Many are considering 11-11-11 as a lucky day. Weddings are planned, hotel casinos are sold out, veterans will be honored and a little over a thousand people will be lucky enough to see Melissa Etheridge perform live that Friday at 8:00 p.m. at the Ovations LIVE! Showroom at the Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, Arizona. The show is part of Etheridge’s Fearless Love Tour, supporting the 2010 album, Fearless Love, which found Etheridge returning to her rock and roll, harder edged ways while still maintaining her thought provoking lyrics.
Melissa Etheridge’s debut album, the self-titled Melissa Etheridge released in 1988, brought the raspy voiced singer/songwriter to the attention of the rock world with singles such as “Bring Me Some Water” and “Similar Features.” However, it took 1993’s album, the multi-platinum selling Yes I Am and its hits “Come To My Window,” and “I’m the Only One,” to bring Etheridge to mainstream popularity, despite her having won, in 1993, her first of two Grammy awards for her performance of “Ain’t It Heavy.” Since that time, Etheridge has released nine more albums, including the highly critically acclaimed Fearless Love in 2010 and a greatest hits package, Icon, in 2011.
Fearless Love “had to be about the songs," says Melissa Etheridge on her website. "Everything is either fear or love," she says. "As I started writing, the working title of the album was Songs of Love and Fear because each song had an ingredient of love and fear and the battle between the two." Not surprisingly, Etheridge drew from her experiences as a cancer survivor in penning the tunes for Fearless Love as well as being influenced by her four children. The album is, however, a bit more rocking than previous efforts have been.
2011 has been a busy year for Etheridge. In February she starred on Broadway as St. Jimmy in the Green Day musical American Idiot. In September, the singer was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In between, she launched a radio program, the nationally syndicated Melissa Etheridge Radio Show which allows her to talk one on one with fans, allowing them to ask her whatever they’ve always wanted to know about her being a rock star, her family life, or life in general.
As an Oscar winner in 2007 for her writing “I Need To Wake Up,” from Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth and as a known activist for many causes, it would not be surprising to hear Etheridge give her opinion on Arizona politics during her performance. However, the night will be about the songs, what they mean and the joy and drive that Etheridge puts into her performances. Although the show is nearly sold out, a very few tickets may be still purchased through the Gila River Casino website.
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