The Divine Ms. Crow

By Donna Denson

Coming onstage with a bass guitar that appeared larger than she, Sheryl Crow quickly showed she was in command of all. Crow greeted the crowd at the Show Me Center, telling them to 'sit back, stand, dance... whatever, just kick back and enjoy the show.'

The multi-talented Crow brought the Show Me Center audience to their feet. With seamless effort she weaved lyrics from cover-tunes like Shawn Mullins' "Rock-a-Bye" throughout her show. Her rendition of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" was a hit with the crowd. Crow performed her best-known hit, "All I Want To Do" - a fun little ditty about a couple of frustrated loafers, indulging in an 'early-morning beer buzz' and hoping in vain to 'have some fun, before the sun goes down over Santa Monica Boulevard'.

Not all of her songs are about having fun. She belted out "If It Makes You Happy" -a song about bad experiences with the media. In "My Favorite Mistake", Crow sings about a lover who's not committed to her, yet he keeps her coming back for more.

Kudos to the Show Me Center for making it appear there were more than 3,000 members in the audience. It was an up-close and personable venue in which to be entertained. My only complaint was that her vocals needed to be louder, at times the words were drowned out. Crow has a strong clear, voice and memorable lyrics that unfortunately got lost on those in the audience less familiar with her work.

Some silly, unfortunates left before her, not one, but THREE encores and missed a rousing rendition of Bob Dylan's "Mississippi". I'm not a big fan of Dylan's singing, but he's written some great tunes and Crow made this one her own.