On the first stop of her national tour, Presley moved quickly and with mounting confidence through the songs on her new T-Bone Burnett-produced album, Storm & Grace. After two pop-oriented CDs, Presley has returned from a long layoff with a rootsy, atmospheric record that seems to emanate more from Baton Rouge than her native Memphis.
She delivered a moody midtempo set, her deep, smoky voice favoring emotion over precision. Most of the material from Storm & Grace didn't extend her beyond a single octave. Sheathed in black, she swayed in place to the music, at times slapping the world's smallest tambourine against her hip.
Most of her backing band, lead by guitarist/husband Michael Lockwood, were festooned in towering black Mad Hatter chapeaus. They looked like they were on their way to a party for Boot Hill morticians.
Presley handled the slow material with languid ease, especially the aptly titled ballad "Weary" and the Wilco-like plaint "Soften the Blows." But she also got cooking on "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" with its smoldering groove, and on a surprisingly raucous "Un-Break" on which Presley broke out some mallets to pound on the tom-toms.
For an encore, the 44-year-old singer revisited her first single, "Lights Out" from 2003, giving it a countrified accent. Vocally and physically, it was the most energetic and liberated moment of the evening for Presley. Guess she got her stage legs back after all.
Contact David Hiltbrand at 215-854-4552 or dhiltbrand@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @daveondemand_tv. Read his blog, "Dave on Demand," at www.philly.com/dod.
