August 10, 2021

​

​

Paula Cole opened up her tour Sunday night in Cleveland Heights' beautiful Cain Park.  Cole noted that it has been two years since she has played a show and was happy to be performing in Cleveland.

​

Decked out in all black, Cole hit the stage with a big smile and welcomed the sparse but enthusiastic crowd to the show.  Backed by by Chris Bruce on guitar and Ross Gallagher on stand-up bass, the trio played various selections from throughout her close to three decades in the music business.

​

Paula took turns singing front and center and going back to play and sing at the black grand piano.  She often told stories about how the songs were written.  For instance, she said she grew up in a cold New England town where her father never turned on the heat in the winter and they just had a potbelly stove to warm the house.  One day she found that her fish had frozen to death because of the cold, so for her tenth birthday she asked her father to turn on the heat.  That was the inspiration for "Bethlehem."

​

It was stories like that, and the beautiful setting of Cain Park that made it such an intimate event for those who attended.

​

Cole also noted that it is the 25th Anniversary of This Fire, her double platinum selling album that also earned her a Grammy for Best New Artist.  She honored that album by playing five songs from that lp including: "Hush, Hush, Hush," "Me" which became a sing-a-long, and she brought out Lucy Wainwright Roche to duet on "Carmen."

​

Her Top Ten hit, "Where Have All The Cowboy's Gone?" found it's way into the middle of the set.  However, she cleverly changed that last line to "You will wash the dishes, while I'll go have a beer" to a cheering crowd. 

​

After a brief exit, Paula and her band returned to play a three song encore that included "I Don't Want To Wait" and the Lead Belly classic "Goodnight Irene" which she changed to "Goodnight Cleveland."

 

​

Lucy Wainwright Roche opened the show with a very laid-back and fan friendly set.  She also told stories between songs and actually took questions from the audience so we could get to know her better.  (She graduated from Oberlin and lives with her dog.)  

​

Her set consisted of some original songs as well as a few covers like Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" and Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down."

​

It was a perfect evening for some nice acoustic music in the park.

​

​

Review and photos by Greg Drugan

​

​

​

​