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This story was originally published June 11, 2006. Check out new video from the concert in our "Also Online" box.

GRAND PRAIRIE – Norah Jones gave fans a warning Monday night at Nokia Theatre: "This is sort of a lullaby," she said of a new song, "so don't fall asleep."

She was joking, but only partly. Ms. Jones is both famous and infamous for her relentlessly slow-paced music. In an age of overwrought American Idol pop, she steers toward low-key drama – not melodrama.

That approach works just fine on her jazz- and country-flecked albums. But it's not a sure-fire recipe for selling out big concert halls, where audiences prefer choreography and explosions: She drew just 3,900 fans into the 6,300-capacity theater – not exactly a hero's welcome for someone who grew up in Dallas and has sold 35 million albums.

Vernon Bryant / DMN

Ms. Jones started the show on electric guitar – not piano, her main instrument – and turned "Come Away With Me" from a jazz ballad into a stark country dirge.

Still, her concert was packed with subtle vocal charms and splendid moments of reinvention. She started the show on electric guitar – not piano, her main instrument – and turned "Come Away With Me" from a jazz ballad into a stark country dirge. Later, she and her Handsome Band gave "I've Got to See You Again" a total overhaul with tribal drums and apocalyptic electric guitar.

"That's the end of our creepy portion of the set," she said. Actually, it was just the start. One of the best things about Ms. Jones and her band was how they kept discovering dark corners in the sweet spot where country meets soul music.

She transformed Hank Williams' "Cold Cold Heart" into a fever dream worthy of Keith Jarrett and recast Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Green River" with a dazzling jazz piano solo. On her new tunes "Sinkin' Soon" and "My Dear Country," she showed off a newfound knack for gloomy Kurt Weill-style cabaret songs.

In "Country," she cast cynical eye at the last presidential election and sang: "Who knows? Maybe he's not deranged."

The line got whoops of approval from the crowd, but the cheekiest thing about the song was the surreal sound she got by playing grand piano with her left hand as she played a toy piano with her right.

"My hands were shaking during that song because I realized there's a bunch of piano teachers here tonight," she said, referring to her high school and college mentors.

She needn't have been nervous. Ms. Jones aced the exam with no problem.

She started the show by introducing her opening act, Portland's M. Ward, and singing three songs with him: A few bum notes aside, their voices blended nicely, with Mr. Ward playing Johnny Cash to her June Carter during a whimsical spin through "Guess Things Happen That Way."

But he was actually more interesting when she left the stage. Hunched over his guitar as he jumped from moody folk lullabies to speedy guitar instrumentals, he offered an off-kilter version of Americana: In M. Ward's curious world, Buddy Holly's sweet and upbeat "Everyday" fit perfectly next to a glum, whacked-out ballad by Daniel Johnston.