From: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org (mad-mission-digest) To: mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Subject: mad-mission-digest V7 #303 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.pattygriffin.net/PattyInConcertDB.php * OR * go to http://www.atorecords.com * . * 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 V7 #___ gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. * Also, PLEASE do not quote an entire digest when you reply to the * list. Edit out anything you are not referring to. mad-mission-digest Saturday, November 22 2003 Volume 07 : Number 303 Today's Subjects: ----------------- MM: My version of the S.F. Warfield Concert ["Jerry Skomer" ] Re: MM: Just a little story [plunkett@fas.harvard.edu] MM: Best Buy ["Janet C. Jordan M.D." ] MM: 4 nite concert binge chat, with M&M report [danalee7@comcast.net] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 22:56:47 -0800 From: "Jerry Skomer" Subject: MM: My version of the S.F. Warfield Concert Hey Everyone: Here is a letter I wrote a friend about the SST concert last Saturday at the Warfield. This person hadn't seen or heard about the concert, so I had to go back and explain a lot of things with which most of you are already familiar. Thought some of you might be interested nonetheless. Hopefully my comments on the other artists won't rough up any feathers. Just my opinions, remember. The show was warm, witty, and above all things about the joy and community that comes when artists decide to drop their egos. I am not sure that this happened completely, but to a large extent it did and it was nice to see. Patty, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin and Dar Williams sat in a row on the stage and sang songs, round robin style. MCC organized the tour and acted as mother hen (but not overbearingly so). She said that she wanted to re-create for the public an old-fashioned "guitar pull" -- an event where musicians would sing songs together and quite literally "pull" the guitar out of each others' hands. It most definitely was not your typical concert. Here you had fairly well-known and well-received musicians/artists, who would sit and listen and harmonize with one another. It felt like you were part of the process of music making; it felt like you were at their homes listening to them in a more stripped down, raw state. A real treat for the average but true afficiando who doesn't experience this very often. The first round, at least in San Francisco, started with "covers" of other artists' songs. The order was Mary, Patty, Shawn, and Dar. I was so excited just to be there that I really couldn't "take in" Mary's and Patty's first songs. How horrible! I was unfamiliar with their choices and this contributed to my inability to settle down and listen, but they could have sang almost anything at that moment and I would have been happy. I started to focus on the music when Shawn sang Neil Young's "Tell Me Why." Her voice shimmers like Neil's, and it's a delicate song which suits her. The second round started with a very nice MCC song about an old shirt. I understand it's one of her standards. Pure poignancy (almost a little too much), but very, very nicely done. The tenor and sentiment of the song washed over the crowd and made you understand the breadth and depth of Mary Chapin Carpenter's emotions and values. You just liked her for writing such a small song that said so much about the power of memories. In an oblique way it told you why she created this tour -- it was something that she and everyone else who saw the show would remember for a long time, and creating artful memories is the stuff of life. Patty followed Mary's t-shirt song (referring to it that way is probably a sacrilege to MCC fans) with a two-phase version of "Flaming Red." She started slow and low key and worked up to her usual verve. A nice moment for Patty occurred just as she reached for her guitar for her first song. The audience gave her a rousing welcome that built and built. She smiled and said softly "I love this town." Both she and Mary also said that some of their favorite gigs have happened in S.F. When Patty finished with "Flaming Red" the crowd was left breathless as usual and woo-wooed a little and burst into prolonged, appreciative applause. Shawn, whose turn was next, said something funny: "After Patty plays a song like that, I could try to belt out 'Piece of My Heart' and I would still sound like Nancy Griffith." I won't bore you with the details of the entire show. I can honestly say that I really liked all of the artists for different reasons. Patty, it is clear, is a runaway talent. As I like to say, the other musicians are good, sometimes great, but Patty is "special." And as I also said, she's a risk taker, mixing up her styles and sentiments. A real, true artist, which is rare, even in the world of music. Her rendition of "Nobody's Crying" (a song that took me a little while to warm up to, but now I love) was something of a high wire act for her, since as she said, she had to sing it sitting down! (She didn't want to stand up and "disturb the symmetry.") Well, Patty stunned the crowd with her performance of it. She was flawless, and it is always amazing to "hear" the silence of the crowd when she pauses during the singing of her songs. I was surprised at how screamingly funny Dar Williams can be. Her "Babysitter's Here" (??) was a clear favorite of the crowd. I liked it a lot, but again, Dar can be a little cutesy for my tastes on a sustained basis. She's crackerjack smart, almost in an academic sense, using words like "zeitgeist" and "platelet." The latter was a reference to the way Patty's fans surround and protect her when they perceive she's being dissed or teased by the others on stage -- "Patty's platelets" she called them. I also loved that the four of them (although not so much Dar) talked so much about shopping, looking for a Nirvana moment or two by finding the exact "right" thing. It was a funny contrast to the schleppers in the crowd who looked like fashion rejects from Target. Couldn't imagine many of the crowd pursuing a sartorial religious ectasy! (Funny thing about the disconnect between the artist and the fan, especially when it comes to the importance, or lack thereof, that each attaches to what they wear.) The show was almost three hours long and ended with an encore with two songs. The first was a sexy rendition/cover of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way." Just terrific. The audience sang along and laughed at the outrageous choice of music. Shawn and Mary (two pretty good guitar players) led and Dar and Patty sang back up. Then Patty closed with "Mary," a worthy anthem to bring the audience to where they need to go in order to leave. Dar, Mary, and Shawn sang great back-up, with the song ending on with Patty's lovely la-la crescendo. I've always said that the end of "Mary" is all about the joy of singing and songwriting. In a lot of her music she adds touches of pure singing ("Top of the World" comes to mind as well) and it's appropriate to end one's show with it. Too bad you couldn't have seen the show. I'd be curious to know what Patty thought of it all. Seemed like a grind, but a good grind. I heard Shawn sang at the request of Mary's husband Byrne's "This Must Be the Place (A Naive Melody)" as one of the final songs at the final concert. Must have been an over-the-top emotional moment. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 07:10:36 -0800 (PST) From: Zachary Scot Johnson Subject: MM: NPC: My First CD Release Hey Fellow Mad-Missioners, Well, the day is fast approaching that my first CD will be released and I thought I'd drop a line and let people know where they could go to find out just a touch more about it. The CD includes a cover of Patty's "Top Of The World", as well as Tom Waits' "Take It With Me" (which Patty's also done) and Joni's "Case of You", which probably every artist has covered, but I had to do it, and 11 originals inspired very much by my favorite artist, Patty Griffin. I'm a 21 year old college student and I made this CD myself, which was a HUGE and expensive project. I played all the instruments and sing all the harmony. This was (though I hate the term) a "labor of love" and I hope none of you mind me taking the chance here to try and publicize it a bit. Right now, my site is at: http://www.geocities.com/zacharyscot and I recently did a performance and interview with local CBS stations which is currently online here if you want to see some quick video footage: http://www.wfrv.com/backstagepass/ The idea of this CD is to sell a few copies, but mostly to try and get either management or a label interested in me...any help in getting friends in high places to listen to this CD would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and best to all! Sincerely, Zachary Johnson __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 10:03:46 -0800 From: "Steve Del" Subject: MM: Re: Just a little story Hey Steve B! Flaming Red is my fave too. I play it all the time, but I love all of her records. At my urging, my brother bought LWG, FR, and Kisses. He only listened once so he didn't get it. Well, I gues he finally listenend to FR a few more times. Just now he wrote telling me how he loves it so much and thanked me for insisting he spin it. Her records kind of creep up on you and then you're hooked. We have a new convert. - -Steve D. > >Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 10:37:11 -0800 (PST) >From: Steve Berry >Subject: Re: MM: Just a little story > >I differ from many people in >that "Flaming Red" is my favorite of her CDs, but of >course I love them all, _________________________________________________________________ Groove on the latest from the hot new rock groups! Get downloads, videos, and more here. http://special.msn.com/entertainment/wiredformusic.armx ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:07:54 -0500 From: plunkett@fas.harvard.edu Subject: Re: MM: Just a little story Hi. Im new to this list - although I am a longtime patty griffin fan. I had a question for everyone - im from ann arbor, mi and was wondering if anyone had copies of any of the multiple shows ive seen patty play at the ark in ann arbor. i would love to get a copy if possibile. thanks, david Quoting Steve Berry : > Sarah Martin wrote: "I was just in the car with a > friend of mine and I had LFML 3 in the CD player. > Well, the French lullaby song (J'irai la voir un jour) > came on and my friend let out this gasp, turned it up > and told me how her grandmother and mother used to > sing that song to her. She was SO excited to hear it. > Theyre French Canadian (as is a lot of Maine) so I > wasnt surprised, it was just a really neat reaction > she had to hearing it. We got back to work, she copied > the CD and is sitting in her office with that song on > repeat." > > Hi, I just want to introduce myself. I'm Steve and > I've been on the Yahoo Patty Griffin list for quite > awhile now. I joined your list because of a mention on > the other list. > > I love Patty's music and over time I have compiled > most of the tracks of the first to LFML discs via > downloads. I am looking forward to finding the songs > from the third volume as well, especially after > reading Sarah's wonderful story above. > > I love Patty's music. I differ from many people in > that "Flaming Red" is my favorite of her CDs, but of > course I love them all, and play them frequently, and > have enjoyed the satisfaction of introducing her to my > friends. > > OK, I've blathered on long enough! > > -- SteveB ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:22:23 -0600 (Central Standard Time) From: "Janet C. Jordan M.D." Subject: MM: Best Buy I was in the electronics department at Best Buy, Christmas shopping and you know how the CD Department has a custom-made recording they play? Well, RAIN came on and it pulled me to another world. In the midst of this frantic place was Patty's hypnotic voice. Just a Christmas thought and have a great Thanksgiving. Janet ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2003 02:54:46 +0000 From: danalee7@comcast.net Subject: MM: 4 nite concert binge chat, with M&M report I have been too crazy this past week to even comment on my 4 nite in a row concert binge last weekend- I 'll try a little now. Maybe I'll send it. :) I took the week off for this planned excess- I drove alone down to San Luis Obispo on Wed last week and spent the evening walking around this lovely town that I had never visited before and had Jamba Juice for dinner. Thurs I drove 10 mi down to Pismo Beach, saw the Monarch butterflies in the Eucalyptus trees at the State Park there, walked the pier, talked to the fishermen there, walked a little beach, had Jamba Juice for lunch and walked around downtown SLO a little again. Met Steve from this MM list as well as B&J list who I had already met at Strawberry Music Fest last Aug- and his friends Corrine and Jim before the show and after dinner- saw the Singersongwriters we all know and love at Cal Poly- such a fun night- I put a bag of 4 kinds of candy- strawberry fruity ones- Gummy Bears etc and M&Ms for the 4 girls with a card to the 4 of them this time. Steve put up a big bag of M&Ms which Dar grabbed and waved around. Corrinne also gave Patty a dish towel with Table Talk Pies logo on it and a card for Patty. Steve already wrote in about how I caught his photo with Patty signing his shirt. Steve and Corrinne have played together for years so we had a jam session back at Corrinne's hotel room until security put an end to it at 1:30 am . :) Fun night and as Steve had already told me that Corrinne has the best voice in the US, nay the world, and it is true- I enjoyed meeting her and hearing her sing. Her computer guy husband Jim meanwhile downloaded my digital photos of Patty and Steve and worked on giving him his heart's delight- a photo of him and Patty to take home on CD. Next day, I drove back up to Berkeley in the rain- listening to Eliza Gilkyson mostly as I am still just learning all her Cds. I now have 6 of them. Was home for barely an hr and grabbed my 17 yr old, Arielle, and then fought the traffic jam and rain up to Santa Rosa- but the reward was another great concert. I cannot do details anymore after a week. The audience there was waving their rave bracelets in the air the whole night with applause and the girls loved it. Rowdy audience and I would say that was the best concert of the 3 due to the appreciative rowdy audience. By contrast, San Luis Obispo was also appreciative, but very well behaved and polite. SF also appreciative- muchly- but SR the best. That night i had forgotten to get M&M's ahead of time and all we could get was 4 little baggies at a gas station nearby, so we put them onstage in a little brown paper bag, but alas the girls did not see them. So, as the roadies were putting away the guitars etc, I went up and asked one of them to give Patty her M&M's- "she needs them" I explained and he said he would. I'll never know if he did. Next day, Sat was The Warfield in San Francisco which Jerry just gave a great review of. I brought 2 nurses I work with - Suzanne has seen Patty twice before with me, even met Don and Jerry and Paul from MM list last year- she brought her husband Stuart who has been spoonfed Patty music at home for the past year, also I brought Karin- who I just introduced to Patty's music- who I also dragged to one of the Eliza Gilkyson concerts 2 weeks ago. We had seats up in the balcony- row c- not close but great view of the stage. Again, concert was great- I have seen the show 5 times and every show has different set list- and I am really into Mary now- have been into Shawn and Dar anyway for a few years. This time I came prepared with a beautiful big bag of 4 big packs of M&Ms for the long ride on the bus up to Seattle and then down to Portland- also my boyfriend made the 4 girls each a Lucinda Williams boot - with symphony backup - really a good one- I wrote each girl's name on one- also he sent along a bag of organic apples to make up for the M&M's- I wrote another card- telling them they could go on SugarBusters diet on Tues after the tour- and as it was a cute bridal card with a little girl playing dressup bride- I said- UH-OH- I must have gotten the wrong card for you Mail Order Brides from Hell- 3rd card they have gotten from me on this tour. Hope they don't think I am too nuts. Well, they would not let me bring the bag into the theater- disaster! No food allowed. They want to sell all food inside. So, I told them Patty needed the M&M's- and the guy at the ticket counter said he would give it to the tour manager backstage. Again, I don't know if they ever got it even. It was such a nice bag too- I have to just think they did get it. Last night of my concert binge was at Great American Music Hall for the Waifs- from Australia and I have seen them 4 times before- love them- sold out - standing only packed like sardines- great concert again, but I was wiped out. My friend Paul- concert buddy for a few years now - silent lurker on these lists( both MM and B&J ) as I trained him to be a Pattyophile a few years ago now- went with me. Was I too tired of concerts?- No, Thurs I went to see Jackie Green at the Freight and he is also awesome- so , now it is back to work. Next concert is Tom Rush at the Freight in Dec- maybe John Gorka too. Cheryl Wheeler is coming in Jan. So much music, so little time. Somewhere in there I need to work too. :) I have decided that I need to join Concerts Anonymous. CA . I'll have to open a branch right here in Berkeley. Cheers, Dana ------------------------------ End of mad-mission-digest V7 #303 *********************************