Avatar Albuquerque reviews
Not the best I'd seen, but not a waste of time...
After so long, I decided it was time to see Avatar again, so I drove to Minneapolis for the event. This was my third time seeing her, but my first since 2002. She seemed nervous, sometimes lost her place, and the song selection had far too many contemporary choices, as opposed to the standards that she made her name on. Despite the flaws, she and her band performed well, with the violinist a particular standout. That's not to say that it wasn't good--it was, it just could've been so much better. Of the three concerts of hers I've been able to see, this one was the weakest by far. I have no problem hearing her do songs by Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, but two each was a bit much, and the closing cover of The Band's "Ophelia", while energetic, seemed really out of place at this show. Still, she has a killer voice, great chops on the piano, and knows how to relate to an audience. I wasn't disappointed that I drove so far for the show (about 5 hours), especially after I got to meet her afterwards (no surprise: she's very nice). I have the feeling that this was just an "off night" for me, and those can happen to anyone.