Natalie Merchant’s “Leave Your Sleep” tour, which stops at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday night, has been getting mixed reviews around the country from longtime fans who pine for the Ophelia of their youth. Understandable, what with Merchant’s absence from the concert stage for most of the past decade.
Some are put off by the pedantic air of Merchant’s exploration of her favorite poets — the basis, after all, of her new double CD “Leave Your Sleep.” But I think more of the frustration (on the part of those who seem to wallow in their frustration) stems from the long wait to hear such beloved inspirations as “Carnival” and “Wonder.”
So just be prepared: By all accounts, Merchant does not weave old and new on this tour. Most of Wednesday night’s performance will focus on what she came to focus on: her new songs. The more familiar ones come later.
Here’s the set list from Tuesday night’s show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.
The Sleepy Giant
The Man in the Wilderness
The King of China’s Daughter
Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience
Spring and Fall: To a Young Child
Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
The Peppery Man
The Janitor’s Boy
Bleezer’s Ice-Cream
Adventures of Isabel
Calico Pie
If No One Ever Marries Me
The Dancing Bear
Equestrienne
Encore
Cowboy Romance
Weeping Pilgrim
Wonder
Carnival
Hey Jack Kerouac (10,000 Maniacs cover)
Break Your Heart
River
The Worst Thing
The Letter
Encore II
These Are the Days
Kind And Generous
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