Me, my wife and 2 friends traveled from Baltimore to see her, only to watch her flee the stage in despair. Joni was lovesick over her affair with the drummer in the band, who'd found another girl. She didn't have the flu. It's in Yaffe's book. I think that was unprofessional and frankly disrespectful (narcissistic even) to the many fans who buy tix, get babysitters, block the date and then travel miles (excitedly) to see one of their idols. I still love her music and listen to it *all* the time, but never had the opportunity to see her live again. Only one voice (and composer) like her.

Let's lay blame where it belongs, this tour was a money grab by her management and what kind of venues were primarily booked...college basketball arenas. What did she expect? Cole Field House had a reputation of being a reverberating cavern. She was obviously dissatisfied with the sound. From high above the far free throw line it was surprisingly good and that was for the La. Express opening set. "Help Me" sounded awesome. Nothing wrong with her voice, very strong. Granted, I wasn't close enough to see if she was in fact feverish, but she was clearly annoyed. Great disappointment. Never had a chance to see her perform again. p.s. She was feeling well enough to go shopping for a new mandolin...@ Mandolin Brothers the day before and played the next night. I watched $6 bucks go up in smoke...right Sharon  [ed.]

I was there with my best friend & his sister. She had bought us tickets. We had great seats. I agree with the other comments. She was obviously ill. There was a flu epidemic nationwide at the time. We were all of course so disappointed. Playing on the radio on the way home after the concert was canceled was "Help Me"! I cried. I never had another opportunity to hear her perform.
Still love her of course. She is my all time favorite.

My future wife and I were there. I remember it pretty much as the article mentions. It seemed obvious from my vantage point that she was sick. It was our only opportunity to catch her in concert. The acoustics in Cole Field House, used mostly for basketball games, were terrible. The gal I went with is still my wife. We're going to buy the boxed set coming out on Rhino. Joni Mitchell is a true artist. One of the greats.

My wife and I and a friend went to the University of Maryland with great expectations. It was a bummer Joni had to leave the stage and the concert was cancelled. That was my only Joni MItchell concert! I still love her music . . .