Sheryl Crow plays for sedate crowd

Multitalented musician Sheryl Crow sang her heart out to a somewhat unenthusiastic audience last night at Rec Hall.

While one-third of the crowd gathered around the stage, the rest remained seated during the entire set. But if people weren't into it, it wasn't from lack of trying on Crow's part.

The opening band, The Wallflowers, got things rolling at 8 p.m. Lead singer, Jakob Dylan, walked onstage carrying a Penn State sign. The audience barely reacted.

That may have been due to the diversity of the crowd of about 2,000. People ranged in age from young children to those in their thirties.

The Wallflowers took the lack of enthusiasm in stride as they played a solid set of blues-inspired rock. Dylan even joked about it as he addressed the line of inactive security guards.

"You're going to have a real easy night, tonight," he said to them.

Somehow the audience managed to stay awake between acts.

Geoff Hugo (sophomore-physics) said he was surprised at the unresponsiveness of the crowd.

"The crowd didn't seem lively," he said. "I thought more people would get into it."

Thirty minutes after The Wallflowers parted, Crow followed her band onstage wearing a black pantsuit. Her attire may have been a nod to her new, more somber self-titled album. There was nothing melancholic about her singing, however.

Crow wasted no time warming up, launching intensely into the set with a song from her new album.

Her voice must have been raw after belting out current hits such as "Everyday Is A Winding Road" and "If It Makes You Happy" from her sophomore effort. Her energy was contagious and the crowd began to wake up a little. In between songs, she flirted with an adoring audience.

"Hi, my name is Sheryl," she said. "What's yours?"

One could hear the occasional male voice scream out, "I love you!"

She played cuts from her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club, which won her a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1995.

She even added "Penn State" into the lyrics of "Leaving Las Vegas," a single from TNMC.

Ron Schwartz (junior-management) said he appreciated the musicality of The Wallflowers and Crow.

"It's a nice change of pace from the normal noise that comes up here to play," he said.

Crow is an accomplished musician and was responsible for 80 percent of the song writing on her new album.

She has a degree in classical piano and plays a wide variety of instruments, including the guitar and accordion. Though her second album has not been as commercially successful as her debut, it has been met with critical acclaim.

However, that was not quite enough to bring a sedate Rec Hall audience to its feet.