From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V4 #292 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk JMDL Digest Sunday, July 4 1999 Volume 04 : Number 292 The Laborday JoniFest is happening this fall! For information: send a message to Join the mailing list at: ------- The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage is maintained by Wally Breese at http://www.jonimitchell.com and contains the latest news, a detailed bio, original interviews and essays, lyrics, and much more. ------- The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Joni's Gum NJC ["Patricia O'Connor" ] re: joni last night [Don Sloan ] Are you out there?? (VLJC) [TreyCozy@aol.com] thank you!! [Robert Holliston ] joni's jazz review in NYT [Deb Messling ] globe and mail [Deb Messling ] Re: Tape Tree # 8 - Back To The Garden [RMuRocks@aol.com] Re: joni last night - does it wear off [RMuRocks@aol.com] Re: joni last night - does it wear off NJC [MGVal@aol.com] missing digests [Howard Wright ] Re: covers of Joni songs (Cold Blue Steel) [Howard Wright ] Re: jm of course ["Jennifer L. Nodine" ] Joni's Jazz Review in Globe and Mail [James Leahy ] re: joni concert in the park ["Takats, Angela" ] Re: joni characters ["Jennifer L. Nodine" ] joni moment ["Takats, Angela" ] Re: joni characters [IVPAUL42@aol.com] Jane's Joni ["Julie Z. Webb" ] Re: Jane's Joni [Mark Domyancich ] Re: Jane's Joni [TerryM2442@aol.com] Springsteen Adds Dates ["Jim L'Hommedieu" ] JMDL's shared joy NJC ["Jim L'Hommedieu" ] (NJC)Canadian Jonifest 2000? [Susan Chaloner ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 03:09:05 -0400 From: "Patricia O'Connor" Subject: Joni's Gum NJC >She spoke of being honored and how much she loves New York, and then with >smiles and flowers and a wave (and her gum left stuck to the mike stand), >she left the stage. Soon to be on EBAY: ***AWESOME**Joni Mitchell's Used Gum**RARE*** Currently $42.50 (reserve not yet met) Quantity 1 Time Left 4 days, 3 hours Seller scavenger622@centpk.com Joni Mitchell fans, this one is AWESOME!!! Used yet MINT, in fact DOUBLE MINT. A must have for the serious Joni fan. COA included. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 00:04:57 -0700 From: Don Sloan Subject: re: joni last night Add my thanks to all who posted about the tribute concert.... what a rush!! I was feeling it blast me right through the computer as I read each and every post. What a great event - and so so happy to hear Joni showed and took some time on stage. Now, I'm on digest, so the following may have been addressed already in *real* time.... but is it true that there were only 500-800 people in attendance?? That's really hard for me to believe. Even if it wasn't about Joni, I would think that with the diverse lineup of performers, there would have been at least ten times as many people in the audience. Thanks again to the lucky ones for sharing so eloquently. Don ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 03:57:20 EDT From: TreyCozy@aol.com Subject: Are you out there?? (VLJC) I know this may sound crazy, but is there a Ingrid Rhoads out there on the JMDL? I hear you are the biggest Joni fan, and I want to know if you're on this list. We have a friend in common. Can I say that I am loving all this summerstage talk!? Yet, it is killing me!! I'm from NYC, and the one time I am NOT in NYC, this happens!! Grrrrrrrrr... All the best.. Trey ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 03:04:25 -0700 (PDT) From: Robert Holliston Subject: thank you!! Dear Patrick, Thank you so very much for your detailed and passionate account of Joni in the Park!! It was not possible to avoid being envious, but there could not be a better possible reporter for us than you.... as always, Roberto ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 06:48:40 -0400 From: Deb Messling Subject: joni's jazz review in NYT This is from today's NY Times. It might be worth your while going to the actual web site; there's a lovely photo. You have to register, though. http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/mitchell-jazz-tribute.html It's All Joni Mitchell Onstage, but She's in the Audience Forum Join a Discussion on Jazz By BEN RATLIFF nterpreting the mid-1970's music of Joni Mitchell isn't a straightforward task because the records she made then were perfect crosses between professionalism and séance. They were the sound of Los Angeles studio pop at its most elastic, and their arrangements were not just functional brickwork but a blurring of improvisation and composition, with little instrumental quirks inscribed everywhere within. Ms. Mitchell hired jazz players, and the records connoted jazz, especially in the way she draped her beguiling phrasing all over the music -- even if the market didn't see them that way. But more and more these days, her music, with its serpentine melodies and dramatic key changes, has been claimed by improvisers, and "Joni's Jazz," a Summerstage concert in Central Park on Thursday night, was a milestone in the furthering of Ms. Mitchell's status as an artist broader than the pop world that initially embraced her. With a similar mixture of jazz and pop musicians, the concert's first half presented tracks from different albums; the second was all the songs on the 1976 record "Hejira," in their original sequence. The idea was done justice, with the guitarist Vernon Reid acting as musical director for a variable house band of 3 to 14 musicians and providing new arrangements. Adding creative tension to the evening was the presence of Ms. Mitchell, generally known to be a perfectionist, in the audience. Before trying his hand at "Court and Spark," Duncan Sheik sheepishly said he wasn't worthy. Through "People's Parties," Jane Siberry kept up a run of fidgety commentary about her fantasy version of the song, which would have Ms. Mitchell joining her on the last words. (It didn't happen.) And John Kelly, who became known a few years ago with a nightclub act in which he sang Ms. Mitchell's music while wearing a blond wig, sang "Shadows and Light" with such dramatic concentration that one felt he was delivering the performance of his life. Many singers needed lyric sheets, either because of nervousness or the difficulty of memorizing Ms. Mitchell's torrential images. (When Ms. Siberry got to the part in "Strange Boy" about "stiff-blue-haired-house-rules," she stopped the music to remark that only Ms. Mitchell could have written a line like that.) Indeed, the degree to which the singers had internalized the lyrics seemed commensurate with the success of each performance. On the high end of that scale, Chaka Khan burst onstage three times and sang with nearly outrageous confidence; she knew her songs ("Don't Interrupt the Sorrow," "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "Hejira") inside out and improvised all through them, making the words indistinct as she transformed them into pop-gospel extravaganzas. She also tried to tell the audience the story behind one of the songs, turning to Ms. Mitchell for fact-checking; the composer, perhaps wary of giving away secrets, put a hand to her lips to shush her. It was the "Hejira" section that fully validated the concert: Mr. Reid's arrangements protected the slow grooves of the songs while adding elements like Doug Weiselman and Don Byron's double-clarinet obbligatos, Brian Charette's Hammond organ and Leon Gruenbaum's melodica. There were almost no solos, and none of the musicians showed off; Mr. Reid played only one distorted, note-spraying guitar passage, and it was over in a flash. After an encore with the jazz singers Annie Ross and Jon Hendricks, Ms. Mitchell was enticed onstage while the band played her biggest hit, "Help Me." She was clearly gratified, but she wriggled out of giving a performance: she apologized that she couldn't remember the words, declared that she was really on vacation, asked if she couldn't sing a standard instead, and finally improvised wordlessly for a minute, letting her voice, now deeper than it was back then, hover around in a comfortably low register. Deb Messling messling@enter.net http://www.enter.net/~messling/ ~there are only three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 07:09:18 -0400 From: Deb Messling Subject: globe and mail and here's the globe and mail review, including comments from Joni. You don't have to register here: http://www.globeandmail.com/gam/Music/19990703/SAJONI.html Deb Messling messling@enter.net http://www.enter.net/~messling/ ~there are only three kinds of people: those who can count, and those who can't. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 07:11:59 EDT From: RMuRocks@aol.com Subject: Re: Tape Tree # 8 - Back To The Garden In a message dated 7/2/99 8:45:41 PM Central Daylight Time, mark-n-travis@worldnet.att.net writes: << I wonder about this too. Some of them seem to have a mocking tone about them as if the singer is making fun of the song instead of paying tribute to it. Am I misunderstanding or being too sensitive here? >> You're being too sensitive Mark, snap out of it! :~) My take on this project is that it's a true tribute to Joni done by a bunch of eclectic performers who try, sometimes unsuccessfully, to put their spin on a Joni tune. It also seems like the producer or whoever put the project together encouraged the artists to go way outside the box in their renditions instead of playing them straight up. And why try to play Joni's arrangements when it's only going to invite an unfavorable comparison? These versions are more apples & oranges in terms of comparing... I wonder what Joni thinks about the collection? My guess is she would appreciate the risks being taken here, even if the results are sometimes less than stellar... But insulting or mocking, I certainly don't see that at all. Bob NP: "Magdalene Laundries" (live) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 07:15:42 EDT From: RMuRocks@aol.com Subject: Re: joni last night - does it wear off Penny asked: << > Is this weird, or are some of the rest of >you feeling this same emotion? Long time JMDLers, does it wear off? >> If anything, it only gets more intense...but that doesn't mean we're all not at least a LITTLE weird... Bob NP: Sex Kills live ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 07:24:41 EDT From: MGVal@aol.com Subject: Re: joni last night - does it wear off NJC In a message dated 99-07-03 02:31:51 EDT, ondulees@bc.sympatico.ca writes: >Now MG, don't drop dead of shock because I'm agreeing with you ;~D I >must confess it's not the first...just the first time I've admitted it THUD.......................................... (;-D >:~D People may go on road trips for awhile but they almost always come >back to this place...it's the weirdest thing! :~) Well, now I'm agreeing with you! My neighbor was visiting last night and I was telling her that a list member called me during the Central Park intermission to report on the show. She couldn't believe that someone would do that and she marvelled even more when I told her that people who couldn't make it to the Annual Ashara Joni Gathering of the Tribes would call in just to be there in some small way. It was tough to explain with my neighbor and my teenager rolling their eyes and snorting. MG ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 15:52:28 +0100 (BST) From: Howard Wright Subject: missing digests Just a reminder that if anyone thinks they didn't receive a particular digest, or they jusy want to dig back into the archives, all the digests are available at: http://www.smoe.org/lists/joni/ The new ones seem to be added as soon as they are sent out, so the site should always be up to date. Also, digests occasionally get truncated when there is a full stop (that's "period" for you guys over the pond!) at the beginning of a line. The archive above doesn't have this problem, so you can always get the full version from there. Howard ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 16:00:50 +0100 (BST) From: Howard Wright Subject: Re: covers of Joni songs (Cold Blue Steel) In a message dated 7/2/1999 8:05:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time, MDESTE1@aol.com writes: << The best version of Cold Blue Steel I have ever heard is by our very own JMDL list member Howard the Brit. It is fabulous. marcel deste.>> Catgirl asked: > How do I get to hear that? > Cat.... If you send me your snail mail address, I'm happy to run off a cassette copy to send to you. I know Marcel has already offered to do a copy from his tape - that would be fine with me although I can do a copy that's direct from the source, so might have a little less hiss on it. Let me know your adddress ... Howard ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 11:49:38 EDT From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Covers of Joni Songs. Asking howard the brit for permission. In a message dated 7/3/1999 12:33:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time, MDESTE1 writes: << From the recent Post I am led to believe that Catgirl and her husband are accomplished musicians. AND they do Joni covers. Is it not time for another Joni tribute tape ???? Can one be created at Asharas jonifest ? Will Michael Paz do his inimityable version of Amelia ? Is there enough reverb in the world to make Paz's vocal tracks spellbinding ? Ive had way too much cabernet. The California curse. The wine is too good. Howard please respond. Marcel deste/ >> Yes, I do beleive we listers at Asharas will give Joni a better tribute send oof then the wones I have been hearing! Catgirl..who really want to put together a Joni Fest CD!!! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 11:52:31 EDT From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: Joni's Gum NJC In a message dated 7/3/1999 3:09:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time, p.a.oconnor@worldnet.att.net writes: << >She spoke of being honored and how much she loves New York, and then with >smiles and flowers and a wave (and her gum left stuck to the mike stand), >she left the stage. Soon to be on EBAY: ***AWESOME**Joni Mitchell's Used Gum**RARE*** Currently $42.50 (reserve not yet met) Quantity 1 Time Left 4 days, 3 hours Seller scavenger622@centpk.com Joni Mitchell fans, this one is AWESOME!!! Used yet MINT, in fact DOUBLE MINT. A must have for the serious Joni fan. COA included. >> How true how true!!! This is so funny and so true. Now, I would not buy the gum unless her teeth marks were still in it!!! ; )~ Catgirl ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 12:08:27 EDT From: CaTGirl627@aol.com Subject: Re: covers of Joni songs (Cold Blue Steel) In a message dated 7/3/1999 11:01:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time, haw@ph.ed.ac.uk writes: << If you send me your snail mail address, I'm happy to run off a cassette copy to send to you. I know Marcel has already offered to do a copy from his tape - that would be fine with me although I can do a copy that's direct from the source, so might have a little less hiss on it. Let me know your adddress ... Howard >> Thank you both for helping me out. I guess I would rather go with the source since I am such a perfectionist. YEA! Can't wait to hear it! Catgirl ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 12:55:36 -0500 From: Mark Domyancich Subject: Re: Covers of Joni Songs. Asking howard the brit for permission. You should listen to the tribute tapes we did a long time ago. There's a lot of great stuff on there! At 11:49 AM -0400 7/3/99, CaTGirl627@aol.com wrote: >Yes, >I do beleive we listers at Asharas will give Joni a better tribute send oof >then the wones I have been hearing! >Catgirl..who really want to put together a Joni Fest CD!!! Mark Domyancich Harpua@revealed.net http://home.revealed.net/Harpua http://jmdl.com/guitar/mark "This conformity factory is now closed!" -Homer Simpson ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 12:59:39 -0500 From: pattihaskins@mindspring.com Subject: New York Times Review of Joni's Jazz Hi all, Here's a link and the review for those of you who are web challenged. The web site has a glorious picture and it just makes me wish more and more that I lived in NYC so that I too could have seen this show. I LOVE Chaka and am dying to hear her versions. Anybody tape it, post some MP3s???????? Make a CD. I'm a Bruce Springsteen fan and after the E Street reunion gig in Jersey, the newsgroups had MP3s posted that very nite! Almost as good as being there, not having to wait till somebody circulates a tape, CD etc. Anyhow, the site: http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/mitchell-jazz-tribute.html The article: It's All Joni Mitchell Onstage, but She's in the Audience By BEN RATLIFF Interpreting the mid-1970's music of Joni Mitchell isn't a straightforward task because the records she made then were perfect crosses between professionalism and séance. They were the sound of Los Angeles studio pop at its most elastic, and their arrangements were not just functional brickwork but a blurring of improvisation and composition, with little instrumental quirks inscribed everywhere within. Ms. Mitchell hired jazz players, and the records connoted jazz, especially in the way she draped her beguiling phrasing all over the music -- even if the market didn't see them that way. But more and more these days, her music, with its serpentine melodies and dramatic key changes, has been claimed by improvisers, and "Joni's Jazz," a Summerstage concert in Central Park on Thursday night, was a milestone in the furthering of Ms. Mitchell's status as an artist broader than the pop world that initially embraced her. With a similar mixture of jazz and pop musicians, the concert's first half presented tracks from different albums; the second was all the songs on the 1976 record "Hejira," in their original sequence. The idea was done justice, with the guitarist Vernon Reid acting as musical director for a variable house band of 3 to 14 musicians and providing new arrangements. Adding creative tension to the evening was the presence of Ms. Mitchell, generally known to be a perfectionist, in the audience. Before trying his hand at "Court and Spark," Duncan Sheik sheepishly said he wasn't worthy. Through "People's Parties," Jane Siberry kept up a run of fidgety commentary about her fantasy version of the song, which would have Ms. Mitchell joining her on the last words. (It didn't happen.) And John Kelly, who became known a few years ago with a nightclub act in which he sang Ms. Mitchell's music while wearing a blond wig, sang "Shadows and Light" with such dramatic concentration that one felt he was delivering the performance of his life. Many singers needed lyric sheets, either because of nervousness or the difficulty of memorizing Ms. Mitchell's torrential images. (When Ms. Siberry got to the part in "Strange Boy" about "stiff-blue-haired-house-rules," she stopped the music to remark that only Ms. Mitchell could have written a line like that.) Indeed, the degree to which the singers had internalized the lyrics seemed commensurate with the success of each performance. On the high end of that scale, Chaka Khan burst onstage three times and sang with nearly outrageous confidence; she knew her songs ("Don't Interrupt the Sorrow," "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and "Hejira") inside out and improvised all through them, making the words indistinct as she transformed them into pop-gospel extravaganzas. She also tried to tell the audience the story behind one of the songs, turning to Ms. Mitchell for fact-checking; the composer, perhaps wary of giving away secrets, put a hand to her lips to shush her. It was the "Hejira" section that fully validated the concert: Mr. Reid's arrangements protected the slow grooves of the songs while adding elements like Doug Weiselman and Don Byron's double-clarinet obbligatos, Brian Charette's Hammond organ and Leon Gruenbaum's melodica. There were almost no solos, and none of the musicians showed off; Mr. Reid played only one distorted, note-spraying guitar passage, and it was over in a flash. After an encore with the jazz singers Annie Ross and Jon Hendricks, Ms. Mitchell was enticed onstage while the band played her biggest hit, "Help Me." She was clearly gratified, but she wriggled out of giving a performance: she apologized that she couldn't remember the words, declared that she was really on vacation, asked if she couldn't sing a standard instead, and finally improvised wordlessly for a minute, letting her voice, now deeper than it was back then, hover around in a comfortably low register. END Bye Patti in Dallas wishing she wasn't NP some spaghetti western soundtrack, my husband's favorite stuff ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 12:21:18 -0700 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: New York Times Review of Joni's Jazz > Hi all, > Here's a link and the review for those of you who are web challenged. The > web site has a glorious picture ........Yes, it's a picture of a joyous Joni....... > Anyhow, the site: > http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/arts/mitchell-jazz-tribute.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 08:15:00 +1000 From: "Takats, Angela" Subject: re: joni characters Kevin wrote: <> I've always loved the way joni could take us to these people, teach us about society and relationships through them and really show us how they "tick"...as mentioned above, she is well known for letting us know "her" and what makes her "tick", but she really has a talent for understanding people and observing them in a unique way. She's met so many interesting people on her travels and I'm so glad she lets us meet them and learn from them, as she has. I think it's very difficult to write a "deep" song about another person, the way Joni does. I've been trying to focus my song writing on people around me and things I observe, but constantly end up with a heartless piece of writing that sits as a distant onlooker. Maybe I only know boring people, haven't travelled enough...yet Joni can bring anyone and everyone "to life" through the smallest obervation "I saw an ageing cripple selling superman balloons".... Ange - having one of those Joni moments Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 19:06:27 -0400 From: "Jennifer L. Nodine" Subject: Re: jm of course Phyliss Ward wrote: > > "Jennifer L. Nodine" wrote: > > > I can't beleive I have found a forum of people who recognize JM as one > > of the best songwriters of our time. > > Welcome Jennifer! > > > (But I only posess 2 of her albums (CD's actually) MOA and Hejira . > > You've so much joy ahead! > > > I bought Turbulent Indigo and loved the paintings, but found the music to > > be angry and unsettled. > > I felt the same way at first but now it is way up there as one of my > favorites! Keep giving it a listen. You may find the same. We all have > different favorites and least favorites here so not to worry. > > > My limited exposure to her only has made me feel that she has maybe > > grappled with alcohol > > My opinion is a bit NOT! I do have quite a bit of first hand experience in > that area as well as practically a PhD in Joni thanks to this list and the > associated web sites. > > -- > Phyliss > pward@lightspeed.net > http://www.bodywise.com/consultants/bpward thanks for the feedback, Phyliss! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 19:06:29 -0500 From: James Leahy Subject: Joni's Jazz Review in Globe and Mail Here's the Globe and Mail's review of the Joni's Jazz concert: Canada's first lady of folk gets a warm tribute in New York Pop stars and new fans flock to Central Park to savour Joni Mitchell's 1970s jazz period. SIMON HOUPT The Globe and Mail Saturday, July 3, 1999 New York -- At the intimate outdoor SummerStage concert venue in Central Park, a U.S. flag stands stage right, watching over the events all summer long. Thursday night it was joined by one large Canadian flag, plus thousands of tiny ones fluttering in the audience, for a Canada Day concert billed as Joni's Jazz. Two dozen performers turned out for a celebration of Joni Mitchell's 1970s jazz period, including selections from the albums Court and Spark, Mingus, and The Hissing of Summer Lawns, and the entire 1974 Hejira. Given the difficulty of the material and Mitchell's vocal idiosyncrasies that rightly scare away pretenders, the evening was a bold experiment that paid off frequently, if not always. Pop star Duncan Sheik's renditions of Court and Spark and Refuge of the Road were game attempts but mainly served to highlight his apparent lack of vocal training. Meanwhile, soul legend Chaka Khan, who had worked with Mitchell on 1977's Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, turned in three blistering, soulful covers. The overall effect wasn't so much a tribute to Mitchell as a rare opportunity to see her music pushed through new prisms: reconfigured, re-examined, and re-energized. Backed by a lush assortment of 14 musicians and vocalists that included guitarist Vernon Reid (the evening's musical director), bassist Matthew Garrison, and Ravi Coltrane on saxophone, Toshi Reagan cracked open the show with a funked-up Trouble Child. Though she didn't show it, Reagan might have been slightly distracted because Mitchell herself -- who had not been expected to make the evening -- emerged from backstage during the song's opening bars to take a seat in front of the stage. The audience jumped to its feet, screaming for the guest of honour. Reagan was followed by a fierce, meaty version of The Jungle Line by Dean Bowman and Carl Hancock Rux, heavy with cow bells, bongos and wild jungle calls. Mitchell practically danced in her seat, clearly thrilled at the version. Jane Siberry took the stage for an uncertain People's Parties, which she later admitted "mortified" her because she had trouble reading the lyric sheet. "I loved Joni Mitchell when I was young," Siberry said backstage. "She had a real awakening effect on me as a songwriter and musician because she spoke from her heart, which was not that common yet. There was a veil of courtesy and niceness that made the songs [before hers] less heartwarming. She moved a lot of people." Siberry more than redeemed herself during the show's second half, bringing a coquettish, teasing intensity to her version of Hejira's Strange Boy, that she interpolated with occasional commentary (" 'Stiff blue-haired house rules' . . . nobody could write a line like that except Joni Mitchell"). Joe Jackson offered a yearning piano accompaniment to vocalist Joy Askew's moody take on Down to You with a brief sample of A Case of You thrown into the middle. Erin Hamilton (the daughter of Carol Burnett) brought a smoky nightclub read to Blue Motel Room, her voice kissing softly against a lone cornet. And rap singer PM Dawn brought in turntables for It's a Muggin'. Backstage, Mitchell searched for the words to express her delight. "My intellect isn't with me yet, I'm all feeling right now," she said. "It's a rare occurrence for somebody to hear their music like this. It's delightful." She went on to insist that she has always thought of herself as a Canadian, despite suggestions to the contrary that have dogged her through the years. "Please write that I'm an ambassador for Canada, I'm not an expatriate," she said. The crowd, smaller than expected because of rain that let up only minutes before showtime, was obviously thrilled with their ambassador. "Joni Mitchell for PM!" yelled a few souls waving Canadian flags. "It was beyond my expectations," said Corinne Aarsen, who was in from Edmonton visiting friends. Though previously unfamiliar with Mitchell's jazz period, Aarsen said the concert had changed that. "I'm a true fan now." Her friend Michael Cromer, who moved to New York City a few years ago from Smithers, B.C., also declared himself "fully converted." Mitchell has a younger posse coming along, too. "I got her autograph!" squealed 17-year-old Preeti Sodhi from New Jersey. "She's so awesome!" Though Sodhi hasn't been a fan for long, she recently read about Mitchell's jazz period and thought it sounded interesting. "I was drawn by the fact that it wasn't very commercially successful. It's experimental, which is cool," she said. Her friend Cory Fishman, 16, had been turned on to Mitchell a few years ago by an uncle. "I love her music because it's free and beautiful. It's just wonderful. She's wonderful!" said Fishman, waiting patiently by the backstage entrance, hoping to snap a few shots of her idol. To their delight and a standing ovation, Mitchell finally took the stage at the end of the 3*-hour love-in to accept a bouquet of flowers and scat along to a few bars of the encore Help Me. No poetic licence would be necessary to report that, by that moment, the Canadian flag on stage had come unfurled and wrapped itself around its U.S. counterpart. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 09:16:02 +1000 From: "Takats, Angela" Subject: re: joni concert in the park Thanks to everyone who shared their wonderful experiences at the joni concert in New York. Your descriptions were beautiful and your words took me to a seat right behind joni...I could see everything! thanks SO much. it sounds like it was a truely magical experience and I'm so gratfeul for this list... that people (like me) who live so far away from these wonderful joni moments, can still be so much a part of them. There's something very special about how a JMDL member describes these kinds of things...loved the details from listers about where they were sitting and exactly how far it was from Joni...and what she was drinking and when she laughed and how she moved......that's what us JMDL'ers crave THANK YOU!!! Feeling very warm and fuzzy Ange Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 19:21:40 -0400 From: "Jennifer L. Nodine" Subject: Re: joni characters Angela writes, > Perhaps these people are > us! As much as we like to think we are looking at Joni through her > music maybe she is actually showing us ourselves. Perhaps the mirror has > been turned on us. Does anybody identify with any of Joni's characters?>> Angela, aside from identifying with joni herself in so many of her songs,I have often felt like the "photo beauty" in Peoples Parties, no I'm not exactly a model, but I have suffered the rollercoaster of depression for a long time, one minute she's so happy then she's crying on someone's knee saying laughing and crying you know it's the same release I have also identified many men I have known with some in her songs. I've known a Strange Boy and several of the personalities in Cactus Tree. _Jennifer :-D ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 10:06:10 +1000 From: "Takats, Angela" Subject: joni moment Hi Listers, I know it's a little personal, but thought some of you would appreciate this....intimacy, me and my man, lying together, staring into each others eyes, joni singing in the background, he grins and says to me: "we're always making love to Joni, Ange" Ange Sydney ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 21:16:43 EDT From: IVPAUL42@aol.com Subject: Re: joni characters In a message dated 7/3/99 7:27:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jlhall01@snet.net writes: << several of the personalities in Cactus Tree. >> Joni once described Cactus Tree as a "grocery list of her past lovers." or something like that. Paul I ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 15:29:05 -0400 From: "Julie Z. Webb" Subject: Jane's Joni At 03:00 AM 7/3/99 -0400, Patrick Leader wrote: >a bunch of us listers hung out after the concert and jane was a major >subject of discussion between barbara burst, lisa durfee and i, who are all >major jane fans. people's parties was indeed disappointing and brought down >the level a bit, but i thought she did a much better job with strange boy, >but we agreed that jane is a bit nervous as a performer, more last night >than usual. and she does have trouble with lyrics. Hellllllo to all out there in Jmdl-land. Two things brought me out of "smoe-lurkdom": 1. These incredible reviews of the tribute concert....Thanks everyone for their detailed reports on Joni's tribute concert. and 2. Ashara's Jonifest Labor Day happening. . I actually met Jane Siberry this past January in Pittsburgh. I had learned about her through jmdler's Barbara Burst, Patrick Leader and Doug Wolfebite, so I decided to check out her coffeehouse show. (...which reminds me, that night, I did something pretty rad-- for me at least (mother of three,)--- I went to her small concert 'alone-' which was a first---and I discovered that I rather liked being by myself at least at a Jane Siberry concert.) I was completely mesmerized by this poet/musician. She read a lot of her poetry and seemed to become energized by interacting with the audience. Yes, throughout the evening she encouraged questions from us! I loved that she was funny (dry), insightful and moving all at the same time. Jane seemed to possess a unique gift for conveying some sort of nurturing, intimate, loving vibe in a way that felt very spiritual to me. There's something almost angelic about her. She seemed wise, grounded and healthy, and self-deprecating (sp?)---not afraid to share how vulnerable 'living' in this world can make one feel. In fact she had explained that she would be coming out to meet people approx 20 minutes after her performance. Of course I waited to meet her. I told her that I learned about her through discussion of her on the JMDL. Jane appeared to be touched hearing this and mentioned that she too was a big fan of Joni's...what Canadian singer/songwriter isn't? (Unlike Joni, Jane is very involved with the internet world and runs her own web site. In fact, since seeing Jane in concert, I was tickled to discover email responses from her answering some questions I had sent her.) Movie Update: Loved Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband." Rupert Everett is to die for AND jmdl PEOPLE!!!-- there is a slightly older, yet dead ringer for Joni Mitchell in this movie!!! So, if Rupert Everett doesn't do it for you, you'll surely get a kick out of seeing Joni (in her finery) decked to the nines in period costumes of the 1890's London aristocracy. -Julie Z. Webb, still Don Juan's Fertile Daughter "Things that you held high and told yourself were true, Lost or changing as the days come down to you." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 22:29:56 -0500 From: Mark Domyancich Subject: Re: Jane's Joni Julie! It's great to have you back! Mark Domyancich Harpua@revealed.net http://home.revealed.net/Harpua http://jmdl.com/guitar/mark "This conformity factory is now closed!" -Homer Simpson ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 00:30:28 EDT From: TerryM2442@aol.com Subject: Re: Jane's Joni Welcome back, Julie!! You were missed! Terry ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 00:51:17 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: Springsteen Adds Dates Springsteen has added dates in Phile, Washington DC and his new home town of Los Angeles. If you have web access, http://www.backstreets.com/tour.html Naturally if you have a place like that to go, well then you just *have* to go there. - -- All the best, Jim L'Hommedieu ** Get well Wally! ** Tolerance, tolerance, tol... ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 00:52:37 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Subject: JMDL's shared joy NJC The JMDL and JMHP are a community of Joni fans. If you think of JMDL as an email *community* you'll be on the right track. When I first attended a JMDL party I felt it to be more of a reunion with those present than meeting them for the first time. Penny said brightly: > As I've read each post about > last night, I'm filled with joy as I experience the night vicariously > through your words. Almost erie, as I don't feel any jealousy for not > being able to be there myself but rather a very heartfelt happiness for > what you each of you enjoyed. Is this weird, or are some of the rest of > you feeling this same emotion? Long time JMDLers, does it wear off? As we say in the Midwest, "Hellllll no!) - -- All the best, Jim L'Hommedieu ** Get well Wally! ** Tolerance, tolerance, tol... ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 23:48:40 -0700 From: Susan Chaloner Subject: (NJC)Canadian Jonifest 2000? On my local news today I was informed that for every $1 Canadians have to spend Americans have $5...You lucky dogs! I am simply green with envy ;~) I am also practical... Wouldn't it make sense to have the next Jimdlefest in Canada? Any hosting volunteers? We can only have it at my place if there's gonna be a Furry Sings the Blues theme...this is a shanty, beach, tourist town, no exit street, people keep driving their limos back and forth on real slow My neighbours are starting to comment: Neighbour: "Do you have any idea what that's all about?" Me: "Haven't a clue...how 'bout you?" Neighbour: Beats me! But things sure are changing 'round here! Y'all shoulda seen the last stretch that went by...musta been as long as this house :~D Luckily we are blessed with ample parking across the street at the high school...If any of you are stretch-limo impeded legends and plan to get out of the car rather than just sit in it and stare, please come in drag for your safety as well as mine ;~D Frankly, it would probably be a great idea to have a humonstrous Jonifest in Sask right around Joni's exhibit time...Evian? Is something like this already in the works? Just some thoughts... Susan L.A. Honey McBabe-"...Once in a life We lived in a sanctuary a Song could get us free... Je tant reve de toi...Dream tuma..."-Heart ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V4 #292 ************************** The Song and Album Voting Booths are open! Cast your votes by clicking the links at http://www.jmdl.com/gallery username: jimdle password: siquomb ------- Don't forget about these ongoing projects: Glossary project: Send a blank message to for all the details. FAQ Project: Help compile the JMDL FAQ. Do you have mailing list-related questions? -send them to Trivia Project: Send your Joni trivia questions and/or answers to Today in History Project: Know of a date-specific Joni fact? - -send it to ------- Post messages to the list at Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe joni-digest" to ------- Siquomb, isn't she?