From: owner-small-repairs-digest@smoe.org (small-repairs-digest) To: small-repairs-digest@smoe.org Subject: small-repairs-digest V4 #123 Reply-To: small-repairs@smoe.org Sender: owner-small-repairs-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-small-repairs-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk small-repairs-digest Sunday, September 24 2000 Volume 04 : Number 123 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [s-r] A Cool Breeze under Austin Stars... [BigHAIR844@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2000 18:08:34 EDT From: BigHAIR844@aol.com Subject: [s-r] A Cool Breeze under Austin Stars... What a night it was... Shawn under the Austin stars on one of the most pleasant, under-100-degree evenings that we have had in the city in months. There was even a breeze if you can believe it. Shawn played a Planned Parenthood benefit at a small outdoor venue here in downtown Austin called Stubbs BBQ. They are popular for their live music, sometimes indoors, sometimes outside under their covered stage. Their BBQ ain't bad either! Usually hosting such acts as Willie Nelson, Los Lobos, David Lee Roth, The Tragically Hip, Peter Frampton, Fastball, and Kenny Wayne Sheppard, it was interesting to see Shawn at such a venue. It occurs to me that not alot of women play Stubbs BBQ. We had arrived late, hearing the opening act, Sara Hickman, finish up her set. We walked in looking for the bathroom, and past a windowed room where we saw Shawn chatting with people. I'm sure anyone could have walked in to chat with her since people were just walking in and out of the room, but I opted not to be the "fan" that night. I was just there to hear good music. The crowd was fantastic, attentive, considerate, and the best part for those of us that are vertically challenged, a *sitting* crowd. A group of laid-back, mostly 30-something crowd, men and women, enjoying the stars and the music on their blankets many with a cold beer to boot. So very nice to not have to strain to see. So very Austin. It was a very informal night. Shawn's wardrobe as rustic as ever... she was sporting a tattered light yellow frock-looking thing with a light print of white flowers. In shawn's usual fashion, the dress had a ripped seam in the front, though somehow you just chuckle and think, "How Shawn." Brown mules on her feet, perfect for stomping the beat as she usually does with her heavy black army boots. Her hair was nice, slightly toussled from the wind, but looking slighty blonde and looking good. She was totally relaxed, happy to be back home in Austin because she had just returned from California where they had completed the mixing of her new record. "Should maybe be out in February," she sighed, happy to be done with the process. She looked tired, but excited to play for her home crowd. She opened the show with some banter about being gone for a while, and explained that the first song was her "favorite coming home song." I had never heard the song before, but suspect that the title could have been "Hickory Wind," and perhaps a James Taylor song. It was definitely Tayloresque, a quiet ballad that went perfectly with the summer breeze. The crowd was in total awe of Shawn; there were no crashing beer bottles flying into trash cans, or obnoxious conversations at the bar. All attentive, all there to listen. Wow. After the first song, Shawn chatted very briefly about the politics of the event, and said, "This night is your night. I'll just play from your requests this evening. But keep in mind I don't remember some of them so well anymore." There were some polite shouts from the crowd, "Diamond!" "Shotgun!" "Ricochet!" "Fat City!" (oops! Not a song title.) And the obligatory, "Freebird!" which drew Shawn's retort, "You know that is just not original anymore, don't you?" The crowd laughs. While tuning her guitar, the crowd continues to request and she gears up for the next song. "Someone once asked me if i wrote this song about Newt Gingrich." Then she sharpens the tuning on the E-string and goes into, "Get Out of this House." Not one of my favorite songs, but much better without that harmonica screech, in my humble opinion. Her voice is flawless. Sipping bottled water between songs, Shawn's next song is "Trouble." Excellent. When the song is done, more requests from the crowd. From stage right someone calls, "Something To Believe In." Seeming genuinely surprised, she obliges, fumbling with the correct tuning of the guitar and where she is to put the capo. Her shy grin as she looks at the audience as if asking for a bit of patience as she tunes is one of many throughout the night. When she finds the chords, she forgets the first verse, humming and mumbling the melody at first, and then seeking help from the audience. "You will wander around!" shouts the request maker. Shawn sings the line. Again she pauses. "It's a lonely place!" the requester shouts again. "Oh yeah!" replies Shawn. She finishes the song without any further help. She sang the Live '88 version which differs slightly from the one on Steady On. Incredible. After singing it without a hitch, she thanks the person for her help and for requesting it saying, "I hadn't done that one in a while and it was fun. Thanks for that." A person in the crowd asks her to play something new. Shawn hesitates, admitting that she doesn't know the new songs that well, but will try. As she goes to tune the guitar, she decides that she will get some of the other songs out of the way first so she won't have to retune the guitar. The next song was Mona Lisa per audience member request. I find that i still have issues with that "mirage/garage" verse. But enjoy it anyway. A sip of bottled water, a string adjustment or two, and then the opening chords of Polaroids. She stops and asks the crowd about the Olympics. The audience cheers. She thanks the crowd for missing the Olympics just to see her play and shares that this is the first time that she has felt any sort of passion for sports. She is really rooting for Austin's own Lance Armstrong, calling him only "Lance." She plays a few more chords of Polaroids, and stops and giggles like a school girl, and says, "Lance." She teases about being on a first name basis with him, saying "Lance" in a Thirsten Howell the Third accent. She sings the song. Now the new songs. No titles were given, but i might guess that the first one has "Roger Wilco" in the title somewhere. A Polaroids-esque song telling a story from a military commander's point of view of war and sending his young soldiers into a war that may have lost its validity. I think. Could be about Vietnam, could be the Civil War. Any war, it's your choice. Some great lyrics lemme tell ya. A couple of references to Austin, TX. I liked it. The next new song may or may not be titled "Nothing Like You." A line dedicated to Lance Armstrong which she points out in the middle of the song and grins. This song had an interesting sound and a unique tuning. Reminded me of the Beatles, "Blackbird," because of the light beat and the foot tapping. Loved it. Methinks the new CD will be quite awesome. The next song, "I Don't Know Why," drew cheers at the line "And if there were no music/ then i would not get through." Very Nice. Then she takes another request shouted into the night, "Home!" (Referring to the This Must Be the Place [Naive Melody] by the Talking Heads, from Cover Girl, of course.) "Ah, I should sing that one." Shawn says. "That is one of my husband's favorite songs that he always asks me to play, and i always seem to forget to play it. Maybe that is something we should be talking about in couples therapy." She laughs it off, but seems far away as she sings the song. Didn't notice Mario or Callie in the audience, but they could have been upstairs in the VIP section. Shawn had said hello to her parents earlier in the show. The last song of the night was Diamond in the Rough, which drew a standing ovation from the audience. The show lasted a little over an hour but was now over. It was a great performance. I think the best part about this show was it's spontaneity. That, to me, is the sign of a real artist who can just go with it, and do things on the spot. Shawn was looking good, and sounding great. I cannot WAIT until the CD comes out. Forming my opinion on the 2 new songs she sang, I'm going to characterize it as a cross between Steady On and Cover Girl. HA! But i only heard 2 songs so what do i know?! Anyway, that is my story and i'm sticking with it. It has been a while since i heard her play, and this show was really great. So was the audience. Funny that not a single person in the crowd requested Sunny Came Home. I liked that. :) ~jean aka BigHAIR, dedicating this review to Anna & Lindey, who ALMOST saw the show; and the same BigHAIR who apologizes for the length of the review bcz she remembered more than she thought *and* meant to post it a couple of days ago. :) PS: special thanks to elinore, who helped me remember the sequence of the songs since i forgot my pen and paper. yer da bestest. now playing: Baroque's Greatest Hits - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from the list send mail to majordomo@smoe.org with 'unsub scribe small-repairs' in the message body. FAQ & other info: http://www. tisd.net/~casey/shawn/small_repairs.html *REMEMBER* all posts not directly related to Shawn must have the tag 'NSC:' is their subject line - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ End of small-repairs-digest V4 #123 *********************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from the list send mail to majordomo@smoe.org with 'unsub scribe small-repairs-digest' in the message body. FAQ & other info: http ://www.tisd.net/~casey/shawn/small_repairs.html *REMEMBER* all posts not directly related to Shawn must have the tag 'NSC:' is their subject line ------------------------------------------------------------------------