From: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org (jangle-poets-digest) To: jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Subject: jangle-poets-digest V9 #6 Reply-To: jangle-poets@smoe.org Sender: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jangle-poets-digest Thursday, January 18 2007 Volume 09 : Number 006 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [JP] Lexington show [Nieldsforever@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:53:34 EST From: Nieldsforever@aol.com Subject: [JP] Lexington show Nields-Kennedys shows always have a special chemistry, and this one was no exception. It seems that the two duos do less shows together than they used to do, but I'm reminded that N&K brought P&M onstage with them at FRFF '06, so the "ties that bind" are still a bond of love and friendship. "Blest be the ties that bind" -- ! In a behind-the-scenes note, this was the first Nields show in which I saw the new Day Planners being sold at the merch table. >Joyful Noise Coffeehouse Saturday 1/13/07 -- > >Nerissa & Katryna Nields -- > >When I'm Here Katryna went right to work, taking her mike in hand and prowling the stage as she is sometimes known to do. One of her catlike moves has always been to sing in a deep crouching position, and she sort of made fun of that this time by incorporating into that deep crouch a dribbling-the-basketball pantomime, picked up apparently from one or more of her kids, under the watchful basketball tutelage of the kids' basketball mentor, Patty. :-) >Tailspin >Clean Heart They explained the whole concept of the Sister Holler album ITO the "folk process," which I thought was entirely fitting since Pete Kennedy, "folk process" troubadour and exponent extraordinaire, was "in the house." :-) Doesn't the "folk process" sound ever-so-much-more enlightening and enlightened, than tags like "robbery," "theft," "ripping off," or just plain "stealing"? ;-) Besides! In "stealing," something substantial or spiritually productive is seldom given in exchange for one's being deprived of something through the act of its being taken -- despite Nerissa's "Soldier at Your Door" story about the old man -- whereas in the "folk process" there is the potential for something substantially new, creative, and worthwhile being added on, like another ingredient being thrown into the "Soup" -- ! :-) At any rate, the "folk process," and not "theft" per se, is how I understand Gandalf Murphy's tipping o' the hat to the Who, to Pink Floyd, to Hank Williams, and so on -- "A Good Thief Tips His Hat." :-) >Anna Kick a Hole >Taxi Girl >Night Rider's Lament >Keys to the Kingdom w/ TK This was a good way to segue to TK's set, and there was a fairly successful singalong. "Take me back, take me back, take me way back" works well enough, and the First Baptist Church sanctuary (where the coffeehouse concerts are held) was loaded with people, truly one of the larger New England coffeehouses. >Kennedys -- > >Life Is Large >River of Fallen Stars >This Moment >Half a Million Miles >9th Street Billy >Midnight Ghost >8 Miles High >Rhapsody in Blue >Stand w/ N&K Just as at FRFF '05 at the Gospel Wakeup Call on the mainstage, TK managed to get the entire Lexington audience on its feet and singing along on this song. Lexington was the birthplace of "Stand" in 12/02 during the Nields/Kennedys/Susan Werner Summer in December tour, and boy has the song "Stand" shown staying power. "Stand" stands alone as a true coffeehouse (and festival) powerhouse. >(BREAK) This half-hour break gave me enough time to find out about my dead battery, call Triple AAA, and make arrangements for getting my car jumped! It was amazing to me that I missed almost nothing of the show, because the tow truck came only minutes after I called, during the first song ("Wall of Death") of TK's setlet after the break. >Kennedys -- > >Wall of Death >Chimes of Freedom > >N&K -- > >This Town Is Wrong >Oh Mary, Don't You Weep w/ TK I debated including that last song as part of the combined set, but it seemed better to leave it as 2 small setlets, TK followed by N&K, with the combined set beginning with the Bob Dylan song they always do in these HaHaHa sets. >HaHaHa -- I also feel awkward calling them that, maybe partly because the Cry Cry Cry reference now seems moot. I just haven't got a better name available. N&K opened quite a few shows for Cry Cry Cry in 1999 -- I saw at least the ones in Portsmouth NH, Wilmington DE, and the Newport Folk Fest Friday night at the Hotel Viking. By calling themselves HaHaHa when they did shows together, TN and TK were sort of projecting a more joyful and positive image, to set them off supposedly from an allegedly sadder Cry Cry Cry! :-) I didn't see all of the earliest HaHaHa shows, such as the Ram's Head and the Birchmere (Cone did). But I did see them April and May '00, during the Evolver-Home days, in Boston (at the Karma Club), at the Iron Horse, in Philly (New Market Theater), and most famously in Montclair NJ (Outpost in the Burbs) on Kennedys' drummer Zack's birthday, the Zack the Giant Killer show! :-) (TK were touring with bass and drums as a quartet in those days.) I also was at the debut of Acoustic HaHaHa (N&K only with P&M only) in East Greenwich RI, 10/20/00, the debut of "Heading Home" (NN only with Pete on guitar). Nields and Kennedys have shared the stage many times since then too, at FRFF (virtually every year) and last but not least, during the Summer in December tour. I was the only one to make all 7 of those, at the Cutting Room in NYC (right after a blizzard), at the Birchmere, at Pennington NJ, at Ellsworth ME, at Lexington MA ("Stand" premiere), and 2 at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington. Watching the movie "Robocop" with Peter the other day, I told Peter that I used to be "Robofan," because nothing could stop me from going to see TN and TK! :-) >The Times They Are A-Changin' Already covered in a separate post. >Easy People TK's version. Maura sang v.1, Nerissa sang v.2, Katryna sang v.3. >Orphan Girl The usual arrangement. Maura sang v.1, NN sang v.2, Pete guitar solo, KN v.3, SSA v.4 (i.e. Maura and Katryna are sopranos and Nerissa is an alto). >For What It's Worth The same. KN v.1, P&M v.2, N&K v.3, and NN v.4 ("Paranoia strikes deep...) I always loved Nerissa on that, partly because she sang so many other "Paranoia strikes deep"-type vocals already, like "Waco Lake," "Julia (Not Julia)," "Dictator," and "Snowman." As lead singers go w/ TN, it was always "Twister Katryna" (spinning around like JFD) and "Twisted Nerissa," the Twister Sisters! Twisted Sister?!? :-P >HaHaHa encore -- > >She Loves You >Twist & Shout/La Bamba Pete sang a lot of Spanish lyrics here, so maybe he really knows the song! The whole audience was on its feet, having a great time. :-) Nields and Kennedys rock the Head! -- Kennieldys? -- I had my motor going the whole second half of the show, both literally and figuratively -- literally, cause I was afraid my newly-jumped car parked out front would poop out if I didn't let the engine keep running -- and figuratively, because it's hard to sit still when Nields and Kennedys generate so much positive energy, excitement, and fun! :-) Bruce Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ End of jangle-poets-digest V9 #6 ********************************