EDMONTON - It sure would be a shame if Sheryl Crow goes down in the annals of pop songcraft as a promising sprinter who couldn't come through in the long run - huge hits out of the gate, great potential, writing with emotional and political substance and yet ends up doing duets with people like Kid Rock and Sting.

What a strange career.

Yes, it would be a shame if this was it - because she puts on a heck of a show.

This distaff Dylan with a frivolous streak drew only 6,000 fans to Rexall Place last night. You'd think there would've been more from someone with so many Grammy awards and so many hits, albeit most of them at least a decade old, but there was no lack of love in the room. After a solo opening accompanied only by overt political content and a peace sign backdrop on God Bless This Mess, she expressed joy at being in Canada - since there seems to be some unpleasantness down in America lately - and wouldn't shut up about hockey. There's more to Canada than hockey, sister. We have another damned election coming up, too, you know.

But like every Sheryl Crow record, we were distracted from sobering thoughts by the fun and frivolity overflowing in songs like Leaving Las Vegas, Favorite Mistake and A Change Will Do You Good (despite the latter introduced as having new meaning to tie into the American election). Along with her 1994 breakout song All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun), this is the sort of artful fluff Sheryl Crow is known for, the clever constructions of pop perfection that keep generations of fans bobbing their heads and serious critics wondering if she's worth taking seriously.

It's been hit and miss since her debut Tuesday Night Music Club, but new material shows promise. It's been a while since anyone came up with a good anti-war song - and Crow might be the one to do it. God Bless This Mess is an example of the trademark sweet melodies and folky grooves combined with political content, a track from her newest album Detours. Other fresh tunes followed - sandwiched between the comfortable pop fun of olden times - like the stomping rocker Motivation, about the new breed of celebrities famous only for being famous, and the funky, futuristic Gasoline, which is quite a fun song for how much vitriol is being poured on George W. Bush and his cronies. See? You can talk about serious things in a musical context without sacrificing a good "hook" and a good beat you can dance to.

The performances from stage were just about flawless last night. Crow brought along two guitarists, a Hammond player, a percussionist and two back-up singers to ensure her creations were, if not studio perfect, then as close as you can get without sounding sterile. The vocals were especially excellent - powerful four- and five-part harmonies that filled out an already sweet sound.

Just one nagging thing: She sure looked uncomfortable in high heels, teetering around the stage with her various guitars. It was like she's trying to replicate her photo on the cover of her new CD, to maintain her commercial image, to be a pop star and an activist folk singer at the same time.

You have to wonder how great Sheryl Crow could be if she didn't worry about this sort of thing. This remains to be seen.

It's always interesting to separate a band's component parts to see which one has the most talent. Just as Fleetwood Mac without Lindsey Buckingham turns into just another average hippie blues band, Jim Cuddy without Blue Rodeo - who opened the show last night - becomes just another average country rock singer.

You want proof? The most exciting moments of a set larded with lazily arranged, mid-tempo tedium were the two Blue Rodeo tunes. For the most part, Cuddy's solo material is weak. Meanwhile, partner Greg Keelor's solo stuff tends to be weird. Who knows how this chemistry comes about to create pop perfection like Five Days in May?

Stay together is all I can say.

But it's hard to hate this smiling cosmic cowboy no matter how many times he's played here. He smiled through his major key happy songs, he smiled through the poignant ballads, he smiled as he likewise wouldn't shut up about hockey, he smiled as he hurled a rhetorical lyrical twist at George W. Bush in a song called One Fine Day, as in "one fine day we're gonna watch you fall." (Ouch, says Bush.)

Good move for an opening act for this particular headliner, even though, as Jim's mom says, it's just "piling on" at this point.