From: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org (mad-mission-digest) To: mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Subject: mad-mission-digest V5 #191 Reply-To: mad-mission@smoe.org Sender: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk * If you ever wish to unsubscribe, send an email to * mad-mission-digest-request@smoe.org * with ONLY the word unsubscribe in the body of the email * . * For the latest information on Patty's tour dates, go to: * http://www.quackquack.net/pattyg * OR * go to http://www.amrecords.com * then click "tour" and fill in the blanks :) * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: mad-mission-digest V4 #xxx or the like gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. mad-mission-digest Sunday, August 5 2001 Volume 05 : Number 191 Today's Subjects: ----------------- MM: Rams Head ["donhenn" ] MM: A scoop from Emmylou Harris... ["Ellen Schneidenbach" Subject: MM: Rams Head MMers , Dave & I drove to Philly to pick Karla up , & the three of us headed for Annapolis during rush-hour. We had a tense 20-30 minute back-up at one point. Traffic was slowing down to eyeball an accident on the other side of the road. Had it been on our side , we might not have made it. We met lister Paul (GonzoWorm) at the venue , & the 4 of us sat together. You already know where we sat , b/c unfortunately , as Dave mentioned , we were the notorious "Gang of Four" that Aimee pointed out. Yes , our conduct was boorish , incredibly rude , & inappropriate for Aimee's living room - oops ! er , I mean the Rams Head listening room. One thing Aimee was wrong about though , was that we consider ourselves "true fans". We realize that we are merely "faux fans" , who drive hundreds of miles to Patty concerts , just so that the cool , wonderful people in this world might think that we actually have a life. You know the cool , wonderful of people of this world don't you ? The ones with such a great and enviable command of the English language , that they would describe someone as "just the ittiest bit of a person". I imagine Patty would just swell with pride if she heard it. While she is a small woman , Patty is one of the biggest persons I'm aware of in the public arena. Another thing I envy about Aimee , is that she can read minds , & knows how the people around her are feeling. "And I know the audience around me didn't appreciate it". In our defense , I think that Aimee had a wild hair bothering her somewhere , b/c she wildly exaggerated about a few things. To say that Patty was gracious & TRIED to talk over us was ludicrous. The ONLY loud talking we did was during applause. Patty couldn't possibly have heard the occasional low volume talking we did between songs , much less have to talk over it. There was no "running commentary" during Patty's performance. For the most part , a few comments were made as a song opened. Finally , I make no apologies for shouting Patty's name or anything ANYONE does during the applause to show their approval. Frankly , I approve of anyone who can shout , scream , or whistle louder than I can. My shouting Patty's name was more for venting enthusiasm , rather than being informative "as though everyone seated in the room wasn't aware of the artist who was giving the show". Patty's music is as powerful as anyone's , and elicits a powerful response. It's not "listening room music" , "living room music" , or "chamber music". I have the feeling that we were targeted for some reason , b/c the sing-a-longs directly behind us were not mentioned. After "Nobody's Crying" , someone may have heard me comment that , "I'm really glad that they didn't know the f-ing words to that one". For awhile , I was as bothered by them as Aimee was by us , but I turned around one time , & saw that the one singing was looking at the floor , all caught up in Patty's music. Not merely having a good time at others expense , or showing off his knowledge of the words. Just feeling the music , & communing with Patty's spirit. My anger dissipated after that , & It's likely that I wouldn't even have mentioned it here were it not for Aimee's insistence on pointing fingers. I imagine that Aimee applauded ever so gently , & said "very nice" after the songs she liked. By the way Aimee , now that we've both gotten it out of our system , we can make up if you want : ) On to the music. Set list : Carry Me Truth # 2 Poor Man's house Perfect White Girls Mad Mission Change Nobody's Crying !! Florida Be Careful Flaming Red Chief Rain Stolen Car Top of the World Mary Encore Sweet Lorraine Ten Million Miles The BIG news to come out of Rams Head. I'm surprised that it's not been mentioned yet. Patty said that she & Doug are the co-producers of the new album. Hmmm. Very interesting. She had said at one of the earlier shows that she & Doug were still working on the album. No mention of the band. For some reason , I have very few notes from Rams Head (did I hear a cheer again ?) Doug's guitar was becoming more & more complementary , & less & less competitive to Patty's voice as the shows went on. I have "Rain" , "Be Careful" , "Stolen Car" , "Top of the World" (for the first time) & "Mary" as those songs that the guitar lifted up during the show , with a big exclamation point. One thing that wasn't in the notes , was that Patty did "Nobody's Crying" solo. When she's with the band , that's one of the things that I always pay close attention to , but for some reason , I didn't notice any other songs that she did solo , if she did. One reason may be , that she would occasionally start out solo , with Doug sitting there as though he wasn't going to play , then he would come in after a while. It was easy to notice on "Nobody's Crying" b/c Dave had a near-orgasmic reaction when he heard the first notes , & then again when he realized it was solo. I have to dis some of the nice folks of Annapolis here. When Patty left the stage before the encore most of those close to the stage were just tooo coool to stand up. They remained seated the whole time. Of course , perhaps they just didn't like her that much. On to the opening act. The class of the tour. I may have been one of the "loud-mouth yaps" early on , (Attention ASCAP: I'll be glad to pay the Evil One royalties if his phrase is copyrighted) but Susan Greenbaum captured my attention quickly with a head-turning voice , lyrics , & compositions. So much so , that I had to indicate to that "loud-mouth yap" , Dave , that I wanted to listen to her. The first lyric that caught my attention , after her voice & compositions did , was , "this new-age positivity , I deem a bunch of crap". It surprised me b/c she looked to me , like the poster-girl for positivity. The performance quality of Caitlain Cory & Thad Cockerell at Cat's Cradle was in the same general area as Susan's , but I think that their music is in full flower , while Susan's seems to be still blooming. One of the things that Susan's performance brought home to me , was how much I am now taking Patty's greatness for granted. As much as I liked her , & rated her very high in voice , compositions , lyrics , & range , none of those reached Patty's level. I guess that Patty doesn't suddenly grab me like that anymore , because a voice or lyric can only surprise you , the first time you hear it. Other things she seems to have in common with Patty , is a humility that most great artists have , and a "damn the torpedoes" creative boldness. I met her after the show , & she blushed almost constantly , as I heaped praise on her. Including telling her that she helped me re-realize how great Patty was. Then , as I played her CDs between Harrisburg & Pittsburgh , I noticed the widely divergent paths her individual songs took. The line of hers that really grabbed my attention during the show was "when you're walking on a dead end called Main Street , you gotta turn around". I am , at the moment , listening to one her songs called "Alone" , that definitely transcends , the way Patty's music does. I got on her mailing list , & she said that she was going to be in Oakland , Md , 2 hours from Pgh , but I haven't gotten anything from them yet. As soon as I finish my synopsis of the tour (for those of you who can stomach it) , I'm going to try to find the site. Peace be with you all , especially Aimee. Don't know if this is kosher , but I'm going to paraphrase Patty here. It's hard to give It's hard to get...... But everybody needs A little forgiveness Patty Griffin "Forgiveness" Don ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 11:10:53 -0400 From: "Ellen Schneidenbach" Subject: MM: A scoop from Emmylou Harris... Hey all - I am jealous after reading all the show reviews. Maybe next timeshe makes some East Coast appearances I'll be able to make it.... Anyway, I saw Emmylou Harris in concert last nite & she covered One Big Love. Afterward she praised Patty's songwriting & singing abilities to no end. She said that Patty was coming out w/ a new CD soon & that she has heard it! Guess we'll have to be patient. By the by, Emmylou was awesome. Her voice is beautiful & her play list was eclectic - some sad, slow ones, an acapella version w/ SpyBoy of Call my Children Home that brought down the house & some others that rocked the house. A really great mix. If you have the oppurtunity you should catch one of her shows. Well, just wanted to pass on that tidbit about the CD that came straight from Emmylou Harris. Catch ya later..... - -Ellen ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 17:16:23 EDT From: Elpenor50@aol.com Subject: MM: Shouting. Aimee, if by some miracle Patty has a concert in Pittsburgh or Cleveland near me, you are welcome in the audience. Don, stay home. You are too noisy. Mike ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 21:08:43 EDT From: Tricia9999@aol.com Subject: MM: Concerts I must say, I often have a concert ruined by people talking throughout or singing along when I'd rather hear the artist I paid to see and hear. It's ok, I guess, to talk and yell through a heavy metal concert, but that's about it. There have many shows that have been less than hoped for because of the crowd thinking they are in their living rooms watching Seinfeld reruns. Tricia ------------------------------ End of mad-mission-digest V5 #191 *********************************