Sheryl Crow: Miles from Memphis Live at the Pantages Theatre (2011)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Our Love is Fading / A Change Would Do You Good / 100 Miles from Memphis / Can't Cry Anymore / Strong Enough / Summer Day / My Favorite Mistake / Redemption Day / Long Road Home / Every Day is a Winding Road / Sideways / Roses and Moonlight / If It Makes You Happy / Soak Up the Sun / Peaceful Feeling / All I Wanna Do / Got to Give It Up / I Want You Back / I Shall Believe
Sheryl Crow and her band took her "100 Miles from Memphis" tour to Los Angeles and the Pantages Theatre. I've seen Crow twice in person including 2011 tour with Kid Rock where she opened and performed a few songs from this album. At the time I hadn't heard the new album but I wasn't impressed with them live and after I finally did get the CD I really wasn't impressed on the second go around. This concert film was my third shot with the album and I hate to say it but the new songs here are just really, really bad. I can respect the fact that Crow wanted to do something new with her music and I'll never criticize an artist for wanting to try something new but it just doesn't work here. The urban/soul she brings to these new songs really isn't the problem. The problem is that none of the songs are all that catchy and for the most part they seem to have been written by a Crow wannabe. The one exception is "I Shall Believe" which closes the show. The concert features plenty of classic tunes getting reworked and for the most part they are pretty good. "A Change Would Do You Good" is certainly a good track from the show and the always dependable "My Favorite Mistake" could work under any version. "Strong Enough" starts off well enough but then she sees to lose focus and goes off in many other directions. Crowd favorites like "If It Makes You Happy" and "Soak Up the Sun" are as nice as always. I've already mentioned that I didn't care for any of the new songs live but I think there are times where it seems as if Crow is just tired, burned out or not full of that energy we're used to seeing. What shocked me most about this is that it's something I've seen in other concert films (C'Mon America) and the thing is that I've seen her live twice and both times were full of power and energy. I'm not certain what's missing from these live DVDs but I've yet to be strongly impressed with them. With that said, if you did enjoy the new CD, the new style and the new versions of the classics then I'm sure you'll get more out of this film than I did.
