Reviewed by
Ray Smith, Saturday 8th April 2017.
The queue of people waiting to see legendary singer/songwriter,
Rickie Lee Jones, stretched down Port Road at seven fifteen pm. Oh well, it was a pleasant Autumn evening, and a few minutes wait didn't seem to bother anyone.
The generous performance venue at the award winning Governor Hindmarsh Hotel quickly began to fill and, by eight o'clock, was close to capacity, as the eager crowd prepared themselves to see and hear "The Duchess of Coolsville", as Time Magazine had dubbed the American diva.
Rickie Lee Jones took to the stage at ten minutes past nine, and the audience, their long wait forgotten, roared their approval as she launched into her performance.
The set was a mixture of songs from her extensive back catalogue and was an eclectic grouping of pieces that span decades. With seventeen albums including the enormous 48 track anthology, "Duchess of Coolsville" to draw from, the songs leapt from genre to genre crossing from jazz into rock, blues into folk as she moved from guitar to piano.
The two musicians that Lee Jones shared the stage with, Cliff Hines on electric guitar and Mike Dillon on percussion, had every right to be there as their playing was nothing short of superb. Hines was in total control of his instrument as he found voice upon voice to match the shifting soundscape of the live repertoire. Notes without attack that seemed to grow in the air as he willed them into being by masterful control of the volume knob, as Lee Jones herself played the microphone as a second instrument, moving breathily close and then soaring away. There seemed to be no style of playing that was beyond him.
Dillon was subtle and studied as moved between his cut down kit, his tablas, his bongos, and his acoustic and electric vibes. With two mallets in each hand, he laid a shimmering ribbon of sound under Lee Jones's rendition of
Cry Me a River, his well-practiced choreography carrying him effortlessly through the extended arc of instruments that surrounded him. He's an extraordinary musician with a strong following and a busy touring schedule.
Rickie Lee Jones is a very experienced performer who has worked with some of the best musicians in the world but this particular show took a little while to settle. While there were a few sound problems during the first half a dozen songs there were also some problems with timing between the players, requiring Lee Jones to conduct as well as play. The two accompanying musicians seemed a little restrained and even tentative at times as they fixed their eyes on the singer as she signalled to them with her guitar.
Lee Jones has something of a reputation of not always working from a set list but rather selecting songs during the show that she feels will suit a particular audience at a particular point during the set. Perhaps she surprised them with a piece that they were not expecting. It is difficult to say but the show did seem to settle down as it progressed.
The audience seemed to be oblivious to any problems and were simply revelling in the presence of one of the best known and best loved vocalists in the world, and each time a song that they knew began they applauded and shouted ecstatically.
Rickie Lee Jones was amongst friends at the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel on Saturday night and she knew it. She rewarded her fans by finishing her show with the now classic song,
Chuck E's in Love, and the response was predictably loud and excited. Four decades on from her first album Rickie Lee Jones remains a poet, a musician and a force to be reckoned with.
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