Words and photography by Bill Foster
Melissa Etheridge is the first musician I ever took a picture of, first at a little bar in Norfolk, VA, in 1988 or so and then when she opened a benefit at the Scope in Norfolk around the time her first album was released. I was bitten by the bug immediately but didn’t have the opportunity to really pursue it till years later. In all the intervening years, I never had the opportunity to photograph her until last night as the Tennessee Theater made its return to hosting full capacity shows.
Etheridge came out strong, starting the set with the title song of her upcoming album “One Way Out.” In contrast to the ferocious acoustic strummer I met 35 years ago, Etheridge is the primary guitar player now and took all the electric solos, including a long Neil Young like coda to “Let me Go” and some beautiful slide on “Monster.” The show was minimalist with no backdrop, and a white spotlight on Etheridge and red on her three-piece band (keys, bass and drums). Her set consisted of 19 songs, clocking in at exactly two hours, perhaps a bit light for such a pricy ticket.
Etheridge is currently playing three songs each from one early album and one late album. The selected albums for this show were “Yes I Am” (which would up getting five songs) and “This is M.E.” Her first album was also featured strongly, with “Precious Pain” being a rarely played deep cut. The audience was loud and enthusiastic, especially during the set closing trio of “Come to my Window,” “Bring Me Some Water,” and “I’m the Only One.” The evening concluded with a lively encore of “Like the Way I Do” featuring a duo drum solo with Etheridge also playing.
