Crow's concert goes heavy on glitz
By Josh Shaffer
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
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DALLAS - In her black leather pants and sleeveless denim shirt, Sheryl Crow confessed that she had never -- perish the thought -- played a rodeo before.
"But I like the way it smells," she said. "And I love a man in chaps."
It was a rare Sunday-afternoon gig for Crow, rarer still because much of the American Airlines Center crowd listening to her was huddled on a dirt floor where bulls had been stomping only moments before.
"Somebody better get me some barbecue," she said jokingly.
The fans had dwindled somewhat by the time Crow took the stage on the last day of the Texas Stampede, a three-day, beer-soaked celebration of stringed instruments and hoofed animals.
But that was understandable. Crow followed the best-butt contest. Most rockers, even those with Crow's credentials, would have trouble following a bull rider swatting his own behind.
Crow leaned heavily on old favorites, the songs that crossed rock-country boundaries in the '90s and made her a constant presence on pop radio. She strummed acoustic guitar on Strong Enough and picked electric bass on My Favorite Mistake. Dozens of toddlers danced on the dirt while their parents held hands.
Lasers shot across the arena for If It Makes You Happy, and Crow kicked her legs high. Then she surprised the crowd with a quiet version of Cat Stevens' The First Cut Is the Deepest.
Crow's show had a slick, overproduced feel that seemed out of place. Her voice was flawless, even on the sky-high notes of If It Makes You Happy, but as she took the stage, all the women with cacti and horses embroidered on their jackets got up to leave.
Too Hollywood, perhaps. This was a crowd geared more for the likes of Pat Green, who played the Stampede on Saturday night, and it didn't seem to respond to Crow's faux classic-rock vibe.
"I love the smell of a horse," Crow said, but her cowgirl persona sounded manufactured -- borrowed for a Sunday afternoon -- and more like the voice of someone who loves the smell of cash.