Jewel: a striking, versatile voice

R*Philippines · 09-13-2008, 02:46 AM

Jewel: a striking, versatile voice

Concert review: Jewel kept her Moore Theatre crowd at rapt attention in a Wednesday-night concert full of some of the singer-songwriter's biggest hits, including "You Were Meant For Me."
By Tom Keogh
Special to The Seattle Times

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There are a lot of ways Jewel Kilcher — aka singer-songwriter Jewel — could have introduced her well-known, 1995 hit "You Were Meant For Me" Thursday night at the Moore Theatre.
She picked an unexpected angle: a story about traveling in Mexico years ago with musician pal Steve Poltz, a trip culminating in an invitation from friendly federales to help out with a drug bust.
Jewel, golden and lovely amid a sparse set, told her vivid tale with delicious timing and just the right amount of self-effacing wonder. (The lanky Poltz, who opened for her with several jovial, free-spirited tunes, stood behind her, guitar at the ready, laughing at the memory.) Then came the sort-of point: "You Were Meant for Me" was written around that time. Well, sure!
Jewel rewarded the rapt crowd with a crystalline performance of the song, which took on an interesting masculine color when Poltz sang a verse. Jewel otherwise handled all her musical duties in an all-acoustic, solo set that leaned a bit on her recent country album, "Perfectly Clear," but also offered older material going back to her multiplatinum debut from 1995, "Pieces of You."
Opening with "Near You Always," a song from that album, Jewel introduced the baby-doll side of her remarkable voice. That sound, let's face it, still strikes some as legitimate folk-jazz and others as a tiresome yowl.
But the good news in a show such as this is that the breadth of Jewel's abilities as a singer quickly surpasses any particular stylistic tic. Over the course of the night, she delivered a knockout aria (soon after talking about how she studied opera in her teens) and launched a dizzying yodel in double-time.
But, at age 34, she also demonstrated artistic maturity in a powerful, solemn "Hands," and let loose her blues-belter authority on the stirring anthem "Life Uncommon."
Less than halfway through the show, Jewel got in a groove and stayed there. She could do no wrong vocally on tunes such as "Stronger Woman," with her combination of emotional economy and star gloss. The classic "Who Will Save Your Soul" outdid the original with a performance that absolutely dazzled as part talking blues, part scat and all theater.
Jewel is a renowned lyricist, but her adventurous singing can get in the way of clear enunciation during a concert. What is obvious is that her prodigious gifts as a singer, as an interpreter of song, have likely not been fully realized yet.
Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

09-13-2008, 02:46 AM	#1
R*Philippines I jewel everyday. Join Date: May 2005 Location: MANILA,PHILIPPINES Posts: 900 Rep Power: 0	Jewel: a striking, versatile voice Jewel: a striking, versatile voice Concert review: Jewel kept her Moore Theatre crowd at rapt attention in a Wednesday-night concert full of some of the singer-songwriter's biggest hits, including "You Were Meant For Me." By Tom Keogh Special to The Seattle Times Related Music & Nightlife RSS feed Concert Review \| There are a lot of ways Jewel Kilcher — aka singer-songwriter Jewel — could have introduced her well-known, 1995 hit "You Were Meant For Me" Thursday night at the Moore Theatre. She picked an unexpected angle: a story about traveling in Mexico years ago with musician pal Steve Poltz, a trip culminating in an invitation from friendly federales to help out with a drug bust. Jewel, golden and lovely amid a sparse set, told her vivid tale with delicious timing and just the right amount of self-effacing wonder. (The lanky Poltz, who opened for her with several jovial, free-spirited tunes, stood behind her, guitar at the ready, laughing at the memory.) Then came the sort-of point: "You Were Meant for Me" was written around that time. Well, sure! Jewel rewarded the rapt crowd with a crystalline performance of the song, which took on an interesting masculine color when Poltz sang a verse. Jewel otherwise handled all her musical duties in an all-acoustic, solo set that leaned a bit on her recent country album, "Perfectly Clear," but also offered older material going back to her multiplatinum debut from 1995, "Pieces of You." Opening with "Near You Always," a song from that album, Jewel introduced the baby-doll side of her remarkable voice. That sound, let's face it, still strikes some as legitimate folk-jazz and others as a tiresome yowl. But the good news in a show such as this is that the breadth of Jewel's abilities as a singer quickly surpasses any particular stylistic tic. Over the course of the night, she delivered a knockout aria (soon after talking about how she studied opera in her teens) and launched a dizzying yodel in double-time. But, at age 34, she also demonstrated artistic maturity in a powerful, solemn "Hands," and let loose her blues-belter authority on the stirring anthem "Life Uncommon." Less than halfway through the show, Jewel got in a groove and stayed there. She could do no wrong vocally on tunes such as "Stronger Woman," with her combination of emotional economy and star gloss. The classic "Who Will Save Your Soul" outdid the original with a performance that absolutely dazzled as part talking blues, part scat and all theater. Jewel is a renowned lyricist, but her adventurous singing can get in the way of clear enunciation during a concert. What is obvious is that her prodigious gifts as a singer, as an interpreter of song, have likely not been fully realized yet. Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company __________________ Stay COOL !!! RY