Canandaigua, NY is in the rolling hills in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. I attended this concert when I was 19 years old. My daughter is 19 now. What a memory! Joni and the band walked onto the stage. A couple of people threw bouquets of flowers on the stage. Joni picked up some roses, thanked the crowd and the show began. They started their first song and then Joni stopped, pointed to the hills behind us and said, "Hey, look!" the crowd turned to see a hot air balloon launch on the hill behind us. It was gorgeous and I remember feeling like I shared a special moment with Joni and with every member of the audience. Who remembers the balloon launch?

1983 was a longtime ago but here's what I recall ... I was studying at Rochester School of Music for a few weeks and read about Joni's appearance. No time was spent deciding so a friend and I rented a car and drove from Rochester on a beautiful Summer's afternoon to find Canadaigua. It had to be a sign as we were a couple of Canadian guys wanting to see our best cultural export in action.

She and the band were in fine form. She as gorgeous as ever, winning any points left available after having been a longtime devotee. I bought that great t-shirt she'd designed for the tour and while a bit ragged now still graces my wife's torso.

I do have some concert/event pictures but not digitally ... I'll drag them out and scan them sometime.
for posting here.

I haven't seen her again in concert since but I did miss her by minutes at a studio session she recorded with Murray McLauchlan at CBC Vancouver many years later.