Photo courtesy Scott Newton & KLRU
Warm wooden floors, an upright piano, paper doves hanging from the ceiling, and of course the Austin skyline created the homey, intimate environment for Norah Jones’ third performance on the Austin City Limits stage and her first at its new venue, the Moody Theater. The simple, cozy set-up perfectly complimented her famous bluesy voice.
Having been a fan of Norah since her first album, Come Away with Me, debuted a decade ago, I was excited to see her perform live. Wearing a black A-line dress, she made her entrance to the stage, gracefully welcoming the crowd and proclaiming Austin her favorite city, reassuring us that she doesn’t say that everywhere. Although born in Brooklyn, performing in Texas is a homecoming of sorts for Jones since she grew up in Grapevine, TX, went to high school at the prestigious Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, and attended the University of North Texas.
Photo courtesy KLRU and Scott Newton
Throughout the evening, Jones flexed her musical muscles by moving from electric piano, to guitar, to an upright piano. She featured music that showed off the maturation she has attained over the last decade that she has been recording albums by mostly playing songs from her two most recent albums, The Fall (2009) and Little Broken Hearts (2012). She performed songs ranging from the humorous and sweet, “Man of the Hour” about her dog to the much darker “Little Broken Hearts.”
However, one of the most endearing moments of the night occurred when she started to play “Black,” a song that was a collaboration between her and Danger Mouse which led to them producing her latest album. As she began to sing the first few lyrics, she stopped and told the audience that she would like a redo. She admitted to messing up the words and something not sounding right. As the sound crew came on stage to check out the monitors and speakers, she kept her poise while joking around with the audience. The moment was totally candid and completely charming.
To top off the night Jones came back on stage for a final encore performance in which she featured two songs from her very first album. The first was “Lonestar,” appropriately played in honor of the Texas audience. Then, surrounded by her band mates playing guitars and the cello at center stage, she ended with “Come Away with Me,” the song that is nearly synonymous with her name and launched her into stardom in 2002. As Texas marks a return to a place signifying the beginning of her musical career, what better way to end, than with the beginning?
