Anyone who was growing up in the 90s would have heard of the names Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge. The two singers were huge in the 90s with multiple hits so when they announced that they would be bringing their, Make Rock Great Again double headlining tour downunder it was mandatory to buy a ticket.
I bought my ticket for Sheryl Crow and wasn't really a fan of Melissa Etheridge so I was simply going for Sheryl Crow and thought I would stay for Melissa Etheridge but wasn't expecting too much.
Unlike most concerts, Sheryl Crow opened very promptly after the scheduled start time. Her set started with Everyday is a Winding Road and she performed all her other hits including Soak Up the Sun, All I Wanna Do, My Favourite Mistake, The First Cut Is the Deepest, If it Makes You Happy, A Change Would Do You Good, Strong Enough and more recent hits, The Best of Times, Halfway There and others.
During the set she joked about how much she loved Sydney and wanted to stay here and perform at the ICC every night. It was extremely genuine and she connected with the audience brilliantly. The only criticism I have is that she made her political views known. I think it's great when people are interested in politics but when I go to a show I don't want to hear the musician's opinions. I just want to hear them sing. It is alienating to the audience to discuss their political views.
She performed a song with Melissa Etheridge and then closed with I Shall Believe.
There was a brief intermission of about half an hour before Melissa took the stage. As I mentioned, I wasn't a fan of Melissa prior to the concert but decided to stay for her set because a) I'd paid for my ticket and b) It would be rude to walk out midway through someone's set. I was also hoping there would be a "Wow, she's amazing!" moment, and there was.
It was when she performed Come to My Window. A group of around five guys went right to the front in what was not technically a dance floor/mosh pit area. They were there for about 30 seconds before security tried to move them on. Midway through the song, Melissa commented on it and security ended up letting them stay. The crowd ended up getting bigger with another 20-30 people joining them.
Melissa's voice is extremely deep and throughout her set of 12 songs, which was shorter than Sheryl's at 14 songs but she kept on thanking the audience throughout her set which was amazing.
There were moments when both Melissa and Sheryl were singing where they were just jamming with their bands and it didn't feel like they were actually performing a concert for over 8000 people. It felt that way because of the intimate setting of the ICC (which you'll recall I noted after seeing Alanis Morrisette playing back in January) and because it was a genuine rock show with elements of country.
The audience for Sheryl's set was subdued and mellow, but it went absolutely wild for Melissa. They have two completely different styles and personalities but they really do complement eachother.
I would give Sheryl an 8/10. She loses points because of her political comment but her actual performance was well worth a 20 year wait of being a fan before seeing her. I would give Melissa a 7 out of 10 because given I wasn't a fan I didn't actually know any of her songs so i spent some of the time googling the lyrics but towards the end of the set I was more present and in the moment. The turning point was during I Want to Come Over, which was clearly about an ex she was stalking who she wasn't over, and I can relate to that, and it was incredible when she acknowledged the audience in Come to My Window. She was pleasantly surprising.
Overall, as a double headlining tour I'd have to give it a 7.5 out of 10. It would have been even better if there had been big screens. Even though I had an excellent seat it would've been cool to have close ups of their faces to see their emotion when singing. They are truly talented performers and this is what music should be about. It should be stripped back, natural, focused on the voice and the message behind it rather than a whole bunch of editing and autotune.
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