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Date published: 11/21/2002
WASHINGTON--Amazing. No other word could adequately describe Jewel's solo tour stop Sunday night at DAR Constitution Hall. Jewel is best in the raw, stripped-down solo acoustic format in which she was discovered, playing a San Diego coffeehouse seven years ago. Anything more than that crystalline voice and a guitar is superfluous. She appeared on stage Sunday night wearing blue jeans, a white spaghetti-strap tank and a metallic blue blazer and opened with "May You Always," a song from her debut album, "Pieces of You." Highlights included "Hands," from her second album, "Spirit," and "Wild West," "Break Me" and "Standing Still" from "This Way," her latest release, Jewel's live performances are very different from her recordings. She sang songs as she was moved to in the moment and punctuated them with a sexy shoulder shrug, a smile, a knowing eye. She was funny, down-to-earth and passionate. It's a perfect balance. She finished the show with a reading of one of her poems, "Miracle," and a duet of "Who Will Save Your Soul," with opening act Jason Mraz, a Mechanicsville pop rocker. Mraz added his own original verse with impressive flair. Jewel did an encore finishing with an amazing display of yodeling. Also opening was the impressive and sexy unsigned West Virginia folk-pop singer-songwriter Scooter Scudieri. By comparison, Mraz's set was juvenile. His lyrics are filled with "ooh ahs" and "ooh lahs" best described as "fill in the blank music." Mraz asked that girls in the crowd give him their phone numbers in the lobby. And lyrics included such lines as "Do you want some?" It all seemed to fit perfectly with the Beavis and Butt-head humor of his Elektra debut album title, "Waiting For My Rocket To Come." Despite that, Mraz shows promise. He has exceptional vocal range and an imaginative approach. But Mraz needs to grow. --Melissa Windsor For more on these artists, go to jeweljk.com for Jewel, jasonmraz.com and firstrock star.com for Scooter Scudieri.
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