In the summer of 1997 I was driving through the desert at night with some friends listening to the radio while they slept. A song came on the radio that completely wrecked my life. The woman’s voice was unique and brilliant. The song was haunting and beautiful. It took me three days to figure out that the song was Foolish Games by Jewel. I’ve been hooked ever since.
My bride took me to see Jewel at the Rose State Performing Arts Theater in Oklahoma City on June 15, 2010 as a Father’s Day present. Best Father’s Day present ever.
Radney Foster was the opening artist and he was good but I didn’t really know much about him and he wasn’t so much my style. He was more straight country. Apparently Keith Urban records a lot of his songs.
Then they revealed an artistically encased video screen that would show images throughout the night as Jewel sang. The screen and lighting made a visually appealing compliment to her music.
The entire evening of the Starlight Café Acoustic Tour was nothing but Jewel and her guitar. It was my first time to see Jewel live. I would love to see her with a full band some time but I did not feel like anything was lacking. When you listen to Jewel what more do you need than that incredible voice that I first heard in the desert?
When she first came out and began to sing I was blown away by her voice. It is always nice to hear someone sing live and learn they sound as good or better than they do on their recordings. I think Jewel may sound even better live. I thought many times throughout the show that her pitch is so good I bet she records her songs in one take. Of course, being an artist I’m sure she records them over and over although she doesn’t need to.
She performed many of her hits including Down So Long, Life Uncommon, Hands, Who Will Save Your Soul, You Were Meant For Me, and yes, Foolish Games ,which was stunning all these years later. She also performed some of her songs that have done well for her and I love that some lesser fans may not be aware of like Stephenville, TX and Standing Still. She performed cult fan faves like Rosey & Mick and Do You Want To Catch A Cold With Me?.
Of course, she performed several songs from her new album, Sweet and Wild. She sang Ten, What You Are and Satisfied. Unlike many artists shows when people are bored through the new stuff, the audience response was strong on her new songs. And for good reason. The songs she chose for the night were excellent as is the entire album.
Jewel is an excellent storyteller and mixes humor with her heartwarming stories about her life and family. She performed an unrecorded song about her father and grandmother called My Father’s Daughter while pictures of her family played in the background. She also sang a song she wrote that afternoon about Oklahoma City. The highlight was a line about how Oklahomans hate Texans and the crowd went wild.
It would have been nice if we could have had a recording of the night like the other shows on her tour but for some reason the Rose State Performing Arts Center would not allow the show to be recorded. Every other city on the tour let Jewel record and sell her own shows but not Oklahoma City. Way to go geniuses. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect evening.
The last thing I have to mention is what an amazing guitar player Jewel is. I have always concentrated on her voice but last night I was extremely impressed with the fact that she is an excellent guitarist. Many singer/songwriters are adequate to accompany themselves. Jewel is accomplished and skilled.
Thanks to my bride for taking me to the concert and thanks to Jewel for being who she is. And what she is “is beautiful, and strong enough, and bright enough.”
dm
My bride took me to see Jewel at the Rose State Performing Arts Theater in Oklahoma City on June 15, 2010 as a Father’s Day present. Best Father’s Day present ever.
Radney Foster was the opening artist and he was good but I didn’t really know much about him and he wasn’t so much my style. He was more straight country. Apparently Keith Urban records a lot of his songs.
Then they revealed an artistically encased video screen that would show images throughout the night as Jewel sang. The screen and lighting made a visually appealing compliment to her music.
The entire evening of the Starlight Café Acoustic Tour was nothing but Jewel and her guitar. It was my first time to see Jewel live. I would love to see her with a full band some time but I did not feel like anything was lacking. When you listen to Jewel what more do you need than that incredible voice that I first heard in the desert?
When she first came out and began to sing I was blown away by her voice. It is always nice to hear someone sing live and learn they sound as good or better than they do on their recordings. I think Jewel may sound even better live. I thought many times throughout the show that her pitch is so good I bet she records her songs in one take. Of course, being an artist I’m sure she records them over and over although she doesn’t need to.
She performed many of her hits including Down So Long, Life Uncommon, Hands, Who Will Save Your Soul, You Were Meant For Me, and yes, Foolish Games ,which was stunning all these years later. She also performed some of her songs that have done well for her and I love that some lesser fans may not be aware of like Stephenville, TX and Standing Still. She performed cult fan faves like Rosey & Mick and Do You Want To Catch A Cold With Me?.
Of course, she performed several songs from her new album, Sweet and Wild. She sang Ten, What You Are and Satisfied. Unlike many artists shows when people are bored through the new stuff, the audience response was strong on her new songs. And for good reason. The songs she chose for the night were excellent as is the entire album.
Jewel is an excellent storyteller and mixes humor with her heartwarming stories about her life and family. She performed an unrecorded song about her father and grandmother called My Father’s Daughter while pictures of her family played in the background. She also sang a song she wrote that afternoon about Oklahoma City. The highlight was a line about how Oklahomans hate Texans and the crowd went wild.
It would have been nice if we could have had a recording of the night like the other shows on her tour but for some reason the Rose State Performing Arts Center would not allow the show to be recorded. Every other city on the tour let Jewel record and sell her own shows but not Oklahoma City. Way to go geniuses. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect evening.
The last thing I have to mention is what an amazing guitar player Jewel is. I have always concentrated on her voice but last night I was extremely impressed with the fact that she is an excellent guitarist. Many singer/songwriters are adequate to accompany themselves. Jewel is accomplished and skilled.
Thanks to my bride for taking me to the concert and thanks to Jewel for being who she is. And what she is “is beautiful, and strong enough, and bright enough.”
dm
