From: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org (believers-digest) To: believers-digest@smoe.org Subject: believers-digest V4 #38 Reply-To: believers@smoe.org Sender: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk believers-digest Thursday, February 24 2000 Volume 04 : Number 038 In Today's believer's digest: ----------------- Re: believers-digest V4 #37 [NYlaw4me@aol.com] [none] [owner-believers@smoe.org] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 15:23:13 EST From: NYlaw4me@aol.com Subject: Re: believers-digest V4 #37 Hi All, You may remember that I am a recent admirer of Susan's talents, therefore don't usually chime in here. I enjoy the postings very much though. As you may recall, I am the 'Jazz-Lawyer'. So today's subject of lawyers calls for a note from me. The first time Susan and I met, I was on the verge of forming a jazz band with my buddy from law school who is am amazing swing violinist. I was taking singing lessons from an acomplished soprano and fearing the stage a bit, but having fun. After seeing her show the first time, I went to buy one of her CD's and got chatting with Jane. I mentioned that after hearing Susan in person, I was quite sure I should just shut up and remain seated as regards my professional singing career. Susan told me that I should definitely 'go for it'. (she seems to lack the cat-y jealousy attributable to many artists) At a later time, she again told me that the key was to get crazier. Since then, I have sought a high-profile job, my mother has recovered from big-deal surgery, and I'm again back to seeking that job, and unfortunately my buddy is practicing law in England so I have lost my shot at singing for the time being. However, I never loose the sentiment in Susan's words. I am pretty crazy already, but I just keep getting crazier, encouraged by one of the most charismatic people I have met in a long time, Susan. Security isn't the sum total of life, but it certainly helps if you can manage to have art, love and your feet securly on the ground, all at the same time. I intuit that Susan is seeking those things herself. She mentioned that 'love down the street' had gone the way of all good things, south, when I last saw her in Piermont, NY. She is beautiful, talented and brainy. My adopted jewish grandmother once told me that neither was a blessing, to be too smart nor too beautiful. Ignorance is bliss, I guess, and all the plain girls I know are happily married with great kids while the beauty's of life are admired for their exteriors and felt to be beyond reach. Well perhaps I wax a bit too philosophical but there you have it. Sincerely, The Jazz-Lawyer HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at songs.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 18:31:59 -0500 (EST) From: owner-believers@smoe.org Subject: [none] (128.83.190.1) by umbs-smtp-1 with SMTP; 23 Feb 2000 23:07:08 -0000 Message-ID: <001601bf7e53$72085fc0$01be5380@preferred-user> From: "Margaret J Barker" To: Subject: Texas Review(s) Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 17:12:24 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3155.0 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3155.0 Sender: owner-believers@smoe.org Precedence: bulk I thought wonderful Keith would write reviews of the College Station and Austin shows, but in his suspicious absense I find myself delurking out of duty to relay to fellow believers some tales of Sooze in Texas. On Friday (2/18/00) I drove up to College Station to see Susan perform at the Unitarian Church. There was a crowd of about 100 or so. Susan had them in the palm of her hand as usual. After a strong opening of "Perigee" (so glad I finally heard it -- and what did I know -- my boyfriend and I had been talking about the moon A LOT on our drive up there!), she said "Jane, we need the prop!" And Jane ran backstage while Susan continued "Yeah, we just happened to find this lying around in the church..." and out Jane comes with a 2-foot cement buddha who was placed on the front of the stage facing the audience. A few scattered believers chuckled to themselves and just sat back to wait for "Petaluma Afternoons" to start and for the rest of the audience to get the joke. It was hilarious. Buddha was with us for the whole night... I'm not going to get the set list just right at all, but the rest of the show included Bad President -- with the GWBush/Range Rover vs. AKeyes/Drawing of a Range Rover intro Dow Re Mi -- I finally saw it live! She sounds just like Julie! Bonsai -- w/ the intro about being a college grad -- something that was a big deal in her family... Sorry About Jesus -- after telling us she almost got kicked out of Dallas for singing it there. Aint I Lonely Tonight Time Between Trains -- this was great because right before these songs a long train had just gone by outside (Aggie country, you know) and she said, "Just wait! That will reappear later in the program!" Got some good chuckles on "Lonely Tonight" beginning as well as TBT. Cole Porter Much At All (w/out Everly Bros.) Movie of My Life -- thanking Donald Trump for his raging egoism Standing in my Own Way -- (I have to say this song always makes me want to go out and conquer the world...) (Encore: Baby Boomer Song) I should also say that the opening act at College Station was an amazing "up and comer" named Ruthie Foster who is country/folk/blues/gospel everything and her percussionist Cyd Cassone who does fine harmony. Such a treat to get quality opening acts -- even if they bust a string and borrow one of Susan's guitars... Seriously, she's one to look for at festivals and such. Got lungs. The show on Saturday (2/19/00) at the Cactus Cafe in Austin was one of the best I've ever heard -- the set list was essentially the same as it had been the night before, but as always, each song was refreshing. Isn't is amazing how she does that? Even though we know all the words and may even have seen the way she is currently performing a certain number, it is always a surprise what she is doing, what is coming out of her mouth, the EXPRESSION in her voice, it is always so new, never rote. (I've only seen this level of perpetual newness in one other performer -- Cecelia Bartoli whom I saw in Austria a few years ago!) Anyway, Susan seemed happy to be in the most liberal of Texas cities, surrounded by a nice number of beer-drinking believers (hi Stu, Keith, Kathy et al!). Memorable moments from the night are overshadowed by one of the most moving performances of Much At All I have ever heard -- I was ready to cry by the end and I;ve heard it a million times. She did the Walk Right Back thing which had the room in contemplative silence and then she stood up and said that during the end of the song she was thinking about the various forms of obits you can find in a newspaper -- and how their different styles reflect changes in cities -- she spoke about reading an obit for a local gay man who had died of aids and looking at his smiling picture... Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought I heard a crack in her voice and detected a tear in her eye as she related that story to us. It was quite moving. Differences in set list from the night before included: Society Ball, First World Woman, and the delightfully bitter one called something like "(I Don't Expect You'll Ever Join) The Human Race." She introduced it by saying that in this business she has had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people, like Ani and Dar, and some not so wonderful people... After this song she was asking the audience if the song was too mean or too bitter and whether the person who is ripped apart in the song should be painted more sympathetically and Jane (who was sitting and watching with a beer, looking nicely relaxed) called out "Fuck 'em!" which had us all roaring. I also loved hearing "If Not For You" as the second record, managed to get a picture taken with Susan after the show (which I will frame along with the guitar pick of hers my boyfriend snatched off the floor of the Unitarian church for me the night before...), and I left the Cactus Cafe starry-eyed and dreaming of #5. WHEN WILL IT EVER GET HERE? Does anyone know what will be on it? I can't wait to expand the Susan library... Keep believing, Margaret - ----------------------------- Margaret J. Barker mjbarker@mail.utexas.edu FAC 16 Tu 9:30-10:30, 2-4 "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Oscar Wilde HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at songs.com ------------------------------ End of believers-digest V4 #38 ****************************** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------- This has been a posting from the Susan Werner believers-digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe believers-digest" in the body of the message