Rickie Lee Jones in May 2009 at the Dakota Star Tribune photo by Tom Wallace "I'm off tonight," Rickie Lee Jones announced several songs into her concert Monday night at the Fitzgerald Theater. "So we're going to explore the off-ness of Rickie." Jones on an off-night is still better than most singer-songwriters when they're on. Experiencing her rehearsal-like, 115-minute performance Monday was not quite as thrilling as her performance last May at the Dakota when she was on. That was like watching a brilliant mind at work. This was like watching a brilliant mind struggling to find a spark. Whether playing piano, guitar or drums (yes, she started the night on drums for Traffic's "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys"), she'd call out directions to her two sidemen, bassist Joey Maramba (who was terrific on bowed electric bass) and drummer/keyboardist Lionel Cole, arranging tunes on the spot. Calling things "a work in progress," she even apologized to her players for doing a few songs they didn't even know. Nonetheless, being witness to this organic music-making process was intriguing. Because she felt she was off, Jones often turned to old material familiar to her fans in hopes of getting on track or at least trying to appease/please her audience. So she offered such early career faves as "We Belong Together," "The Last Chance Texaco," "Weasel and the White Boys Cool" and even a reworked "Chuck E's in Love," which she treated as if she were a victim of her own success. Jones also did a few selections from last fall's "Balm in Gilead," which were more focused than renditions of the same tunes at the Dakota. Still, she seemed off. At one point, she sat with her electric guitar and declared that she was too "wiped out" to put the strap over her shoulder so she merely propped it on her lap. No problem, really. Even if Jones didn't seem as present as she had been at the Dakota, the performance was generous in length and content. The 54-year-old was so moved by the insistent cheering after the house lights went on, that she came back for an unplanned encore and – wouldn't you know it – "Danny's All-Star Joint," done solo on acoustic guitar, was the most engaged she'd been all night.