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Review and photos by Mary Andrews Fans welcomed Joan Osborne back to Tucson's Fox Theatre after the show has been postponed twice during the pandemic. Osborne expressed her appreciation for the fans taking the precautions necessary to experience live music again.Osborne hit seemly instant stardom after the release of her first album, Relish. The album went three times platinum in the United States alone. She is a master vocalist of rock, Americana, R & B, and blues music. She has been a longtime admirer of Bob Dylan's music and, in 2017, released an album of the songwriter's music, Songs of Bob Dylan, She followed it up in 2020 with the album, Trouble and Strife, filled with original music that delivered content that kept listeners engaged from beginning to end. As a side note, Osborne mentioned in a recent interview that Dylan recommended her album on Facebook. That is not typical of Dylan. The show featured songs from both of the albums mentioned as well as a new song from her new album that will be released later in February called Radio Waves, "Shake Your Hips." The lively version of the song had everyone present up and shaking their hips. The album is a collection of songs she "has sung hundreds and thousands of times over decades of touring across the globe that have never been recorded." Many of the tunes are from many of Osborne's radio station appearances. Osborne played acoustic guitar and percussion while Jack Petruzzelli played electric guitar and Keith Cotton played keyboards. Petruzelli's guitar work is an incredible addition to Osborne's vocals whereas, Cotton's keyboards delivered as much nuance to fill in any gaps. Both musicians sang backup vocals. Highlights of the set included Dylan's "Tryin' to Get to Heaven," "Trouble and Strife," and "Pensacola." Osborn explored different arrangements to very familiar tunes that refreshed the familiar tunes. Osborne finds the vulnerability behind each song that is hard for the listener to resist. She has a confident, good-humored stage presence. The Weepies' 15 song set opened with "Nobody Knows Me at All." They have 20 years of material to scrunch into a one-hour set. They are known for their harmonies and their songwriting. As mentioned earlier there were many fans very familiar and appreciative of The Weepies' music. Deb Talen and Steve Tannen gave a tremendous acoustic set filled with their spellbinding music. Sadly, they announced that this would be their last live performance. Joan Osborne setlist. |
 The Weepies |
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