From: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org (lucy-list-digest) To: lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: lucy-list-digest V3 #1 Reply-To: lucy-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk lucy-list-digest Tuesday, January 2 2001 Volume 03 : Number 001 In this issue: [lucy-list] Back Home Now ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 13:30:54 -0500 (EST) From: Mari Wilson Subject: [lucy-list] Back Home Now Happy Old Year's Day to all! Well, I'm back from my trans-Atlantic Christmas adventure, safe and sound. Since I didn't have any email access when I was over there, my "report" is a little late, but no matter, especially since the afterglow hasn't even worn off. Took my Mum & Step Dad to see Lucy at the Errigle Inn in Belfast on Dec 21st and the show was *wonderful*. It was charming how excited my Mum was. I has intended to bring her Lucy CD's as Christmas gifts, but evil Chapters.ca took 12 days to deliver the overnight availability items so by the time the discs arrived, I had already left :-( Darn online shopping! But I brought my own well loved copies, and played them a couple of times for Mum while we frantically wrapped an entire extended family's worth of Christmas pressies. It's too cute. My Mum now reminds me a bit of Sharon, in that they *both* dutifully report each time they hear Lucy on the radio ;-) Heehee. It was Ma's idea to pick up a Belfast Telegraph newspaper on the day of the show to see if there was an article on the Doc, and it turns out that there was! Here's the URL to the online version of the very positive article in case any are interested "Dr. Kaplansky Serves Up a Real Tonic for Belfast" http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/today/dec21/Features/folkdec2.ncml Mum had dutifully called the venue to reserve tickets and since doors were opening at 8pm, we made sure to arrive by 7:30. LOL. Nooo, we're not eager or anything. As Davy reported, the room was rectangular with the stage along the long end. Not too great with only two rows in front of the stage, but pretty good if you manage to grab 3 of the great seats. When my parents came upstairs from the bar after a half hour, they were pretty impressed with where I'd managed to situate us. Unfortunately, but certainly not unexpectedly, Lucy wasn't on until after 10pm. There was an opening act, who were pretty good, but it was a long haul waiting. But by the time she was on the room was packed, or as the Irish would say "BUNGED". I'd say there were close to 200, maybe more? even Lucy seemed a little bug-eyed at the turnout. I didn't write a set list, but she played a good mixture of old & new. Some of the highlights: One Good Reason Ten Year Night At the End of the Day (with the crowd singing along a good bit) The Greg Brown "movie" song A fantastic version of "Scorpion" By popular request from the crowd "Handsome Soldier" ( I had shouted out to hear "For Once in Your Life", but she saved it for later) A lovely and pensive "Five in the Morning". Turn the Lights Back On Lucy looked great, although very very warm in a fur trimmed jacket and sandals, and told lots of wonderful stories. She noted that since she had stopped drinking coffee she'd gained a new appreciation for Irish tea 'cause it's as strong as rocket fuel, and spoke excitedly of recording with Bryan Ferry before launching into "More than This". (great stuff) She had a very winning way with the audience, commenting on the strong and virtually unintelligible accents in the crowd with her deadpan comment "please know that I understand very little of what you're saying to me". LOL This after someone had to repeat his request for "I am Your Amulet" about 6 times before she understood (can't blame her, I thought the guy was saying "I am your Ambulance" ) It was also very cute when she asked the guy who introduced her before the show if, in an earlier Belfast appearance, Emmylou Harris had *really* said on-stage that Lucy Kaplansky was one of the best songwriters out there today. (or something equally complementary). She looked so overwhelmingly pleased when the crowd assured her that Emmylou had. Lucy had the greatest grin on her face. The show ended with two encores, "White Christmas" with the audience singing in fantastic harmony. I remember once seeing a Dar show when Dar commented that Canadian audiences often manage to sing along in harmony when American audiences never do. Dar credited the Canadian education system that must include more musical instruction (Ha!, I mean, I *wish*) But Dar should play in Ireland cause I've *never* heard an audience sing along so well. It was lovely, and Lucy commented on it as well. She made the artist's "mistake" of wondering what to play next, and received lots and lots of suggestions. I voted aloud for "Broken Things" but instead she finished with "For Once in Your Life" noting that it had been requested earlier (heheheee by *me* so I was a very happy camper indeed!) Afterwards she came out and signed autographs, she was basically swarmed with all the attention. The line up to buy CDs was chaotic and *nuts* so I decided that I'd wait for my Chapters.ca order to arrive after Christmas and get my older beloved copies autographed for Mum. Well, what a duh I am. Talk about yer typical moron not knowing what to say. I got a little, how shall we say, star struck? and froze up quite a bit in front of Lucy. The crowd was very heavy and loud, and I didn't really want to wait until it had thinned to have a more quiet word, because it was already after midnight and Mum had to be up insanely early for work the next day. Mum and Jim both claimed to be too shy to get an autograph, so I didn't want them to have to wait too long on me. I told Lucy that I'd seen her in Toronto and that both shows were fantastic. I think she actually dropped her jaw when I said that I was from Canada and only in town for a week. hehehe. But I *totally* and utterly forgot to say "Hi" from Sharon & Sheila, which would have been very cool.. . . . Ladies, I'm so sorry that I froze, but hopefully I'll get to see Lucy again in another far flung location :-) Besides, methinks the Doc may already be aware of your world wide influence!! ;-) It was a fantastic evening. Lucy is so wonderful at expressing emotions in her music, and practically (okay, I'll admit it *actually*) had us in tears with her intro to, and beautiful version of, "Time to Go". On a personal note, my Grandmother died a year and a half ago, and in her last days she suffered from extreme senile dementia. It was very painful for my Mum & all her brothers and sisters, and painful for Granny too in her increasingly rare moments of lucidity. So I admit to worrying a little, knowing that that one song might push all Mum's emotional buttons. But on the car on the way home Mum expressed her amazement at just how right Lucy gets things. I knew that Mum had totally fallen for the show when she said to me later in the kitchen over 1am sandwiches and tea that Lucy's songs are "just like life, about things that are real and true". :-) :-) :-) So in conclusion, it was a great thing. I never anticipated that my Mum would find Lucy's music all on her own, and that we'd find it again together. The live show in particular just seems like a wonderful wonderful gift. Definitely one of my favourite memories of this Christmas. :-) That along with the unbelievable Christmas dinner Mum cooked up. Indeed, never get between an Irishman or an Irishwoman and her potatoes. I mean this. Only in Ireland is it considered perfectly acceptable to have mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, and whole boiled potatoes at the same meal. 'Cause you know, that's like 3 separate vegetables! LOL, I loved every minute and every bite of it. :-) Anyways, I should sign off now. Post long, not often ! hehehe. But before I do, let me wish you all a Happy Happy New Year's full of great feeling & adventures. Cheers, Mari NP: the super duper 7.5 minute extended version of Kirsty MacColl's "A New England". I was very saddened to hear of her death when I was over there. I know it's been mentioned on a couple of lists but not sure if it was discussed here. It's a terrible loss for her family and the music world for Kirsty always was constantly under-rated. But my goodness, I hadn't heard this song in *years*. It's so great! Thanks Be to the mixed blessing that is Napster, for I certainly can no longer find the old BASF cassette that I made as a young teenager recording this song off of the clock radio! no less (over 15 years ago now OMG!). I confess, every note feels so wonderfully fresh *and* familiar, although it seems a little odd not having all the old familiar pops and hisses with the DJ's voice cutting over the end, but my goodness, Kirsty's version rocks.!!! I'm sometimes very curmudgeonly towards the endless 80's revival retro boogie dance party phenomenon, and gladly leave much of it behind. But in reality, Kirsty never got the recognition she deserved. It seems a fitting way to spend Old Year's Day, dancing about the kitchen with this song on infinite repeat :-) ........"Once upon a time at home, I sat beside the telephone, waiting for someone to pull me through, when at last it didn't ring I knew it wasn't you" ------------------------------ End of lucy-list-digest V3 #1 ***************************** This has been a posting from the Lucy Kaplansky mail list digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe lucy-list-digest" in the body of the message