I remember Joni encoring with "Woodstock"-just her and guitar. There was a po po at the foot of the stage. Joni reached down, took the officer's hat and put it on her head. It seemed a perfect gesture-he too was part of "our nation". The show was part of the WILD THINGS RUN FREE tour. The Ohio Theater is a perfect place for such an intimate show;show's sound was incredible.She and Larry Klein walked off arm-in-arm. Great memory of a memorable evening of music.

This was a magical evening. Joni stroked the piano keys lovingly. I was with the man who touched my soul most deeply. I mourn him, but have many memories, and this night is one of the brightest. Joni made the music; he made it magic. Namaste, my love.

Great concert! Joni was playing with her new guitar tuning technology. She and the band sounded great, really tight. John Mellencamp was in the audience, sitting in one of the opera boxes.

My sister and I were there! What a great moment for all of us who hung around after the show. Thanks for making the memory clearer for me. I did end up with an autograph on a small slip of paper that I dug out of my purse. That was the only time I had the opportunity to see Joni live. I couldn't believe that I finally had tickets and knew that we might not ever get the chance to see her again so we made the trip up to Columbus from Cincinnati. We too longed for more and stayed in our seats after the show ended. Someone actually approached us and suggested that if we went outside of that side door we might see her leaving the venue... The tickets were $12 (I still have my ticket stub and her autograph in a photo album). I can't believe it was 27 years ago...

As a preface to anything that follows it should be noted that Joni was my muse; not in the classical and strictly artistic manner, but her words and music were a constant inspiration to me. Her melancholic love stories and paeans melted and enamored me, and her social insights captivated and informed me. Going to see Joni in concert was like sitting at the feet of a guru, a sacred and gifted one, even in all of her self-effacing lyrics acknowledging her frailties.
This particular concert was my third hejira to see my muse, my first as a married man, whatever that might have meant. I did go alone, however. On this tour, Joni was nervously unleashing her new "electric rock" sound notably recorded on the "Wild Things Run Fast" LP. After the mesmerizing melodies of her earliest years, then the transition toward her strong jazz influence, it was a somewhat different style, but any true Joni fan had little problem embracing the latest sound. The Palace Theater venue was an appropriately regal setting and I thoroughly enjoyed the show from the near rear of the floor deep beneath the extended balcony overhang. After the show, I lingered wishing, as always, for just a little more. As the theater cleared out, I spotted a side exit, perhaps it was even marked as some kind of stage door to the outside alley, and on a whim I thought, well, just maybe...
Stepping through the door I lighted to the presence of a small crowd gathering beside a limo directly in front of the true Stage Door. We were all devotees awaiting the guru, and then, there she was spilling out the door with her then husband, bassist Larry Klein, just behind her; and she was not trying to make a quick exit. No, pausing beside the car, she asked us with curious desire, "Hey, you guys, what did you think of the new sound? Do you like it?" (Okay, those might not have been her exact words, but that was the sense of them! : ) ) A few responses dribbled back to which I was oblivious. Joni was in front of me for gods sake, and all the interior questions and conversations I had ever had with her had vanished from my memory. And then she looked right at me, lingered, awaiting my response, while I fumbled for just one word.
"Joni," I stammered, "every time I hear you, you paint a starry night again." And there it was. Done. All those dreamy conversations with my muse came down to a cheesy remix of one of her most famous recorded concert quips.
I laugh about it now, but I don't regret the effort. I'm still hoping someday I'll slide into my "jet plane" seat and I find Joni waiting to complete the conversation we've never had.
Thanks for the memory.  [ed.]