Vocal power, humor make k.d. lang's Minneapolis concert sublime

There is no musical category for k.d. lang.

Back in the day, before she was born, her recordings might have been filed under "female vocalist." Nowadays, she should be filed under "sublime singer."

Lang, 56, proved that once again Wednesday at the State Theatre in Minneapolis before an enthusiastic full house.

Since she hasn't released a solo studio album of new music since 2011 or performed in the Twin Cities since 2012, lang is touring to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of "Ingenue," her biggest selling album and the one that moved her from alt-country to uncategorizable.

At the State, she performed the album in its entirety in order from the opening "Save Me," during which she was reverent and reserved, to the closing hit "Constant Craving," during which she smiled and frolicked like a hammy star.

In between, there was plenty of mesmerizing music. The vibe was noir-ish and introspective, landing in the intersection of art-song and cabaret. The five-man band elevated the material to new heights, especially with extended solo opportunities.

"Season of Hollow Soul" came across as a jazz piece, thanks to the work of upright bassist David Piltch (who has been with lang for 30 years) and abstract pianist Daniel Clark. "Tears of Love's Recall" featured flamenco guitar by Greco Buratto and a long jazzy piano passage by Clark.

After the 55-minute recreation of "Ingenue," lang introduced her five musicians and two backup singers with the kind of warmth and humor that comes from creating and traveling together. She showed the quick wit of a standup comic. She introduced one male band member as having little hips and declared "little hips are big here." (Was that a Prince joke?)

Her best line of the night may have come when she placed her acoustic guitar around her shoulders and the crowd clapped. "It's always thrilling to get applause when I strap on," lang proclaimed with a giant grin.

Anything might come out of her mouth. When she was getting ready to sing after the band introductions, the barefoot star announced that she had just stepped on a Hall's cough drop. Thanks for sharing.

Next lang revisited a tune from her 2016 trio project with Laura Veirs and Neko Case (sadly, their gig at the Minnesota Zoo that summer was rained out) before saluting what she called three of the finest songwriters ever, who, like her, all happen to be Canadian.

She offered the 3H's, eh – Joni Mitchell's "Help Me," which came off as kd-oke because, as she said, you can't deconstruct and reconstruct Joni songs because the lyrics and music are so intrinsically intertwined; Neil Young's "Helpless," which was remarkable in its reconstruction prompting a listener to rethink the lyrics and the meaning of the piece, and Leonard Cohen's oft-covered "Hallelujah," which was a wondrous study in vocal dynamics as lang summoned stunning strength, emotion and power.