The rock star played a mix of hits and deep cuts
Melissa Etheridge brought her spring tour to Baltimore’s Lyric Theater on Wednesday (Apr 30th). Her sultry voice rang out in the cavernous theater as she opened with “All American Girl.”
The crowd at Lyric was on their feet from the jump. She followed her opening number with “If You Want To,” then replaced her black acoustic guitar for a shimmering blue electric flattop for “Don’t You Need.”
Throughout the night, Etheridge stalked the stage during long instrumental breaks, wielding her various guitars effortlessly and offering licks with ease that make one’s head spin. She also took a few moments to show off her piano chops while talking about her early career. She then played the first song she ever wrote on her piano, “The Letting Go.” It was made all the more powerful as Etheridge was on stage solo, just her and the upright honky-tonk keys.
And Etheridge’s music is powerful because she speaks with stunning clarity about the universality of love. A topic that has been tread and retread as musical ground feels somehow guttural and human inside Etheridge’s songwriting. Name clearer expressions desire than “I Want To Come Over” or “Come To My Window.” Showcasing the timelessness of these themes, she connected the former song to Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova.”
Mid-set rocker “Monster” was exactly that—a big, bad killer of a number that pumped the room full of adrenaline. Etheridge added a growl to her voice that seemed reverberate across Baltimore for all to hear.
A fierce rockstar who more recently has been welcomed into the country music scene, Etheridge told a story about Johnny Cash coming to her home town of Leavenworth, Kansas. Not to perform for the public, but to do a show for the federal penitentiary’s inmates. That inspired her, she said, to do the same. She played prisons in her youth. But more recently appeared at Topeka Correctional Facility, which spawned the single “I’m Not Broken,” along with a documentary of the same name.
In Baltimore, she played “Into the Dark,” a deeper cut from 1999 that she also played during the Kansas Correctional Facility show.
The show is billed as a co-headline with powerhouse English artist Joss Stone. Stone opened the night with a set that started off slow and smokey, before crescendoing into a full on rock show with a wall of sound and full band all clad in white. She’s a killer, and while she’s massive in Europe, she deserves a bigger presence in the States.
Etheridge closed the show with her biggest hits—and tightest jam sessions—“I’m the Only One” and “Like the Way I Do.” And I know I’ve said this before, but we sure like the way she do. and will for a long time to come.
