I went to this concert with some good friends who, like me, couldn't wait to see Joni in person. We owned all of her albums and loved her music. She didn't disappoint - not even a tiny bit.

The first part of the show she performed with the Yellow Jackets - Robben Ford, Tom Scott, et. al. - Fantastic! We were all so steeped in the album, "Court and Spark" and this concert was like the live version of that wonderful album. After a short intermission, Joni came back on the stage - just Joni. She played her guitar, her dulcimer and her piano and sang so beautifully it was mesmerizing.

The best of the best part for me, as a musician myself, was when Joni, at the piano, started playing "For Free". She played the intro and then began to sing, and then suddenly just stopped. She said something like, "This is the wrong key! Sorry about that". And then she started the song over again in the correct key and when on to play and sing like magic. I LOVED the fact that she just stopped - fixed it - and went ahead and played. Too any musicians would wither under the stress of making a mistake in front of an audience, but Joni just seemed to be saying, "ah, fuck it - wrong key - I'll start again". And I loved her more than ever at that moment. She demonstrated what a REAL human being she is.

Also, when she got to the line in "For Free" where it goes "I've got a black limousine and two gentlemen, escorting me to the halls" she sang it as "I've got a black limousine and 16 gentlemen" and then she laughed out loud! She was right, of course. I'm sure she had at least 16 gentlemen willing to escort her anywhere - and it cracked her up!!

I learned to play her piano version of "For Free" as transcribed by Howard Wright (a fantastic and accurate transcription). And every time I come to that line about the number of gentlemen, I can't help but smile.

After another break, the third and final part of the show was when Joni returned with the band and this time she was in a fabulous evening gown. She announced that she was now going to be the "girl jazz singer" in the band. She didn't disappoint - not in any part of this wonderful concert. This concert was 41 years ago for me and yet it's like it was last month. Not many artists leave an impression on you that hangs around for four decades, but Joni... well, she's just someone quite special.

Mrs Mitchell played the Berkeley Community Center on March 1st and 2ed according to her bio on Wally's web page. I, along with friends was at one of the performances, any one else ?


I'd got wind of when the tickets were to go on sale and had gone to Sears, in San Jose, to buy them at the Bass ticket outlet. The gal saw how excited I was and said she would punch the code in to the ticket printer ahead of time and when the tickets went on sale mine would be one of the first 13 it would print out.

Almost the best seats I've ever had at one of her performance. The best being on stage looking out at 500,000 people at the Isle of Wight, l was along side The Who's tower of speakers, fifteen feet from her as she premiering some of the songs she had written while being on Crete at the Matala caves. These would become part of Blue.

For her to pick up Robben Ford, who had been tearing up the South Bay Area music sceen only months earlier and had moved on to Los Angles to further his career, was my dream come true. She always has only the best. At that time Robben and his brothers "The Charles Ford Band" were on fire. Mark was 16 years old and was playing some of the best harp I've ever heard.



Her first performance I saw was Aug. 14, 1968 on the Dick Cavett Show and was beyond words. I went out the next day and bought"Song to a Seagull". She would lull me to sleep Every Night. Times were hard at home, still in high school and the war threatening. I needed her console.

To have a band behind her opened her scope as a jazz performer and beyond. She is one of a kind. She sings to you as you know or you wouldn't be reading this.

Magical.

Here's the thing as we stepped out of the Berkeley Community Center, after the show, it had hailed and the streets of Berkeley had been turned white....? There were thirteen of us and no one said anything, as we were still under a spell from the show. Then my girlfriend finally said, "Is anyone going to say anything about the snow on the ground?"

We all agreed that there was snow on the ground, something that never (seldom) happens in Berkeley,

I can not thank You enough Mrs Mitchell

WHAT A CONCERT".