ZZ Ward & Company as Promised
by mplscouple on 10/15/13Skyway Theatre - MinneapolisRating: 4 out of 5ZZ Ward is a very talented performer. The set was exactly what you'd expect as a fan, she played almost all of her songs (not everything from Eleven Roses), interacted with the crowd, gave background on her music and song-writing, and played for as long as her songs would carry her. I would absolutely see her again. The only criticism, if you can call it that, is that many of the songs sounded almost exactly as on her album. Normally, this is a positive for an artist. However, so many of her songs have accompaniments from other artists, that the "dubbed in" background noise or voiceovers sometimes were distracting. We wouldn't have minded to see ZZ Ward strip down some of her songs, do some acoustic, or show us some different vocal variations from the album. Even some minor twists would have been exciting. Skyway Theater leaves a ton to be desired. The line to enter wrapped around the block and they split it in two by the doors and allowed new arrivals to simply join the line there. The ushers inconsistently enforced the rules (sitting in the aisle, etc.) and came around during performances and could care less during breaks, forcing people to move around during the show. The worst was, halfway through Alpha Rev, they came to the upper level (where people could sit if they chose) and FORCED the audience to stand-up, during Alpha's biggest song. Not only did we miss all of "Sing Loud," but they forced this standing not by announcement but rather by going to people individually. I still am unclear why this was done. Skyway needs to announce its rules from the stage, enforce them throughout, and be consistent. A venue should not distract from its talent and the show.
