Jewel and Melissa make a perfect pairing at the hard rock
Article by Music Fan Magazine Contributing Writer: Jessica Kingsford
Photos by Contributing Photographer: Dave Kingsford
Hard Rock Sacramento got a two-for-one last week when Jewel and Melissa Etheridge made a stop in Wheatland on their North American co-headlining tour.
Jewel lit up the stage at precisely 7:30pm, in fact her set started so punctually that many fans had yet to enter the venue and were quickly ushered into their seats. The singer dazzled at the mic with her white and gold electric guitar and black feathered bolero hat, looking every bit the blonde 90s folk icon I fell in love with when her debut “Pieces of You” landed in 1995. I’ve always been a Jewel fan; her poetic music was a palate cleanser of pretty folk pop in a 90s music scene dominated by the greasy grunge sounds of Nirvana and Soundgarden.
Backed by three musicians from Etheridge’s band and her own touring guitar player, Jewel delivered her classic hits “Standing Still” and “Hands” in her angelic, crystal-clear voice before switching to acoustic for a set of solo songs. “I’ve got a touch of the laryngitis,” Jewel said, before polling the audience for songs they wanted to hear that evening.
Even in front of thousands of fans Jewel engages the crowd like she’s singing from a barstool in the coffeeshop venues of her early career, with an intimate sincerity and humor. She joked about making her best attempt to get “cancelled” by insulting all the people with her song “Hate, Hate,” and giggled when she forgot the guitar chords to songs she hadn’t played in a minute or two.
Between hauntingly beautiful versions of “You Were Meant for Me” and “Foolish Games" she mentioned her autobiography “Never Broken” about her unconventional upbringing in backwoods Alaska and her strained relationship with her mom. Jewel doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable topics; she embraces the trauma of her youth and uses her music and poetry as therapy - and her fans are here for it. She sang “Goodbye Alice in Wonderland,” an ode to a mother who turned love into a weapon, betrayed her and broke her soul. Deep.
The band returned for the end of the set and Jewel showed off her vocal range trading licks with her guitar player. Jewel's voice is incomparable, powerful, mesmerizing, and so much better live than recorded.
She finished her show with the first song she ever recorded, the song that propelled her out of the coffee shops of San Diego and into the hearts of millions, delivering a funked up, jazzy version of “Who Will Save Your Soul.” All I can say is that girl is a master mumbler. If you know, you know.
Then Melissa Etheridge took the stage like the studded leather rock powerhouse she is, and the crowd up shifted into high gear. From the moment she delivered her energetic opener “If I Wanted To” in her signature gravelly voice, Melissa had the audience in the palm of her hand.
Engaging the crowd from the start, she got a round of chuckles when she noted with appreciation that “Some of you were there,” as she reached all the way back to 1988 and her first album for “Don’t You Need,” switching out a sparkly black acoustic guitar for an equally bedazzled blue electric.
Melisssa plays lead guitar on all her songs, the wah wah pedal working overtime and her fingers absolutely shredding all 12 strings as her three bandmates backed her up in tight formation. She keeps the crowd engaged with banter and stories from her life between the hits and side-eye expressions during her songs. She rarely stands still, and she hands out guitar picks like Halloween candy to the front row.
The crew rolled out a piano and Melissa showed her range as she played the keys and sang solo for a cover of Joan Armatrading’s “The Weakness In Me,” calling the UK singer an idol and influence on her early career. Back behind another sparkly, bright blue guitar (I think there must be an arsenal of colorful axes backstage standing by to get the Ethridge treatment) she went back to her first-album roots with “Chrome Plated Heart” before delving in to talk about her latest project, “I’m Not Broken,” a live recording from the Topeka Correctional Facility for women in her hometown.
Growing up in the heart of penitentiary central (Kansas) had a lasting effect on Melissa, who said she always wanted to return home to perform for her incarcerated fans. Now she’s circling back with an album and documentary to educate and uplift fans, incarcerated or not, on the topics of crime, punishment, and the power of making better choices.
She delivered an absolute rock ballad of a performance with “Burning Woman” and THAT’S when things really heated up. As if on some invisible cue, as Melissa strummed the first chords of “Come to My Window,” the crowd jumped to their feet, ran down the aisles and rushed the stage. Security was either overwhelmed, prepared in advance, or didn’t care to get the crowd back to their seats because the party continued through “I’m The Only One” as Melissa bent the harmonica into complete submission.
And when it’s over, it’s never really over, because Melissa only stepped off stage for a second before returning for an almost 10-minute version of “Like the Way I Do” encore that included her taking a spin on the drums and culminated with the audience on their feet and roaring their appreciation. Our rock goddess sings the truth, no one can do it quite like she can.
If there was one thing I was missing from the night, I’d say it was this: I had been holding out hope that there might be a duet by these two amazing artists. Wishful thinking, I know, but how cool would it have been to see these two incredible female performers up on stage together, joining their very different vocal styles? But their paths never crossed the Hard Rock stage, so I guess I’ll have to keep on wondering.
Smoke meter - None. I thought I might detect something here considering nary a bag was checked at the door, but nope. I do think I saw some smoke coming off Melissa Etheridge’s guitar strings at one point.
Fight meter - Zero. You certainly can’t start a fight while Jewel’s on stage baring her soul and singing about love, for Pete’s sake.
Sing-along meter - I’d give it a medium for Jewel - she seems to like to rearrange her songs and jazz up the melodies for her live performances, but it’s ok, we can’t compete with that voice. Melissa, however, sang it straight off the album and the whole crowd was belting out the hits with her.