the heart. But as the frontwoman of a rock band, she seemed unusually reluctant to take charge in the way that her role, and her music, demand.

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