A CHRONOLOGY OF APPEARANCES
Compiled by Simon Montgomery, © 2001		  

1979.08.22  Merriweather Post Pavilion  Columbia, MD

» This Concert is a part of the 1979 Tour of North America.

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Related articles from the Library:
» Performing Arts: Joni Mitchell (Washington Post, 1979)
» That unpredictable Joni Mitchell isn't fooling around now (Washington Star, 1979)

Comments on this appearance

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divalynn on 2012-Dec-29 at 07:36:40 GMT-5:
As a 14 yr old going to school in Ellicott city MD, not being a good student and running away from home at the drop of a hat, I was obsessed w/ music.
The school hired a new teachers aide.
A wonderful, music loving, jean jacketed, geeky and super cool young woman named Lucy Jenks whom I will never forget.
With her unconventional and open way of teaching- was able to help me get on track with the some of the schoolwork.
This really is about Joni, but the reason I write about dear Lucy is b/c she also was a huge Joni and Roxy music fan.
She made me a deal, if I could pass the year, she would take me to see Joni that summer at Merriweather.
Of course w/ this sort of incentive, alas I passed the year!
Everything from the sound to the lighting was beyond magical and I heard all my favorite more jazz influenced material that night.
What a memory, the summer evening on the lawn, hearing every instrument perfectly and feeling grown up for the first time, sitting there with my awesome teacher who knew how to inspire my misbehaving self to pass the 9th grade!   [ed.]
Beatlebob2 on 2010-May-21 at 11:31:07 GMT-5:
The best concert I have ever seen. Being a bass player, I was totally blown away by Jaco's solo (slang). When he kicked in the digital recorder I thought for just an instant, "Oh my god, the bass is playing itself". After building his solo to a mind numbing crescendo, he lays down the bass, walks off, then comes running out with a leather belt and goes smack, smack, smack on the bass and runs back off. What a show! The entire concert was a feast for the ears. Joni is phenomenal.
crflick on 2010-Apr-25 at 10:56:42 GMT-5:
Not sure either whether it was the 22nd or 23rd, but it was my first time visiting the East Coast, and my first time flying on a jet. Flew to Washington D.C. and stayed with my girlfriend's parents in Rockville, Maryland for two weeks. The highlights were visiting the Smithsonian and the US Capitol, taking the train to New York City for two days of sightseeing,and seeing Joni Mitchell for the second time in 1979 at Merriweather Post Pavilion. She was really ON that evening I remember. I was much more impressed than I was seeing her at the Berkeley Jazz Fest, I also remember there was a summer rainstorm that evening. It was basically the same show as on Shadows and Light, always one of my favorites of her great albums. Just a beautiful night! (Oh, and to answer SteveF's question below...I believe the cover of Miles of Aisles is at Universal Amphitheatre in Hollywood. The album was mostly recorded there and released in 1974, 5 years before this concert)    [ed.]
grazerism on 2010-Mar-27 at 06:57:05 GMT-5:
I am not sure whether we went on the 22nd or the 23rd, but I took my daughter Joni just days before her 9th birthday. Yes, named after Joni Mitchell. When our daughter was born in 1970, we didn't even have a Joni album, but had become fans through cover versions of her songs and liked the name. I was a "young artist" with the Wolf Trap Opera in 1979. Great concert, great band, plus the Persuasions. Well-documented on SHADOWS AND LIGHT.
Djaninja1 on 2009-Nov-15 at 20:42:00 GMT-5:
It was my first adult concert the after I graduated from Walbrook high school. I scrimped money from my summer job to buy the tickets after being introduced to her Mingus album and becoming a convert with BLUE. This was the first time I encountered such a complete woman and artist. My boyfriend at the time pulled out the last minute and so his mother, god bless her soul, ventured out with me to provide the ride. She knew it was important for me to experience this but she was tired after work--she slept practically through the entire thing! The show had sensitive lighting, sound and effects--an amazing performance in all aspects. Joni looked beautiful. The concert was also a showcase for the awesome talents of Jaco and Pat in separate mini-concerts within the concert. The night air was sweet and I felt that I had come of age.
SteveF on 2009-Sep-09 at 14:34:51 GMT-5:
Spectacular evening. Stunning band. Joni's vocals were more jazz inflected than we'd been expecting but it was right after the release of Mingus so we were excited to hear where she was going with older songs infused with new angles. She seemed freer and having fun, in here element with the boys. I was high as a kite afterwards.
And isn't the shot on the cover of Miles of Aisles the stage of the Merriweather Post as seen through JM's toes?   [ed.]