Are You Jones'in?

Norah Jones is getting her new groove together and taking it on the road, beginning March 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jones’ latest album – The Fall – with its guitar riffs and darker sound represents a change in direction for the lady whose Grammy winning debut album – Come Away With Me – captivated music fans with her jazz-flavored songs.

"I did some demos of (songs) and they came out really well, but some of them sort of begged to go in a different direction,” Jones said during an October interview.

“I realized, I think, what I want to do is work with some different sounds,” Jones added. “I figured that the best way to do that was to try and step outside of my comfort zone a little bit, and work with some different musicians and a different producer. It just felt like a good time to do that.”

So here she comes:

5-Mar-10 Brady Theater Tulsa, OK


6-Mar-10 Midland Kansas City, MO


7-Mar-10 Orpheum Omaha, NE


9-Mar-10 Civic Center Des Moines, IA


11-Mar-10 EJ Thomas Performance Arts Hall Akron, OH


12-Mar-10 Whitney Hall Lousiville, KY


13-Mar-10 Murat Indianapolis, IN


15-Mar-10 Overture Hall Madison, WI


17-Mar-09 O'Shaughnessy St. Paul, MN


19-Mar-10 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI


20-Mar-10 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL


25-Mar-10 Wang Center Boston, MA


26-Mar-10 MGM Foxwoods Mashantucket, CT


27-Mar-10 WaMu Theater at MSG New York, NY


30-Mar-10 Lyric Opera House Baltimore, MD


1-Apr-10 The Paramount Theater Charlottesville, VA


2-Apr-10 Warner Theater Washington, DC


3-Apr-10 Tower Theatre Philadelphia, PA


18-Apr-10 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA


19-Apr-10 Arlene Schnitzer Hall Portland, OR


21-Apr-10 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA


23-Apr-10 Orpheum Los Angeles, CA


24-Apr-10 Spreckels Theater San Diego, CA


25-Apr-10 Dodge Theater Phoenix, AZ


28-Apr-10 Kiva Auditorium Albuquerque, NM


29-Apr-10 Plaza Theatre El Paso, TX


1-May-10 Stubbs Bar-B-Q Austin, TX


4-May-10 Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX


5-May-10 Verizon Wireless Theatre Houston, TX


6-May-10 Saenger Theatre Mobile, AL


8-May-10 Orpheum Theatre Memphis, TN


9-May-10 The Alabama Theatre Birmingham, AL


11-May-10 Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Asheville, NC


12-May-10 Ovens Auditorium Charlotte, NC


14-May-10 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN


15-May-10 Cobb Energy PAC Atlanta, GA

Make your requests early.

Not yet a member? $49 buys you access for a full year. Sign up now.

Member Review: John Mayer

BPD member Bibzzy check in:

To coincide with announcing a national tour set for February, John Mayer entertained a sold-out crowd with a polished, slick 100-minute set.

And while that tightness was quite surprising considering he’s only done a few shows supporting his top-charting new album Battle Studies, Mayer and his band sounded like they were ready to record a live DVD on Tuesday night.

Perhaps that may explain the boom camera filming everything and hovering over the fans throughout, from the opening power pop of Heartbreak Warfare to Friends, Lovers Or Nothing which came about 100 minutes later.

Regardless, the 32-year-old guitarist dipped his fingers into several genre pies with relative easy, occasionally sacrificing a lengthy solo but showing his chops on the lengthy, soulful Gravity from his Continuum album.

In fact, it was this more soulful, blues-tinged material which composed most of the set, with only a smattering of older material including the folksy nugget Why Georgia and the radio-friendly Bigger Than My Body making the cut.

Sporting a black t-shirt and thanking the crowd for making him feel brand new, Mayer hit his stride early on with Vultures, a slightly sultry groove setting the tone for the give-and-take with the predominantly female audience.

“I love you too,” he replied to a fan after the song, quickly leading into I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You) with a guitar solo resembling Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour to some extent.

Mayer’s tongue has occasionally competed with his playing for sharpness, leading him to tell one reporter recently he would sodomize their editor after a series of inane questions. The only verbal gem on this night might have been referring to his various series of girlfriends. “When your last name becomes a verb, you know you’ve shamed yourself,” he told me.

One moment where he certainly shamed nobody was his cover of Crossroads, grooving it up a bit more than Eric Clapton’s rendition yet still packing a punch. Here Mayer also seemed much looser, sounding like he came from the Chitlin’ Circuit as the boogie blues riffs garnered a surprisingly strong response.

That should’ve been the only cover he attempted though, as later in the encore he paid tribute to Tom Petty with Free Fallin’, a rather bland version on this night which was indeed heartbreaking to say the least. That Petty vibe fared much better with the simple melodic pop which oozed out of Half Of My Heart.

Other highlights included Waiting On The World To Change as Mayer asked if Toronto had groove or not. Several minutes later, after fleshing out the coda with drummer Steve Jordan and keyboardist Charlie Wilson, the answer was evident.

A few more songs couldn’t have hurt but Mayer probably kept a few surprises knowing full well he’d be back.

Thanks Bibzzy; here are John's Feb-March dates for next year:

Thu 02/04/10 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center

Fri 02/05/10 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum

Sat 02/06/10 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Mem. Arena

Mon 02/08/10 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum

Tue 02/09/10 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena

Wed 02/10/10 Nashville, TN Sommet Center

Fri 02/12/10 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace Of Auburn Hills

Fri 02/19/10 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena

Sat 02/20/10 Washington, DC Verizon Center

Sun 02/21/10 Philadelphia, PA The Wachovia Center

Wed 02/24/10 Boston, MA TD Garden

Thu 02/25/10 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena

Fri 02/26/10 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena

Sun 02/28/10 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena

Mon 03/01/10 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center

Tue 03/02/10 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center

Thu 03/04/10 Omaha, NE Qwest Center Omaha

Fri 03/05/10 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center

Sat 03/06/10 Houston, TX Toyota Center

Mon 03/08/10 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center

Tue 03/09/10 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

Wed 03/10/10 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

Fri 03/12/10 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena

Sat 03/13/10 Louisville, KY Freedom Hall @ The Kentucky Expo Center

Mon 03/15/10 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex

Tue 03/16/10 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena

Wed 03/17/10 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena

Fri 03/19/10 Memphis, TN FedExForum

Sat 03/20/10 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center

Mon 03/22/10 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center

Tue 03/23/10 Denver, CO Pepsi Center

Thu 03/25/10 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

Fri 03/26/10 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose

Tue 03/30/10 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena

Wed 03/31/10 Seattle, WA KeyArena At Seattle Center