Live: Sheryl Crow @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire

by | May 20, 2017

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Be Myself, the title of Sheryl Crow’s latest album, says it all. After flirting with soul and classic country on her last two outings, 100 Miles From Memphis and Feels Like Home, she’s gone back to her roots, embracing the sound that first made her a household name. The decision to be herself once more was clearly personal, as lyrics like “Hanging with the hipsters is a lot of hard work” make abundantly clear. But there’s the added benefit of the new material slipping seamlessly into a live show that, from the get go, leans on her first three star-making LPs.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

A euphoric Everyday Is A Winding Road and hip-shaking A Change Would Do You Good, both from her self-titled 1996 offering, kick off the Friday night celebration. Led by a buoyant Crow, who twirls and bounds across the Shepherd’s Bush Empire stage, the two-hour-plus party is only just beginning. “Do you remember this?” she teases while smiling her way through a playful rendition of breakout hit All I Want To Do, before leaping into an energised take on 1998’s My Favorite Mistake, dancing at the drums during the rootsy Wurlitzer solo and joining in on keyboards as band leader Peter Stroud lets loose on his guitar.

Peter Stroud (Kalpesh Patel)

Peter Stroud (Kalpesh Patel)

With the crowd well and truly warmed up, and welcomed with a heartfelt “I love this room and everyone in it”, Crow halts the run of hits with a batch of new songs “about myself and the world around me”, she offers. The bouncy, self-affirming Be Myself, despite referencing Uber and selfies, wouldn’t sound out of place on her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club, while she bills the invigorated, extended version of Long Way Back Home as part two of Everyday Is A Winding Road.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

An exuberant Alone In The Dark, which pairs despairing thoughts with a bright melody, segues perfectly into 1994’s Can’t Cry Anymore and her beloved, sugar-free cover of the Cat Stevens confection The First Cut Is The Deepest.

Robert Kearns (Kalpesh Patel)

Robert Kearns (Kalpesh Patel)

The most visceral of her new tracks, the menacing and prescient Heartbeat Away, references a red-faced man with his finger hovering over the button as the six musicians on stage soundtrack the end of days, and is the perfect setup for a pile-driving There Goes The Neighbourhood.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

The darkness lifts with a dynamic reimagination of the hope-filled Leaving Las Vegas, which began all of this by “storming the charts to 58”, and another “blast from the past”, Strong Enough. Equally uplifting are the final batch of fresh tunes, the swinging Rest Of Me (inspired by The BeatlesRubber Soul), the unstoppably uptempo Roller Skate (which sets Crow’s love/hate relationship with her phone to the best guitar riff of her career), and the highly anticipated bluesy vamp Halfway There.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

The Nashville-flavoured Best Of Times, from her previous LP, continues this brief detour into other genres while driving home the talents of musicians who’ve backed everyone from Dixie Chicks to Noel Gallagher. With Crow leading the charge on harmonica, lead guitarist Stroud, laidback drummer Fred Eltringham, falsetto-voiced bassist Robert Kearns, lap steel virtuoso Josh Grange, and keyboard wiz Mike Rowe launch into a thrilling extended jam that the singer fittingly describes as “good clean fun”.

Fred Eltringham (Kalpesh Patel)

Fred Eltringham (Kalpesh Patel)

Their effortless dynamic is all the more impressive considering that, for this short UK tour, Rowe has returned to the fold after years away, while Grange has become a multi-instrumentalist and, if a joking Crow is to be believed, her tailor.

Josh Grange (Kalpesh Patel)

Josh Grange (Kalpesh Patel)

Off-the-cuff comments like these (not to mention her terrible attempt at an English accent, witty response to a punter’s declaration of love, and incorrectly introducing the same song, twice) give the evening’s festivities a relaxed, comfortable vibe. There’s no pretence here, just Crow being herself. And, as she wraps up this night of revelry, it’s bleedingly obvious that’s exactly what the audience want.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

So a dreamier, less grunged-up makeover of If It Makes You Happy climaxes in a mass singalong as the Shepherds Bush Empire is bathed in light, while a muscular Soak Up The Sun prompts the audience to respond with such enthusiasm that the usually chatty Crow can only respond with a sincere “We love you so much.”

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

That love overflows during the encore, an emotional double-act from her debut LP. The elegant Run, Baby, Run, characterised tonight by the warmth of Grange’s lap steel and Kearns’ backing vocals, sounds even more powerful than it did 24 years ago. And the late-night-in-a-smoky-1950s-club rendition of I Shall Believe, which Crow begins at her centre-stage microphone before spontaneously deciding to perform from the keyboard instead, sees her keeping it real to the very end.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Live review of Sheryl Crow @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire by Nils van der Linden on 19th May 2017. Photography by Kalpesh Patel.

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Sheryl Crow (Kalpesh Patel)

Nils runs fantastic music blog Graffiti. Punctuated

Kalpesh has more music photography up on his flickr stream here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/somethingforkate

 

 

 

Sabrina Carpenter (Press)

Sabrina Carpenter Unveils Full Star-Packed Line-Up For Sold-Out BST Hyde Park 2025 Shows

American Express presents BST Hyde Park has announced the full supporting line-up for pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter’s sold-out headline debut on Saturday 5th July, as well as her follow-up performance on Sunday 6th July. The eagerly anticipated shows mark a major milestone in Carpenter’s meteoric rise, as she joins a coveted roster of BST Hyde Park headliners for 2025.

Taylor Swift @ Wembley Stadium (Kalpesh Patel)

Taylor Swift Triumphs: Pop Icon Buys Back Rights To Her Original Master Recordings

In a landmark move sending shockwaves through the music industry, Taylor Swift has officially bought back the rights to her original master recordings, marking a triumphant and deeply personal victory in her years-long battle for artistic ownership. The deal closes a turbulent chapter that has fuelled global conversations around creative control, artist rights, and the power dynamics of the modern music business.

Santana (Press)

Carlos Santana Teams Up With Grupo Frontera For Norteño-Rock Fusion ‘Me Retiro’ — Ahead Of UK Tour Dates

Rock legend Carlos Santana has surprised fans yet again—this time by merging his iconic guitar-driven rock sound with...
Blink-182 @ Reading Festival 2024 (Nick Allan)

Reading Festival 2025 Preview: Glitter, Guitars & Glorious Chaos Incoming

Hold on to your bucket hats – Reading Festival 2025 is about to blow the roof off Richfield Avenue from August...

Iggy Pop’s Raw Power Hits Ally Pally

There’s some shows you just can’t miss in good conscience. Iggy Pop, the godfather of punk, last hit the UK for Dog Day Afternoon with Blondie two years ago, and he’s back for a short run of dates. When other punks from the same era are slowing down, settling into nostalgic anniversary shows or stately home summer shows, Pop is sticking to what he knows best: his iconic back catalogue, spread out across a full band, tied together with hypnotic charisma.

Chesney Hawkes (Press)

Chesney Hawkes Announces 2026 ‘Smash It To Pieces’ UK Headline Tour Following A Triumphant Year

Chesney Hawkes, once dubbed the quintessential British pop prince of the early ‘90s, has proved he’s more than just The One And Only. With a creative fire that burns brighter than ever, Hawkes is celebrating a year of musical and personal triumphs as he announces his 2026 Smash It To Pieces UK headline tour — a bold new chapter in a career that continues to evolve far beyond its nostalgic beginnings.

James Morrison (Tom Oxley)

James Morrison Announces Long-Awaited New Album ‘Fight Another Day’, UK Headline Tour This September

BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter James Morrison returns this autumn with his most personal, soul-stirring work to date. His sixth studio album, Fight Another Day, lands on 3rd October 2025, marking his first full-length release in six years — and with it comes a UK headline tour this September, including dates in Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London.

Calva Louise (Henry Calvert)

Calva Louise Walk The Edge Of The Abyss With Cinematic New Single ‘Impeccable’

If the edge of reality had a soundtrack, Calva Louise just wrote it. With new single Impeccable, the genre-fluid...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing