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Wally's Report
We arrived at the Warner Brothers parking garage a bit later than we did the night before, so more VIP's were already waiting in line. We got our VIP badges after not too long of a wait and made our way to Stage 22.
Celebrities seen in the audience on Saturday included MacKenzie Phillips, Peggy Lipton, k.d. lang, Me'Shell NdegeOcello and the ubiquitous Graham Nash, who took advantage of this opportunity to present Joni with her award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which he'd accepted for her in May 1997. Joni remarked that it was appropriate that Graham had wrapped the statue in a garbage bag!
Joni began her set with the songs she performed as her encores the night before: "Big Yellow Taxi," "Comes Love," "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and "Trouble Man."
Joni and the band were tighter than the previous night and pulled off stunning versions of many tunes, particularly the songs from Hejira.
The complete setlist for Saturday was:
Big Yellow Taxi (She included her Dylan imitation, and she ended with "Now why you wanna go and do that, uh-huh-huh...")
Comes Love
Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (2 complete versions...)
Trouble Man (1 complete, 1 partial, 1 false start, then a complete...)
(Graham presents Joni with her award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Night Ride Home (1 partial, then a complete)
The Crazy Cries of Love
Harry's House
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Just Like This Train (1 false start, then a complete...)
Black Crow
Amelia
Hejira
Refuge of the Roads (1 almost complete version, then a complete...)
Facelift
Sex Kills
The Magdalene Laundries
Moon at the Window
The 3 Great Stimulants
Woodstock
After the show, I was given a copy of the official scheduled setlist. Joni was supposed to have returned after "Woodstock" to perform "Love Puts on a New Face" with the band, but for some reason that didn't happen.
After the show, many of the members of the Internet Community, my friends and I lingered in the Gallery area, talking and admiring Joni's paintings. We eventually made our way back to her trailer, although Joni was still inside the studio talking to friends while the camera people filmed the empty studio to the strains of Joni's song "Dreamland." We waited around the trailer for a few minutes, but headed back to the shuttle buses for the return trip to the parking garage when we were told that she wasn't meeting folks this evening.
My adventures on the road have been more wonderful than I could ever have dreamed. Although I didn't get the opportunity to conduct a short official interview with Joni during the tour for JMHP readers, I've been promised after-tour conversations with Joni, Brian Blade, Larry Klein and Greg Liesz. Look for them in the coming months in the pages at JM.com.
Reports from the Internet Community
-(From: Marsha Doyle, docnurse@VoyagerOnline.net)- After being accused by my husband of being too obsessive over all things Joni, I got this invitation from my new friend Robbie Cavolina to come on out for the second night of Joni at the Warner lot here in Los Angeles. Mind you, I was in Florida on a long weekend jaunt with Griffin for some R & R, not two days after returning from Joni's three Southern California shows, and then friends wrote me and said how they met Joni Friday night... well, the love of all-things-Joni really kicked into high gear, and I was on the phone to the airline with one hour to decide whether I wanted the last seat on a very expensive flight out of Tampa, an hour from where we were, with just barely an arrival time in Los Angeles to rent a car and find the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank. You can easily guess what I did...
I made it in time and must say it will be a PEAK MOMENT in life for me: seeing Joni perform in the round, not 30 feet from her. This was definitely her element, with 200+ of us fans entranced by every note and word.
Highlights for me:
Talking to Larry Klein once again and showing him the photo I took of him and Joni kissing at the Thursday Pauley show. Thanks to Pearl for getting our photo while we talked. Larry has always been so pleasant and gracious to me. His playing was flawless this night, and I feel such a kinship with him, seeing his many performances with two of my favorites, Joni and Shawn Colvin.
Joni was radiant (as always!); she was relaxed and played to her friends and the cameras in this soundstage with her gallery of paintings surrounding us all as we sat on multi-levels of couches and large pillows, like in her living room. What a fantasy dream-come-true out here in Hollywood... As we entered the gallery hall of about 25 paintings, I felt so honored to see her visual labors all collected in one location... I never thought I would be seeing them in a show alone, much less before her singing to us for almost 3 hours!!!!!
She did almost her whole concert setlist as I recall and even a standard jazz tune I am not familiar with "Comes Love", along with a Marvin Gaye tune called "Trouble Man"...all new for me. Mark Isham played his muted trumpet for many of her songs and this was another peak moment for me...he is fantastic. She said on "Hejira": "Listen, I think I hear Mark Isham blowing through the trees...", and sure enough, we did...
She had to start a couple of songs over like "Refuge of the Roads" when she was 3/4 of the way through it, which actually delighted most of us, who could have listened to repeated versions all night. She did a couple of second takes of songs for the filming, so this made it all the more of a pleasure to watch the process.
I had good views of all, being at Brian Blade's back, so Joni was turned in our direction. She came out front a lot and did a shag dance number with her friend Val and wowed the crowd.
Her voice was in top shape as she appears to be over the cold/ allergies she suffered on the road. She hit some higher notes than I expected and her voice carried very well. I got a sense it is stronger now than previously like at Stormy Weather.
Toward the end at the last quick break, she ran up front and had folks tripping over each other to light her cigarette. She took a couple of drags and told us earlier how her meeting with the guru in Colorado who inspired "Refuge..." helped her get the "I" out of her consciousness for three days, except for her smoking, which she says is a part of her, "like breathing and eating". I truly hope she is one to beat the odds, and she regales us well into her 90's about her life as a surviving smoker...
She told many anecdotes that will take us all six months to transcribe our versions, so please be patient. I am still absorbing, distilling, and floating.
Seen in the audience and, at times, arm's length away: Roseanna Arquette, who did the introduction...I guess she might be so awe-struck it came out a little clumsily? Peggy Lipton (formerly Mrs. Quincy Jones) and Mod Squad queen, who might have had a grown daughter or two in tow. k.d. Lang, sitting on a front couch, along with numerous other celebs in the audience I cannot name right off.
A highlight: Graham Nash presented Joni with her unclaimed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trophy, in scruffy wrap. She said, "Ah, wrapped in a garbage bag, I see. Just where it belongs!" TAKE THAT, JAN WENNER!!! (Wonder if they will leave that in the show?! HAHAHA!). Mackenzie Phillips who accidently elbowed me as we took our seats, and then gazed at me, waiting for me to recognize her... Donald Freed, Joni's boyfriend, is quite good-looking and seemed very solicitous of her after the show and packed the limo trunk ever-so-nicely with her stuff. I have a nice photo of Donald looking so dapper in his fedora.
Thanks to Robbie Cavolina and our Kakki for urging me to come back out for an incredible evening I will cherish forever.
SIQUOMB,
Marsha Doyle, loving Joni Mitchell for 25+ years
---
(From: Marilune@aol.com)-Being a child of 1982, I'd never gotten to oppurtunity to see Joni perform live. Up until a few weeks ago, my only close-to-Joni-concert experience was putting on her albums in the living room when nobody else was in the house or listening to mum talk about when she had gone to see her in '71 or so. The Bob/Joni/Van concert *was* amazing and I'm very grateful that through the generosity of both my parents and my online friends, I was able to attend two of the shows, but those shows combined couldn't hold a candle to what I saw, felt, and heard at the so called "Joni taping" on May 30th, 1998.
The taping came at a perfect time for me. For the past few weeks, my little "crush" Griffin had been ignoring me. It was a major change from the sweet boy with eyes the color of the sand and the sea who had invited me to come see him play at the Roxy Theatre and who had played me music during our amazing two hour phone conversations. The first emotions I felt were those of total betrayal and one weekend I nearly cried myself sick wondering what I had done to make him say good-bye ("I'm so hard to handle, I'm selfish and I'm sad, Now I've gone and lost the best baby that I ever had..."). I blamed myself. Then I felt anger. Why was I crucifying myself over his lack of appreciation? Finally, I slid into an all time emotional low. All my enthusiasm seemed to die whenever Griffin came by ("I came in as bright as a neon light and I burned out right there before him..."). I felt "so weak and so spacey", it was hard to have fun and shine like the sun, just like I'd promised myself I would when I picked out "All I Want" as the unofficial anthem of my feelings towards Griffin. Though now the lyrics of "All I Want" have taken on a different tone than the light allusion to budding love I had interpreted it as before I established a relationship with Griffin...and discovered that I should have taken Joni's warning more seriously: "Be prepared to bleed."
He had really shattered me with something he had told me on the phone about two weeks earlier: "We have nothing in common." It sent me reeling. It was true. He was "a little rocker boy" who experimented freely with drugs, did poorly in school, and went to concerts frequently. I was a decent student who wrote poetry math class, never touched drugs, and kept a scrapbook full of pictures of fairies, Matt Damon, and Star Wars postcards. It was the ominous chorus of "I Had a King" coming true ("I can't go back there anymore, you know my keys won't fit the door, you know my thought's don't fit the man, they never can, they never can..."). But throughout my emotional roller coaster ride, I had relied on my Joni albums to get me through. I scribbled lyrics down in a composition book in class and listened to the albums late at night when I could wring every word dry and say, "I'm feeling just like that right now." Joni was a source of comfort, a bit like a mother figure. I applied her words to my wounds and found consolation. After all, "There's comfort in melancholy, when there's no need to exlpain, it's just as natural as the weather...."
Kakki's phone call came early in the week and I was thrilled to be asked to go. On Saturday, mum and I went shopping and I bought some purple lip gloss (make up is my small vice...I'm against most trendy things) and new shoes which I wore to the concert. Wandering through the gallery of Joni's art, I felt like I was looking at holy relics. When I saw the original Turbulent Indigo and Taming the Tiger covers, I leaned in closer to see every brush mark. I knew she was an amazing artist...but wow! And those teachers at school thought they were so good with their charcoal sketches and sketchy drawings of nude pregnant women with their legs spread. Hah! If they only knew. But the taping was much better. I got a seat right in front on a pillow next to my mother and Les.
Joni herself was simply amazing. She was absoulutely glowing with energy and spirit. I loved that she opened with Big Yellow Taxi. The huge smile on her face just spelled out how much fun she was having. Her voice sounded amazing and was show-cased perfectly in "Comes Love" and "Trouble Man". I got that familiar thrill of recognition that I get whenever a lyric fits my situation perfect when she sang out, "Comes love, nothing can be done."
One of my favorite moments was when Joni sang "Amelia". I began to cry and a leaned on my mother for comfort. The wistful, sad hopelessness of the song really came out live. The studio was hot and mum was soft and I let everything push out my eyes. It was really special. Another great moment was when she sang "The Crazy Cries of Love". Earlier that week I had written in my composition book "No one else can hear the crazy cries of love" around 20 times because I felt so isolated. My friends were sick of my crush and everyone around me seemed so busy...but me, I could hear the crazy cries of love whenever Griffin walked by or whenever I looked at the picture someone had taken of us a few weeks earlier with our arms around eachother.
More special moments were the times when I could swear that Joni was looking right at me. Kakki and the rest of the JMDl gang told me how lucky I was...they had been waiting 30 years for this and I was 15 and I had seen her three times in two weeks. I suppose one day I'll come to appreciate it. But there is one thing that I don't have to wait to appreciate: the true beauty of the music. I don't want to assume superiority by saying that I recognize a kindred spirit in Joni's music. She's the best friend I never had. She can console and reprimand at the same time. From Joni's music, I can get advice and counseling and more. And to see her live was just a little slice of heaven...no, a BIG slice of heaven and I don't think I'll ever come down from my cloud.
Today was the last day of classes at my school (6/5) and I'm so glad to be out. Tenth grade was a big drag on the psyche and I'm so happy I'll never have to go through it again. Everything seemed to collapse around me...friends who weren't really friends ("Anyone will tell you just how hard it is to make and keep a friend..."), jerks who thought they were superior to me and told me in every possible way that I was jealous because they "had friends and I didn't and that they made it and I didn't" (their exact words), and a general emotional low. But Joni's lyrics helped me piece my self esteem back together and remember that I didn't need anyone's approval to be myself and to liked for who I was and not for people thought I was ("They open and close you and they talk like they know you, they don't know you..."). Every day I listen to a Joni album and remember the concerts and hope that by the time I reach Joni's age (I'm only 15 now!), I can be as happy and as glowing and as amazingly gorgeous. It's my goal to emerge from this little dark cocoon called High School with gorgeous wings and fly away as golden as any stardust ever was. Despite any crazy call of love, indifferent boys, dodgy friends, jerk boys, hurt, harms, and sorrows (and sometime's there will be sorrow), I'll always have Joni. At the risk of sounding too corny, I'll end here with a quote (well an acronym really) from Miss Joan herself: Somehow, in spite of our troubles, ours will be everlasting love.
sincerely...mariana mcconnell
This was the second of two nights of taping
in front of a private audience. These performances were being
taped for a pay-per-view special and a video release.
MARIANA:
The Joni taping came at a perfect time for me. With school *almost* over, I
was ready for partying ("it's just the summer in the young blood, ripe and
juicy in the young blood") but I still had work to concentrate on, which was
a major bummer. I was just beginning to come down off the Joni wave I had been
riding the week before thanks to the horror of Geometry, the grind of the
school day, and the increasingly strained relationship with the now blonde
again Griffin (his mum made him bleach it back to normal, so says Chelsea,
but he bleached it a little too light...he's like the moon now, reflecting the
sun, but constantly in the darkness...and where's that at?).
Kakki called me earlier in the week and I was very happy to recieve the
news. And of course I said yes. My teachers, what with this being the last week
of school, are all scrambling to asign essays and tests and endless sheets of verbs to conjugate
before stop period, when they can't assign any new work. So I had an essay to
re-write, an essay to prepare, and a project to rework over the weekend. And I blew it
all off in favor of Joni. But never fear you die hard scholars! I finished it all
up tonight and yesterday (albeit crappily, but I'm not so worried anymore).
Saturday rolled around and Mum and I went shopping before the show. I got
some hard candy lip gloss and some brown platforms. For the concert, I leaned
towards blue with my blue rennaissance top, jeans, new platforms, and
purplish makeup. It was quite exciting to enter Warner Bros. studios with a
little tag that said "VIP". Mum and I met up with Kakki, Steve, Ken, Leslie, Jill,
Pearl, Phyliss, Wally, and a very tired looking Marsha inside. We exchanged
pictures of the previous week's parties and I heard about the wonderful evening
beforehand. We were let inside through a gallery full of Joni's paintings: Wow!
Can she paint! Among them were the TTT and TI original along with other assorted
ones. They were like holy objects to me. So bright and vivid and full of color.
It was a joy just being in the same room as them. Inside the studio, I got a
great seat...right in front on a pillow! Perhaps this had to do with my age.
Wally told me that the ever present "they" want to show that Joni has a young
audience. It was a little uncomfortable, but I was so close to Joni and I
could swear that at some points in the concert she was looking right at me.
Joni started with BYT and continued on (see someone else's EPIC REVIEW for
the setlist) with wonderful songs. I cried my eyes out during "Amelia" and
accidentally rubbed some mascara under my eye so mum, Kakki, and Marsha all
thought I was either extremely tired or had a black eye. Joni's voice on
"Comes Love" was amazing. Joni mentioned how she had just fallen in love with
the song and so did I, listening to it. "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" was
rocking and fun and I didn't mind a bit when she did it twice. Joni was
really having fun and she was absolutely glowing.
Speaking of glowing, I was absoulutely glowing! It was absoulutely amazing
to be so close to Joni. I curled up with my mum and just was enraptured. I was
reminded once again that Joni is truly a goddess to me and how much how I
really need her music to get me through life. I wasn't ashamed when I began
crying during "Amelia". I feel like crying just remembering it. Some things
are too precious. After the show, some of us ventured out to Kakki's where we
snacked and chatted and I played guitar. I didn't really talk much about the concert at
school, since no one really would listened. So I'm completely full of it. I pray the Joni miracles are
not over yet. It's the summer in the young blood, ripe and juicy in the young
blood...
STEVE:
Well, guys, the cloud shows no sign of releasing me...I'm still
floating...I don't know if I will ever be able to right a
coherent report...... Many, many thanks to Wally for making it all possible.
Many, many thanks to Leslie Mixon who "promoted" me from a "sitter" to a
VIP with her quick-thinking on Saturday.
I didn't count that many true fans, specially Friday, when it was
a heavy "industry" night. There was a lot of disinterest in Joni. As was
posted, ALL the sitters were used Friday, as the industry types had more
important places to be as the evening progressed. Bopping away to the
songs I could look around...Rosanna was into it...Graham was into it...
the jmdlers were into it...a few others...and a lot of stolidity.
Saturday (Marsha's night - how many boxes of Kleenex did you go through,
anyway...and who can blame you!) was much better, but still people left
in ones and twoes.
Also Saturday they did the encores *first* which got the
audience all
fired up.
To save my reputation, here are the setlists - Wally has official,
printed ones, and might have put them up already -
Friday
Night Ride Home, Crazy Cries of Love, Love Has Many Faces, Bethlehem, Harry's
House, Just Like this Train, Black Crow, Amelia, Hejira, Refuge of the Roads,
Facelift, Sex Kills, Magdalene Laundries, Moon at the Window, Three Great
Stimulants, (encore) BYT, Woodstock, Comes Love, Why do fools fall in love
(the dancer was Valentino), Trouble Man, Song For Sharon (a request from the
audience - and the band
(*knew* it!)
Saturday
BYT, Comes Love, Why do fools fall in love, Trouble Man, NRH, Crazy Cries,
Harry's House, Bethlehem, Just Like this Train, Black Crow, Amelia, Hejira,
Refuge of the Roads, Facelift, Sex Kills, Magdalene Laundries, Moon at the
Window, Three Great Stimulants, Woodstock,
Two wonderful evenings....
If I'd had a camera...if *I'd* been directing that show, I'd
have had a hand held camera just going round, focusing on the
faces of the jmdlers in the audience. What a range of emotions...
awe...delight...intense concetration...amazement...goofy
happiness...supreme contentment...and not a few tears.
Wow.....
Marsha wrote:
This was definately her element, with 200+ of us
true fans entranced by every note and word.
Well, I didn't count that many true fans, specially Friday, when it was
a heavy "industry" night. There was a lot of disinterest in Joni. As was
posted, ALL the sitters were used Friday, as the industry types had more
important places to be as the evening progressed. Bopping away to the
songs I could look around...Rosanna was into it...Graham was into it...
the jmdlers were into it...a few others...and a lot of stolidity.
Saturday (Marsha's night - how many boxes of Kleenex did you go through,
anyway...and who can blame you!) was much better, but still people left
in ones and twoes.
Also Saturday they did the encores *first* which got the audience all
fired up.
During the recent shows, while I saw Joni step over to her
VG-8 box from time to time, I certainly didn't notice her
doing it between every song. And I didn't notice any foot
pedals. How was she changing tunings?
She started one song at the taping with a hideously wrong
chord. "Ooops!" she said "I forgot I was in a 7-5 tuning"
(Help me with these numbers, folks!)"In 7-5 that sounds
terrible "(fiddling with VG-8)"but in 7-7 (strum) it
sounds great!"
Whenever there was a break in the taping, her guitar tech
would tune the Parker Fly. As Mdeste (sp?) has pointed out,
we never (?) saw her tuning the guitar on the tour.
PHYLLIS:
Well, another dream has come true .
This past year has been an amazing one for me in many ways, not the
least of which being incredible Joni experiences. As some of you know,
I had the pleasure of meeting Joni last October. If you would like to
hear more about that experience, check out my entry to the JMDL writers
contest on the JMDL pages. Then came the wonderful concerts in LA and
Anaheim, and the opportunity to meet so many of my "pen pals" from this
list in person. And last night, Joni gave an incredible private concert
for a group of about 200 friends of hers and mine! The event was so
even more special because I was able to enjoy it with many of you.
I don't know where to begin! Bob and I met Les and Pearl for dinner at our
hotel before the concert.
None of us ate much as we were too excited to be hungry. While waiting to be
let into the stage area at the studio I spotted Graham Nash and was able to get
him to autograph the drawing Joni had
done of him in my StarArt book. I was hoping to get Joni to do the same
by her photo - but alas that did not happen - yet! (I continue to dream
big). We found great seats on a couch in the back (4th) row right in front of
Joni. Bob was chatting with the group of women on the couch to our
left. Being as he is not very "starry eyed" he didn't know he was
talking to McKenzie Phillips until I told him. In the front row below
us was Rosanna Arquette who, being a big fan, was there to introduce
Joni. I believe Pearl was sitting near Peggy Lipton and I hear that
Michelle Pfeiffer was there but I didn't see her.
Joni came out and she was absolutely radiant in brown and gold, smiling,
joking, swaying, dancing. This outfit was much more complimentary IMHO
than the yellow-gold one she wore for the last two tour nights. It
showed her marvelous figure! Hard to believe she's in her 50's. Steve
will give the complete setlist I'm sure but from my memory she played
the entire tour setlist, in a similar but not exact order, with the
addition of Refuge of the Roads. She started the evening with a group of
songs she grew up on and other favorites including Why Do Fools Fall in
Love. This part of the set was was particulary awesome! I found myself
wishing she had performed some of these fun tunes during the previous
tour.
Another highlight was Joni singing Happiness is the Best Facelift, often
looking and smiling directly at Don Freed who was sitting slightly to
the left front of us. I found myself reflecting on the fact that her
former lover, Graham, was to her right front, (listening intently and
swaying to the music) her soon to be ex-husband was behind her on stage,
and her current love was straight in front (also really in to the
music). Wow!
At one point during a break I noticed that Graham was holding something
that looked like an award to me. I asked Kakki what she thought it was
and she said maybe a microphone. It turned out to be both! He
interrupted Joni and walked on stage to present her with her Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame award which he said he had been trying to give to her
for a year. She jokingly said she had been a "no show" to the awards
event. He apologized for the wrapping job which was pretty tacky and
she responded with something like "a garbage bag is appropriate" and
placed it on a table behind her. A few songs later the stage manager
came and removed it, promising to keep it safe.
Suffice it to say it was an incredible evening - a night of a lifetime -
another dream come true - can't wait to see the video! - could be a PBS
special!
MARSHA:
After being accused by my husband of being too obsessive
over all things Joni, I got this invitation from my new
friend Robbie Cavolina to come on out for the second night of
Joni at the Warner lot here in Los Angeles.
Mind you, I was in Florida on a long weekend jaunt
with Griffin for some R & R, not two days after returning from
Joni's three Southern California shows, and then friends wrote me
and said how they met Joni Friday night...
well, the love of all-things-Joni really kicked into high gear, and I
was on the phone to the airline with one hour to decide whether
I wanted the last seat on a very expensive flight out of
Tampa, an hour from where we were, with just barely an
arrival time in Los Angeles to rent a car and find the Warner
Brothers lot in Burbank. You can easily guess what I did...
I made it in time and must say it will be a PEAK MOMENT in
life for me: seeing Joni perform in the round, not 30 feet
from her. This was definitely her element, with 200+ of us
fans entranced by every note and word.
Highlights for me:
Talking to Larry Klein once again and showing him the photo
I took of him and Joni kissing at the Thursday Pauley show.
Thanks to Pearl for getting our photo while we talked.
Larry has always been so pleasant and gracious to me.
His playing was flawless this night, and I feel such a
kinship with him, seeing his many performances with
two of my favorites, Joni and Shawn Colvin.
Joni was radiant (as always!); she was relaxed and played to
her friends and the cameras in this soundstage with her gallery
of paintings surrounding us all as we sat on multi-levels of
couches and large pillows, like in her living room. What a fantasy
dream-come-true out here in Hollywood...
As we entered the gallery hall of about 25 paintings, I felt so
honored to see her visual labors all collected in one location...
I never thought I would be seeing them in a show alone, much less
before her singing to us for almost 3 hours!!!!!
She did almost her whole concert setlist as I recall and even a
standard jazz tune I am not familiar with "Comes Love", along with a Marvin
Gaye
tune called "Trouble Man"...all new for me. Mark Isham played his muted
trumpet for many of her songs and this was another peak moment for me...he is
fantastic. She said on
"Hejira": "Listen, I think I hear Mark Isham blowing through the
trees...", and sure enough, we did...
She had to start a couple of songs over like "Refuge of the Roads"
when she was 3/4 of the way through it, which actually delighted
most of us, who could have listened to repeated versions all night.
She did a couple of second takes of songs for the filming, so this
made it all the more of a pleasure to watch the process.
I had good views of all, being at Brian Blade's back, so
Joni was turned in our direction. She came out front a lot
and did a shag dance number with her friend Val and wowed the crowd.
Her voice was in top shape as she appears to be over the cold/
allergies she suffered on the road. She hit some higher notes
than I expected and her voice carried very well.
Toward the end at the last quick break, she ran up front and
had folks tripping over each other to light her cigarette.
She took a couple of drags and told us earlier how her meeting
with the guru in Colorado who inspired "Refuge..." helped her
get the "I" out of her consciousness for three days, except for her
smoking, which she says is a part of her, "like breathing and eating".
I truly hope she is one to beat the odds, and she regales us
well into her 90's about her life as a surviving smoker...
She told many anecdotes that will take us all six months to
transcribe our versions, so please be patient.
I am still absorbing, distilling, and floating.
Seen in the audience and, at times, arm's length away:
Roseanna Arquette, who did the introduction...I guess
she might be so awe-struck it came out a little clumsily?
Peggy Lipton (formerly Mrs. Quincy Jones) and Mod Squad queen,
who might have had a grown daughter or two in tow.
k.d. Lang, sitting on a front couch, along with numerous
other celebs in the audience I cannot name right off.
A highlight: Graham Nash presented Joni with her unclaimed
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trophy, in scruffy wrap.
She said, "Ah, wrapped in a garbage bag, I see. Just where it
belongs!" TAKE THAT, JANN WENNER!!! (Wonder if they will leave that in the
show?! HAHAHA!). Mackenzie Phillips who accidently elbowed me as we took
our seats, and then gazed at me, waiting for me to recognize
her... Donald Freed, Joni's boyfriend, is quite good-looking and seemed
very solicitous of her after the show and packed the limo trunk
ever-so-nicely with her stuff. I have a nice photo of Donald
looking so dapper in his fedora.
Thanks to Robbie Cavolina and our Kakki for urging me to come
back out for an incredible evening I will cherish forever.
SIQUOMB, Marsha Doyle, loving Joni Mitchell for 25+ years
Another funny Joni moment on Saturday night at her show taping:
Someone yelled, "Joni I love your paintings!"...to which
she replied: "Oh yeah? But what about my hair?"
HAHAHA!
KEN:
At Saturday night's taping I saw Nic Harcourt,(Chris Douridas'
replacement on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic) in the audience and
sure enough on this morning's show he mentioned the taping and after
some complimentary remarks played "Come in from the cold." Next in the
set was Marvin Gaye's version of "Trouble Man" and after that he went
off on a different musical tangent. When the set was over he
back-announced it with more comments on the taping, including that Joni
had covered the Marvin Gaye song. He had no definate time and place for
the airing of the concert but mentioned that it would be shown around
the time of TTT's release. He promised to keep listeners updated.
OK, so the musical high-light of the tapings for me was Joni's version
of "Comes Love." According to a couple of my Billie Holiday
compilations, the song was written by Lew Brown-Sam Stept-Charles Tobias
and let me tell you, it was STUNNING! The version I'm familiar with was
recorded by Holiday in 1957, which is late Holiday and its very hip of
Joni to be selecting from this vintage because vocally and in terms of
life experience she's got enough heft to really do it nicely. Compared
to the Holiday version, Joni's was slowed way down, HEAVY on the beat!
"Comes the Rainstorm
You put your rubbers on your feet
Comes the snowstorm
You can get a little heat
Comes Love, nothing can be done..."
and when she says "Love", she goes for a completely different color from
the Holiday version and draws it w-a-y out...quite a revelation!
The non-musical high-light? Oh there were too many, I'll have to think
about it. Having Patti Reagan in my sight-line, just to the right of
Joni on Friday night and K.D Lang on Saturday night are strong
contenders. (Patti Reagan didn't react much to the performance, K.D.Lang
reacted all over the place.)
A very special thanks to Wally Breese!
JILL:
There are not enough adjectives to describe how incredible this
evening was. The posts you have read from various people describing
the event were not exaggerations. It was one of the most moving
experiences I have personally ever had and sharing it with others
on the list whose love and respect for Joni is evident made it
that much more meaningful.
It was so personal and intimate, far exceeding any expectations that
I had. It was so much more than I ever could have hoped for.
I am so grateful to Wally who made this incredible evening possible for
us. It was magical. There are no words to express my gratitude.
I have to say that there were so many times that night that I
felt guilty about being there when there are so many others on
this list who love this woman as much as I do weren't able to
be there to experience it. A little like survivors guilt I guess.
Seeing Joni's paintings up close and personal was just so moving.
This alone would have been enough for me but there was so much more--
it really was overwhelming.
Joni was so down to earth, so sweet, so vulnerable and so incredibly
generous in her performance. You felt like you were there sitting with
her in her living room, you felt like this was her way of saying thanks
to you. There was no shield up, she just put everything out there. I
was off to the side of her, no more than 12-15 feet away. She turned
around often after singing and smiled at the audience and made eye
contact with people and with me a couple of times. I hope in those brief
seconds she was able to see how much I love her and how much I
appreciated this gift she was giving to me. I clapped so long and hard
that my hands bled but I wanted to clap even longer and harder because
I couldn't express enough how wonderful it was.
"Come Love" really was a wonderful surprise and she cooked on "Trouble
Man". Other highlights were seeing Graham Nash's face and his obvious
love of "Amelia" when Joni started playing it and he rose to his feet to
yelp and applaud with the rest of us after "Black Crow".
I was sitting close to Brian Blade and during "Harry's House"
and "Slouching Towards Bethelem" I couldn't stop watching him, his
contributions especially to these two songs was AMAZING. He is truly
brilliant and it was such a treat to see him smiling at Joni and her
smiling back at him. I hope theirs will be a long musical partnership.
Larry Klein was just wonderful too (and so damn cute) and it was
touching to see how affectionate he and Joni still are with each other.
Everyone has mentioned how gorgeous Joni looked but I want to say
it again. I mean, no picture you have seen over the last decade
comes even close to showing how beautiful she is. Marsha was
absolutely correct in saying that Peggy Lipton looked not a day
over 35 but Joni was looking just as youthful (time has been
untruthful). She was glowing, she was happy and the lady can dance.
Joni belongs in these intimate settings. If she does play at the
Fez, then do whatever it takes to be there, pay that full fare for the
plane ticket, drive 16 hours, risk losing your job--whatever it
takes--it will be worth it.
DON:
I'm on digest, so don't know if anyone else has posted since returning
to the keyboard from the concert - no - THE Concert!!! - tonight at
Warner's. But let me say, in case you haven't heard, it was Absolutely
Incredible and Joni was Stunning!!!!
I never posted a review of the Friday Night Pauley Concert, in part
because I was sorta bummed about it. Don't get me wrong - it was the
first time I had seen Joni in concert, so that in itself made the night
one I'll always remember. But I was surrounded by rude people who were
conversing through most of her set, and my group had very distant seats,
and I left wishing Joni would do a gig in a small venue as a solo act
where she would be entirely appreciated. Geee, maybe I should wish to
win the lotto this week, too!
It's 2:30 a.m. and I just got home - wired, but not in much shape to
write a cool review of the evening. I'm sure others will post the
glorious news for all who were unable to attend. Suffice it to say I
have never been so pleased with three hours in my life. And to walk a
foot from Joni, while she was chatting with friends on her way to a
break, ... wow!! I must tell you all that while standing next to her as
she hugged a friend, we made eye contact and I mouthed the words, "Thank
You" and she gave me a big grin in return. I had the pleasure of meeting Kakki
and Steve Dulson and a couple other list folks. That was definitely fun.
This song (Amelia) has always done a number on me. But I was amazed at
the impact it had on the room at the Warners concert tapings,
especially, I think, on Saturday night. Beginning with the first note, Joni
proceeded to weave a flawless fabric
of pure emotion. Then, and as a testament to her genius, she used it to
tenderly wrap us all up in her deepest feelings. It was as if we became of one
heart, one mind, Unified in some far off ethereal place, a
tapestry of song and saddened souls, all huddled together under the
umbrella of Amelia. I was one of many moved so deeply and completely,
there was no holding back the tears. I couldn't help but notice Graham Nash
appeared to be (like the rest of
us) spellbound as Joni sang this great song.... leaning forward, as if
into her, chin resting on closed fist... I wonder what he was thinking?
Even though I had the good fortune of attending both of the concerts at
Warner's, I've really enjoyed the posts from others able to marvel at
Joni and her band in Burbank. I re-live a piece of that extraordinary
experience each time someone contributes something from their memory
banks.
I especially enjoy, in a painful sort of way, the ones describing the
meeting with Joni. Painful you ask? Read on: I had met Kakki during the
break that first night and she suggested I hook up with her and some of
the other Listers afterwards. Sounded good to me, but after the concert
was over and I made the requisite *pit stop*, I decided I best get down
the three hour long road home. "Besides," I thought, "I'll be back
tomorrow night and maybe I'll see the Listers then." Little did I know
that had I stuck around that first nite and found Kakki, there was a
good chance I would have been able to tag along for the "Trip to the
Sacred Trailer" to meet Joni herself. Please, no one kick me - I've
done enough of that to myself :-).
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm still feeling little waves of
bliss wash over me when I think about those two Nights In Nirvana. Even
when I'm *not* thinking about it, I feel transformed. I believe it's a
blessing to find yourself in the company of True Genius, and that belief
is strengthened in the aftermath of the concerts. It was worth every
minute of the 30 year wait.
It was also cool meeting Listers Kakki, Steve Dulson, Ken Corral,
Marsha, Pearl, Leslie, Phyliss and hubby, as well as Les and Wally who
deserve every bit of gratitude showered on them. Last but not least, I
had the chance to meet the self-proclaimed youngest member of the JMDL
Community, Miss Mariana who is so articulate and honest it is almost
frightening! (Mariana: we should have just pushed our way through the
line and into the trailer after the second concert!) It was a great
night all the way around, even though I did fall asleep a couple times
on the way home after leaving the Famous Kakki-Shack (I sorta prefer
*Kakki's Krib*).
KAKKI:
I wish you all could see Joni's paintings and wonder if they will be in the
book of her art coming out. We did see them being filmed several times so
hopefully the show/video will give us a good glimpse of them.
Each of the 50 or so paintings we saw at the taping were masterpieces IMO. She
knows what she is saying when she asserts that she considers herself a painter
first. All of the paintings from Turbulent Indigo were there (I felt like I
was approaching the Mona Lisa when I saw her self-portrait from TI). But that
work is just the tip of the paintbrush so to speak. She has obviously been
very prolific. Most of the impressionistic paintings are very layered and
appear to be done using a palette knife, while the more realistic ones seem to
be done mostly with a brush. The paintings virtually sparkled with color and
light and were striking even from way across the building.
I got turned around in the side passageways a few times and found even more
paintings hanging hidden next to doorways, etc. One of my favorites was
hidden
away and very whimsical. It showed a side view of Joni on the left side
looking with a big eye at a blonde doe looking back at her with a big
surprised
eye on the other side. The effect was that doe looked like Joni and she
looked
like the doe. In the background were silhouettes of children playing in a
forest. Several people loved one of her in braids paddling a canoe. There
was
one of her and Donald in a black hat sitting behind a table in what seemed to
be an old diner. It had a 1930s feel to it. There were some spectacular
seascapes, most likely of the British Columbian coastline, and including the
painting from which her concert stage backdrop was designed. And there was one
of a little blonde-haired boy (Marlin?) jumping in the surf. All of the
paintings are extremely beautiful. We'll probably see a few of these in the
Taming the Tiger artwork. Geez, I wish she would do more exhibits!
PEARL:
The dream continues the next night...
After once again looking at the wonderful paintings, I managed to find a seat
on a cushion similar to the night before. This time I was primed with my
camera. I was leaning against the end of the sofa where Peggy Lipton sat. I
was just to the right of the sofa where Graham Nash sat, and k.d. lang was
very nearby. My heart was beating in anticipation. I knew it would be
wonderful again. And when the show finally started, it was unexpectedly and
unbelievably even better than the night before. This time she started with
the fun stuff that she ended with the night before. I must have been grinning
inside and out the whole time as it all washed over me. It was magical. I
clapped so hard my hands were hurting. I managed to snap a couple of rolls
of film, but with the high speed of it and not using a tripod, most were
shakey.
I did manage to get some good ones. I
I accidently let the flash go off on one of them and was nervous they would
ask
me to leave or take the camera away.
After having a nice conversation with both
Les and Wally together during intermission, I started up the few wooden steps
to my seat. Before I got to the top, I guess
my heal caught and I tripped, falling forward right at Graham Nash's feet.
Believe me this is not how wanted to meet him. I was very embarrassed.
He and whoever he was sitting with
asked if I was all right. I brushed myself off and said "I'm OK,
I can still walk", and then
sat back on my red cushion. Well, I wasn't exactly OK. My shins were
beginning to throb and I was seeing colors. I asked myself why I couldn't
just let all this pleasure in without mixing in some pain. I just kept
breathing and rubbing my shins, sending them whatever healing I could
and just continued to enjoy Joni and the rest.
She was in great form, sang
and played and told stories and seemed even more
relaxed than the night before. Unfortunately, it couldn't
go on forever but I will never forget it. I can't wait to see the video to
relive it again.
We hoped to meet with Joni again after the show, but it was not to be. I
know she was held up taking some photos afterward, and there seemed to be a
lot more people waiting too. It was a bit disappointing that she didn't come out this
time, but I was one of the very fortunate ones who did meet with her the
night before so I am forever grateful.
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