Melissa Etheridge’s Friday night solo concert didn’t take place. A Fallsview public relations department spokesman called the concert’s cancellation the result of “unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, I’m afraid.”

It ended up being moved to Sunday evening, with the actual decision to cancel the show happening fairly quickly after a series of alternatives fell through.

It turns out that Etheridge was stuck in Chicago O’Hare Airport as three separate flights (two of them booked as backups in case the main flights canceled, a hazard of touring in the modern age) were grounded because of stormy weather in the Midwest. Etheridge revealed all this Saturday night, telling fans in the packed house that she arrived in Niagara Falls around 5 a.m. Saturday with her luggage somewhere in Chicago and not a lot of sleep.

She imparted all this information with a smile, a laugh and some chipper patter, not exactly the kinds of behavior one would expect from a person who, 24 hours earlier, was probably not in the best of humor. But then, that’s the way the whole concert Saturday evening seemed to go. Etheridge came onstage to thunderous applause and audience adulation, and she basked in it and sent it back out to her fans. It was a love fest.

The house lights came up, the singer bounded to the front of the stage with her guitar, whipped into the opening riffs of “Message to Myself,” and the theater became a karaoke club as the crowd sang in near unison with Etheridge. For the first few songs, there were standing ovations as the initial chimes of a favorite riff made themselves heard, and then there were popup instances of bodies spontaneously leaving their seats in midsong as a specific lyrical high point approached. It was all good.

Etheridge’s voice isn’t conventionally pretty, but it is expressive and powerful; you could almost imagine her in front of a small crowded club stage, sans microphone, blasting away with a voice that demands and pleads in equal measure. She sang some hits, a few diehard, true-blue fan favorites and some tunes by other writers and performers she has admired through the years, including Joan Armatrading’s “Weakness in Me” and Bette Midler’s version of Jerry Ragovoy’s “Stay With Me,” a classic soul tune originally sung by Lorraine Ellison.

It was Etheridge’s own songs that capped it for the audience, however. She is a more than capable songwriter, guitarist, pianist and entertainer, with the kinds of musical and show business skills that help sell lyrics that reveal her life, love and opinions to a sympathetic crowd.

Given that she has a few platinum albums to her credit, it’s a large crowd.

Concert Review

Melissa Etheridge

Saturday and Sunday in the Avalon Theatre of Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort.