It’s a beautiful Friday night and, at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, the crowd is settling in for an evening with Norah Jones. The early part of the show is dedicated to material from her last two albums. ‘I Wouldn’t Need You’ is followed by the title track of Little Broken Hearts, ‘Chasing Pirates’ and ‘She’s 22’. It is not until Jones returns to her older songs that the audience really reacts, with fan favourites such as ‘Don’t Know Why’ madeover and sounding more soulful and jazzy than before.
Since her 2002 debut, Come Away With Me, and the clutch of Grammys it garnered, Jones has entered an alternate space where what she does is not merely music, but art. The crowd shows its appreciation by politely clapping while staying comfortably seated. There is no denying that Jones’ voice is a wonder – tonight she sounds like smokey treacle – and the acoustics at the BGET are fantastic. It is a good show but it’s all so terribly, terribly polite that it ‘s hard to get excited.