May 19, 2000

Posted May 19, 2000

Peter Erskine, Joni's drummer on the BSN tour, sent me a message today, telling me that the vast majority of orchestra members who have "found themselves invited [well, technically, 'contracted'] to play in these concerts have been extremely excited to do so, either because of their own connections to Joni's music, or by the sheer beauty of the collaboration of Vince Mendoza's incredible writing and Joni's wonderful rendering of the music. And it has been a pure delight to see Joni having so much fun with the music." to share with all of you:

Greetings to all Joni Mitchell fans. You have all been a tremendous inspiration; the audience response has been most gratifying for all of us associated with the show. It is an honor and privilege to play the drums on this tour.

Just a short note concerning the overture (prompted by no one seeming to recognize it, as well as one website reviwer/contributor claiming the music had "no relevance" to the evening ...); the piece has great relevance, as it was chosen by Joni (and Larry and Vince): it is Claude Debussy's "Nuages" ("Clouds") from his "Noctournes" suite for orchestra ... the relevance coming not only as a musical statement, but also from the title ("Both Sides Now ... Clouds"). It is meant to set a tone for the rest of the evening.

To all of you who appreciate the artistry of Joni and company, I offer my thanks.

We are all looking forward very much to the next concerts in New York, Washington, Hartford, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and the Philadelphia area!

Peter Erskine

I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to all of you for sending in your thoughts on Joni's concerts. Looking forward to hearing from you Atlanta folks now, too! Just e-mail your report to me. Important: If you want your report to appear on the site, make sure you tell me what concert you're referring to in the subject line of your message, otherwise I might miss it.