Show Review

Since 2000, rocker Melissa Etheridge has been on a very public, emotional roller coaster ride. When her 12-year relationship with actress/director Julie Cypher ended, she bared her sole on the gut wrenching recording, Skin, as well as the Live And Alone acoustic tour and DVD that followed. None the less, she quickly got “lucky” again, when another young actress, Tammy Lynne Michaels, (Popular) strolled up and offered her number to the forlorn songwriter in a Hollywood bar. The two were subsequently married in the fall of 2003, at Steven Spielberg’s lavish Malibu estate, and she also finished recording Lucky, her eighth studio recording spanning a fifteen-year career. She again bares her sole on record, only this time it deals with the emotional highs of once again being in love. Following the February release of the CD, Ethridge embarked on a “Super Club” tour, an intimate affair of small theaters, with several multiply night stands in major markets.

Nearing the end of the run, the bus stopped for three nights at Atlanta’s Roxy Theater, and Glide took in the first evening’s sold out performance. The stage was adorned with the emblems of luck used as cover art on Lucky; a rocket ship to the supersonic system, fuzzy dice, horses and more, as well as the colossal drum kit of Kenny Aronoff, who took the stage first and got a booming beat going. Mark Browne joined him on bass and Phillip Sayce on guitar, before Etheridge herself stormed out in a whirl, with a microphone hung around her neck and trademark Telecaster in hand.

From the start, Etheridge was jovial and playful, greeting the crowd with “The weekend starts now,” before counting off the opening notes of “If You Want To” from the new CD. She naughtily answered a ringing phone and invited a new lover over to join her in her bed, covertly acknowledging Michaels and getting an arousing cheer form the mostly female crowd early on. Following up with the title track to 98’s “Your Little Secret” and “If I Wanted To” from 93’s Yes I Am, she made it clear, the three hour show would include songs that span her entire repertoire of over 100 songs.

Dressed down in denim and a black tee under a shimmering silver and black unbuttoned shirt, and unimpeded by a center standing microphone, Etheridge sauntered from one side of the stage to the other. The intimacy of the small theater made it easy to enjoy her animated facial expressions as she sang joyfully, with the crowd singing along on spirited choruses. That same playfulness was also extended to the rest of the band, most obviously to long time, veteran drumming partner, Aronoff, who in spite of being surrounded by his massive set, easily proved why he is one of the most sought after drummers in the business. He was loud and raucous throughout the entire set, but never overplayed Melissa, and kept rhythm judiciously with Browne.

But clearly, it was Melissa who was in command. While the stage setup effervescently glowed on “Lucky”, it was her lyrics that emphasized the theme, as in this coda; “I don’t wanna ride on a shotgun side/don’t wanna be a quaint observer on this supersonic ride/double down/split the ace’s/to the races/I feel lucky tonight.” A short pause for effect midway through “I want to Come Over” gave the crowd another chance to voice it’s boisterous gratitude, while a mid set version of “Breath” the current single from the new CD blew the roof off the theater. “I want to Come Over,” and “Come To My Window” were sing-a-long anthems that got fists pumping in the air, while “Mercy” and Silent Legacy” slowed things down just enough to give everyone a chance to catch their breath. The rest of the band left Etheridge solo for “stirring renditions of “Ain’t That Enough” and This Moment.” Then joined her again for a four-song encore that included two from her first CD, “Bring Me Some Water” and “Like The Way I Do,” which the crowd had been begging for all night long.

To the delight of her fans in Atlanta, Melissa let her emotions (and a little luck) get the best of her on this Thursday night performance. Her three-hour set rocked, and shook the small theater all night long, proving once again, that she is one of today’s most engaging and astounding performers.