From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #141 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/onlyjoni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Sunday, August 17 2008 Volume 2008 : Number 141 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Michael from Mountain [do9eatdo9@yahoo.com] Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #140 [Bill Branyon ] Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #140 [Bill Branyon ] Retro Covers for August, Volume 29 ["Bob Muller" ] Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #131 [bobsart48@aol.com] Re: Joni Tribute @ The Swathmore ["Bob Muller" ] Re: Joni Tribute - Strathmore [bobsart48@aol.com] Re: Joni Tribute - Strathmore ["Bob Muller" ] RE: sjc, I've been traveling sooooo long... [Patti Parlette ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:12:53 +0700 From: do9eatdo9@yahoo.com Subject: Michael from Mountain I play Michael From Mountain a lot this week. In my opinion, MfM is one of Jonibs songs where she really painted with words and music. If this song was a painting, Ibm sure it would look like Renoirbs Luncheon of The Boating Party. Hmmm.... Rian PS. Ah, if tomorrow is Indonesiabs 63rd independence day, then today is Madonnabs 50th birthday. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:08:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Bill Branyon Subject: Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #140 I've read two other Joni biographies, and the latest, triple bio of Joni, Carly Simon and Carole King is the best about Joni,as well as very enlightening about theother two. A regular who's who's of late 60s and early 70s rock and folk.It also reveals that joni is writing hermemoirs. And finally, she almost commands that to understand herwe must read Nietzsche. I happen tobe writing a nonfiction - LiberatingLiberals - with a focus on Nietzsche,and agree with Joni. However, it's easier to read books about Nietzschethan to read Nietz himself. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:09:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Bill Branyon Subject: Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #140 PS,The book is "Girls Like Us." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:58:36 -0400 From: "Bob Muller" Subject: Retro Covers for August, Volume 29 So here we are at mid-month already, and only a couple of days before I head across the pond for some days in the garden with JMDLer friends old & new! But just a song before I go...or a bunch of 'em in this case - it's my mid-month covers flashback, this time featuring Covers Volume 29. And it's an odd mix indeed, as are all of them in their own way I suppose. Anyway, here's the link: https://www.yousendit.com/download/Q01IaUNDSWVwcFd4dnc9PQ And the contents: 1. Patrick Regan Band - The Dawntreader 2. Enzo Pietropaoli - River 3. Mia Martini - Taxi Giallo 4. Joel Grey - Both Sides Now 5. Roberto Ottaviano - Sweet Sucker Dance 6. The Carol Hamersma Trio - Chelsea Morning 7. Krystyna Olsiewicz - Carey 8. Kiri Te Kanawa - Both Sides Now 9. Bobby & I - Michael From Mountains 10. Eugene von Beethoven - All I Want 11. London Pops Orchestra - Woodstock 12. Jane Henderson - Both Sides Now 13. Jane Henderson - All I Want 14. Blind Guardian - This Flight Tonight 15. Lillian Ho - The Circle Game 16. Rod McKuen - Both Sides Now 17. Jude - Morning Morgantown 18. Art Lande - For Free Bob NP: XTC, "All Along The Watchtower" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:21:05 -0400 From: bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #131 Mark Posted re ABBA - spot on review, IMO. Well done, Mark, as usual I had no intention of seeing 'Mamma Mia!' ..... I have to say the movie's a hoot! Silly, but fun. .... But the miraculous Meryl Streep seems to be able to do anything. She manages to make 'The Winner Takes It All' into a torch song deluxe and she is a true diva when she sings it......... And if Greece, Crete, etc. look anything like the settings where they made this movie, then I can easily see why Joni was enchanted with it. There are a couple of shots of the night that look very much like 'a starry dome'. Very beautiful. Oh, and Pierce Brosnan will never get a record deal. Otherwise, most of the singing was pretty darn good. Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:35:46 -0400 From: "Bob Muller" Subject: Re: Joni Tribute @ The Swathmore Do tell, Bob - no one has reported on it as yet. I saw a video of the BSN performance on YouTube but the quality was a bit sketchy. And since you chastised Jeannie on her omitting the NJC tag, give yourself some wet noodle lashes for sending the entire digest back with this post. Bob NP: Joe Jackson, "Rush Across The Road" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:36:04 -0400 From: bobsart48@aol.com Subject: Re: Joni Tribute - Strathmore I don't see any reports yet on the Joni tribute held on Thursday night, in Bethesda, at the Music Center at Strathmore.? I attended it with my daughter,?Leah, who is something of a reluctant Joni fan (it just kills her?to realize I was right all along). She lives in Silver Spring, so this was effectively a home-town show for her. The center is very attractive, indeed - seating roughly 2,000 people in a glassily modern structure in a high-rent district near the beltway. Comfortable seats,?good sound. Three hours of solid Joni, with a 20 minute break to go out on the huge patio and grab a smoke in the fresh air :-) I gather that this was the 5th in a series of increasingly ambitious annual projects instigated by?Ronnie Newmyer and Chuck Sullivan, who founded a movement entitled "Bandhouse Gigs" to?respond to a request from the Washington Area Music Association and Strathmore?to produce a concert tribute to Nils Lofgren in 2004 (at which Lofgren appreared). Subsequent tributes followed to The Band, Neil?Young, and Bob Dylan. The tribute?showcased roughly 50 DC area musicians/groups and, on balance,?I was thrilled?by it.?I am not very close to the music world, so I did not even recognize the names, for the most part. But they were very, very good musicians, indeed, and their passion for this project was more than obvious. They were all obviously thrilled to be part of the proceedings, and it showed in their energy and preparation. It was far superior to the Wall to Wall tribute, and IMO was?significantly better in most respects than the Carnegie Hall tribute. I wasn't at the TNT tribute, which I have seen a dozen times or so on tape, but the mood was closer to that, but without the big names (and with almost twice as many songs). In terms of criticism, first the good. I have long dreamed of hearing some really hard-working, full bodied versions of Joni's songs, with all of the elements covered. Here, we were treated to that. In each case, the songs arrangements were as ambitious and full bodied as (and in many cases, more so than) the studio recordings. To me, that is an element that has?been largely missing from the earlier tributes. Lots of harmonies, lots of instruments, lots of musical parts quite well done. The performances were not totally outstanding, but they were very good at worst, which means a lot to me. No stinkers, at all. Everybody who did a song put his or her heart into it, and had talent. For Kenny G, I am pleased to report that a very full-bodied and complete version of Down to You was performed by Jon Carroll on piano and vocals, accompanied by an ensemble of at least a dozen (probably more) singers and other musicians (there was at least one reed player (Wayne Sulc) and a trombonist (Jeff Bonk) and Al williams (sax and flute). The sound quality was very good, especially given that most of the songs were played on electric guitar rather than acoustic ( a few nice ones came on acoustic, as appropriate). In terms of minuses, there were only a few. First, and especially toward the second half, there were some songs that featured too many musicians. I realize that in a venue of this size, all of the musicians want to be as much a part of the history as possible, but in music (as in life), sometimes less is more. Second, the songs were heavily weighted toward Joni's earlier period. These are great songs, so I had no complaint. And the audience was very large (sold out the place) and appreciative - perhaps because they recognized most if not all of the songs. But I would have loved to have seen a bit more of Joni's later and/or more ambitious songs - these musicians were more than capable of handling the challenge. The song transitions were handled extremely well by the crew. Some were performed from a balcony in the rear-right portion of the stage (from the audience's persepctive). At the end of the performance, the entire audience gave the ensemble (following The Circle Game) a spontaneous, heartfelt standing ovation. It was, clearly, a well received show. Far more so than The 39 Steps on Broadway, which I saw on Tuesday, and - while cute - was rewarded with far less enthusiastic applause at its conclusion. I am not doubt missing some of the songs played (I did not take notes), but they included the following (in more or less chronological order, rather than in order of performance). I do not really know who did which songs - if you were there, you might forgive me - I thought the introductions were rather carelessly and casually handled, by a rapid fire emcee who did not really know how to handle his mike. In his defense, there were so many songs and performers, his job was time-constrained. Urge for Going Night in the City (the crowd loved this one - 5 or 6 good singers, doing it right, and a sparkling instrumental arrangement) Cactus Tree Chelsea Morning Both Sides Now Ladies of the Canyon (Annie Lennox style - this was the opener) Conversation (as usual, a crowd favorite) Big Yellow Taxi For Free Woodstock (really good, starting with Joni's version, finishing with CSNY's - some rocking guitars and better harmonies by far than the current CSN could produce - featuring close to a dozen singers) The Circle Game Little Green Blue This Flight Tonight A Case of You (the other Jon Carroll entry - very professional, very polished, very sincere, on piano) You Turn Me On, Im a Radio?(I think the only one from FTR - what a pity - but I may be missing something here, since I listened to FTR? a couple of time on the way to DC, and I may be getting confused in my dotage?) Help Me Raised on Robbery Down To You Car on?A Hill (better in many respects than the LA Express version - what a transition on this song) Free Man in Paris Twisted In France They Kiss on Main Street Coyote Amelia (this version was a bit staid, IMO, but is a tough song to really capture, as I am learning - Victor's was the most heartfelt cover one I have seen to date) Blue Motel Room Be Cool (I wish there were more like this - fine job on this song - I forget who did it). Night Ride Home Nothing Can Be Done (good job on this one, which Joni covered, I believe) The Magdalene Laundries Those are the 30 songs I recall - I suspect I missed a few. Anybody got any problem with the quality of the set list ? That said, there are 100 or so others I would have liked to have heard. In addition to Jon Carroll, the young singer LEA did a fine job on her two songs, and Steuart Smith was very slick on?guitar and other instruments.? One of the artists, Grace Griffith, I later learned is considered something of a DC area folk icon; she performed on several of the songs, despite battling Parkinson's - very, very impressive under the circumstances. She did the final verse of Circle Game (among her multiple contributions), and the crowd loved it. If you weren't?there, you shoulda been. I will list the artists for those interested (I wouldn't be surprised?if Paz knows them all). The program lists them alphabetically by first name (kinda cute, I thought) Al?Williams?(sax and flute) Andy Hamburger (drums) Bill Starks (piano, organ) Cal Everett bass) Cairo Fred (Bradford Heck - guitar, keyboard,? Desson Thomson - vocals,? Buddy Griffin - pedal steel - he played throughout on that instrument) Brian Riordan - drums,? Anrdis Plavnieks - guitar Carey Creed - vocals Ceasr Vanegas Chaise Lounge ( a 6-person group - they were good) Chelsea Lee (17 year old singer) Chuck Sullivan (crums) Dan Hovey (Guirats, vocals) Danny Schwartz - producer Dave Egel hofer (guitar) David Sless - crew chief Deeme Kason - singer songrwriter Diane Resnethal 9vocals) Esther haynes - vocals Grace Griffith Greg Hardin - bass Jeff Bonk - Trombone John Hurd -piano John Hennigns (of Mary Chapin Carpenter's Band) John Previti - Bass Jon Carroll Keith Grimes - guitarist for Eva Cassidy) Laura Burhenn - singer - former Strathmore Artist in Residence LEA - singer - former Strathmore artist in Residence Luke Brindley - singer sngwriter Margot Mac Donald - 17 year old singer-songwriter - Stratmore artist in Residence invitee for 2008-09 Mary Ann redmond - vocals Matt Spielman - bass NAKED BLUE (Jen and Scott Smith) - very good husband wife duo. One Horse Town - mountain harmonied Paul Pisciotta - bass Ronnie Newnyer - bass Scott Giambusso - bass Shep willimas -keyboards, songwriter Steuart Smith - guiratrist and multi-instrmentalist, voalist - big talent Timm Biery - drums Wayne Sulc (Sax) There it is. Good show. Bobsart ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:45:25 -0400 From: "Bob Muller" Subject: Re: Joni Tribute - Strathmore Hey, thanks a lot for the extensive detail, Bob - it was a VERY impressive setlist. I'm surprised they crammed so much music into a single night. Would love it if they put out a CD or DVD of the event, but I doubt they will since the expense is so high. Would also have loved to have been there - just wasn't good timing for me, right on the heels of heading off to Jonifest & all. Maybe some more of it will find its way to YouTube. Bob NP: Simon & Garfunkel, "I Am A Rock" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:53:13 +0000 From: Patti Parlette Subject: RE: sjc, I've been traveling sooooo long... Bon samedi soir, Joniami(e)s! RR wrote: > > Patti, this time you've gone too far!...Ha, really, glad you had a > wonderful trip, hope you're not down to a roll of dimes.... Thanks, RR! But don't worry. Hey, honey, I've got lots of cash. And plenty of dimes left to go dreaming on. But HEY! I did NOT go too far! I walked on the Joni moon -- you be polite! LOL! Going too far would have been picking up that hitcher, that prisoner. Yes, I recall seeing a highway sign that said something like "Do not pick up hitchhikers. xxxx Correctional facility in area" or something to that effect. (Just googled and there is a North Las Vegas Corrections Center, and a High Desert Corrections Center. And get this: you can be the first to post a review. HUH?) So I drew the (border) line at that! ; ) No hitchers. No prisoners. Gee, remember the old days? Just after the birth of rock and roll days? Everyone hitchhiked! I hitched all over Europe, and that's how we got to school every day in Rouen, France. It was called "l'auto stop" and everyone just lined up there in the morning (Morning, any town you name.) (NPIMH, a moldie oldie just for you, BM! Ride, ride, ride, hitchin' a ride Ride, ride, ride, hitchin' a ride A thumb goes up, a car goes by Oh, won't somebody stop and help a guy? Hitchin' a ride, hitchin' a ride Been away too long from my baby's side) And back in the states, some weekends we'd hitch rides from college on the road to Baljennie, back to our old hometowns. I also just remembered one Saturday night hitching a ride back to UConn from the University of Hartford (don't worry, I was with two guy friends) and these strange strange boys (and girls) picked us up in a van. They were all dressed in togas and came back to our dorm room for a while for our drink and our smoke. They were gnawing on pomegranates and the blood-red juice was getting all over their white togas. Strange birds of appetite! Anyway, no more hitchhiking. Or pickin' up hitchers. Those days are gone. I had another Joni moment I forgot to tell you about. Actually, it was two hours! Yes, the longest wait I've ever endured to pick up a rental car. It was nuts. I was itching to get out of that tourist town and hit the road, and even though I had a reservation, I had to wait, in that crowded waiting room. Everybody waiting. The kids had cokes and chocolate bars and were sitting all over the floor playing video games or texting or whatever. I made the reservation through hotwire.com -- great deals for this flight tonight and pink hotels and car rentals, etc., Joni folks! -- and had selected Dollarwise. So, waiting in that long hot line (It was 110 degrees in Vegas; the A/C was on, but still you felt hot), whenever I looked up at their sign, I would see the word "dollar" and I would sing (to myself): "Buy your dreams a dollar down".... Ha. I wonder if I picked that company subconsciously? What Joni song could you sing about Hertz or Avis or Budget? Anyway, once again, Joni Mitchell comforts me, speaking words of wisdom. Let it be. BTW, it wasn't Hotwire's (TIC! Leadfoot Melvin!) fault -- ALL the rental places were packed. The lady at the counter told me that Sunday is the worst day to rent a car. Ah, life is for learning. When I got out to the garage and the REAL 110 degree heat, there were the same people who had been in front of me before! Ach du Lieber! The guy at the gas pumps was washing the cars as fast as they came in and was giving them out willy-nilly. I had reserved something similar to my Space Buggy, but had to accept an upgrade. At that point I would have taken a '57 Biscayne and dreamed flat tires just to get out of there. I wasn't going to stand and fight, that's for sure. It was a little hairy (okay, a lot hairy for me) driving on I-15 with all the trucks and stuff. An asshole passed me on the right and flipped me off. What does that girl desire, that she grips that steering wheel so tight? Just to get on the open highway and get out of town and find the CD player and slip in Hejira. I finally made it out of the city and pulled off into a rest-stop (no forest to be found amid all the cactus trees) and found the CD in my satchel in the rented Rolls Royce and then finally FINALLY It was just me and Joni, and our ragged souls took flight. Well, of course, sometimes Amelia and Sharon and Furry were with us, and that Coyote, but mostly it was just me and Joni, and all of the hope and the hopelessness we've witnessed thirty years. And that black crow flying, in a blue, blue sky. Love, Patti P., your shining witness to the refuge of the roads P.S. Bon weekend to all, et bon voyage to all who are still traveling, traveling, traveling! NP outside my window: crickets clicking in the ferns, and tree frogs (two were stuck to my kitchen window last night!) _________________________________________________________________ Be the filmmaker you always wanted to belearn how to burn a DVD with Windows.. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/108588797/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:18:08 -0400 From: Chuck Eisenhardt Subject: Joni's hermemoirs On Aug 16, 2008, at 8:56 PM, JMDL Digest wrote .....a very long Digest, indeed.... but nonetheless, we read on. I just have to say that I think hermemoirs are just 'a bit' too personal for discussion here..... anyway, I'v heard that Preparation H is pretty effective, on the whole. Ow. ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2008 #141 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe