Merritt was capping off her promotional tour for her new album Bramble Rose with this stop at the University -- and she had a few surprises in store for the crowd.
During one of several amusing asides between songs, Merritt said, "I don't do these confessional speeches for other audiences." But that wasn't the only treat she had on reserve.
A longtime fan in the audience shouted out a request for Merritt oldie "Cadillac." Despite the singer commenting that she hadn't played that song during the entire tour, she and her band whipped up a rollicking version that had more heads bobbing than any other song all night.
But the highlight of the show was easily their cover of an old Delaney & Bonnie tune, which had Merritt -- armed with only a tambourine -- slithering and slinking in front of the microphone in a powerful demonstration of her sensual stage presence. She belted out the bluesy song with an incredible spark that left the crowd dazed.
The members of Stillhouse deftly provided excellent backup and proved they could hold their own by opening the show with a 40-minute Merritt-less set. Dave Wilson and Jay Brown were especially impressive with expert guitar playing, harmonizing and occasionally providing comic relief.
Case in point: Merritt later made a comment about the inevitable informercial segment of their show. Brown immediately launched into a stereotypical commercial announcer's voice as he plugged the merchandise available outside, much to Merritt's delight.
Another break gave the two guitarists the opportunity to tease their frontwoman about leaving her suitcase in Washington, D.C.
But there was no question over who was the star of this show. Merritt flitted about the stage, effortlessly switching from acoustic to electric guitar or from keyboard to harmonica when the applicable mood struck her.
Even with the powerful instrumentation, her brassy, beautiful voice soared to the forefront every time. Merritt seemed incapable of delivering a vocalization that wasn't infused with energy and life.
She made her way through a set consisting of songs both old and new and mind-boggling in quality. Her ballads were just as uplifting as anything with a faster tempo.
The group's last song was the quietest it played all night -- a tribute to the band's hometown of Bynum. This song only reinforced the pride inherent in Merritt's performance -- if she's out representing her state like this to the rest of the music world, North Carolinians are pretty lucky.
Even as the guitars faded out, Merritt kept singing, "I'm not quite ready to go" over and over, her voice as steady and powerful as always.
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Trust me, Tift. We didn't want you to go, either.
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
