From: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org (trajectory-digest) To: trajectory-digest@smoe.org Subject: trajectory-digest V6 #8 Reply-To: trajectory@smoe.org Sender: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-trajectory-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk trajectory-digest Monday, May 27 2002 Volume 06 : Number 008 Today's Subjects: ----------------- May 25 setlist? ["Canadian Weirdo" ] a vague review of the May 25th show ["Canadian Weirdo" Subject: May 25 setlist? Would anyone be kind enough to share the setlist from last night's show? It was my first live Veda experience -- brilliant -- and I was in too much of a trance to jot anything down. Thanks, Emily _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 May 2002 20:53:35 -0700 From: "Canadian Weirdo" Subject: a vague review of the May 25th show I call this a vague review because it's difficult for me to review songs when I don't have names to attach to them, or simply can't remember their names; this is the case with the cover songs and the new songs that she played. And well, I remember the banter and the lighting and subtle nuances, but I can't remember the order of the songs. So kill me. But I'll do the best I can with what I have. All quotes by Veda will be paraphrased. And now, presenting a completely unofficial (it will be 'official' if I ever get a full setlist! ) review by moi. I get to the venue early, and spend a few hours wandering around the lovely green that is Vancouver. (I had spent the previous day wandering around downtown Vancouver looking for the venue, and consequently missed the show. :P) When I finally decided to go in (at around 7:00), there were a few people already inside -- I spent the time looking at the lovely paintings that were on the wall, and the wall inside the door, which was covered in posters advertising Veda's shows -- some were from as far back as 1992. I wanted them all. ;) Time passes, and finally it's 7:45 and we're ushered into the auditorium; I am immediately struck by how beautiful it is. The floors are hardwood; the seats are a rich red color; the stage is on the same level as the floor; and finally, I marvel at the fact that I am in the front row. Although I was not fast enough to get a more central seat, I am sitting about thirty feet away from Veda's piano and Rhodes (a modified keyboard/organ instrument) -- now THAT is a good seat. People start to fill up the venue, and yet there are less than 200, it seems. (They're probably all out watching the Dave Matthews Band concert -- well, they're missing an extraordinary local talent.) After listening to some strange music, the house lights dim and a spotlight goes up on the instruments. The only thing I can hear is the click of Veda's heels as she walks onto the stage -- and a few seconds later, cheering and much applause. She deserves it. She starts the show by introducing her band and telling us about the horn section that is coming up, as well as letting us know that this is the 10th anniversary of the release of her first recording. She mentions that some people at the show are 'repeat offenders' - -- they were at the show the night before -- and apologizes for the fact that this show will be much the same. 'Oh, well, you come for the nuances.' 'Well, I listened to my first record and all I could think was 'I was SO young. So, I've put together a ... medley of all of the songs on the album.' She proceeds to play this medley, and it is lovely indeed. I can't see Veda's face very well; her back is to me, but she turns occasionally. (for all you fashion-oriented people) She's wearing a lovely black dress with a rose on it; sheer black stockings with line patterns, and plain black heels. She finishes the medley and I realize that this is going to be an incredible show. Now I'll just talk about the songs and the banter -- I've grouped them by album, going from the most recent to oldest [but I don't have her first record]: 'plants' -- this one was soft and sweet and ironically loving; poison can be a delight in the right context, I suppose. 'birdsong' -- before this song Veda talked about how the show is being recorded. She invited us to make bird sounds as she sang, and she mentioned that some audience members got a bit too boisterious the previous night; they were making chicken noises, which she felt were inappropriate, considering the song's context. 'No farm bird noises!' And the lighting for this song was dappled and green and cool. Very tranquil. 'evolver' -- I LOVE the piano in this one. And she really went all out on the 'evolver' sections. 'yukon ho!' -- the sardonic smile she gave throughout this song was very amusing. 'Tuktoyaktuk Hymn' -- this was the last song before the encore. She had us all stand and sing it with her, and I think I managed to sing some successful harmony...mmmm. 'Greenery' -- Rocking. 'Noah's Ark' -- 'let's do Noah's Ark.' just beautiful. The intensity of her piano playing and 'darest thou now O Soul' gave me shivers. 'to and from Ira / Hearts, Hearts' -- she sung this quietly, and slipped in a bit of the latter song at the end. It endeared itself to me very quickly, and consequently I am getting to know the Emily Carr record better. 'Killzone!' -- She almost growled 'and remember, you are no king to me.' 'Born Lucky' -- the horn section joined in on this one, providing a layer of harmony that did nothing but enrich the song. 'Born lucky and she knows it.' I felt so lucky. 'The Williamsburg Bridge' -- Great rendition. 'A Peculiar Value' -- there's a problem: I'm beginning to sound redundant. 'Precious Heart' -- this was the first song of the encore set...it was just...wow. She changed the lyrics...'look down, look down, there are your feet; you're on, you're on...oh precious.' It was no longer a song about being lost; it was a song about joying in finding and being found by the 'light and heat'. When she walked on stage I took the opportunity to tell her, 'You're fucking beautiful!' and she smiled and thanked me. I heard someone behind me say, 'There you go!' referring to the fact that Veda wanted audience comments for the recording. I hope I didn't disturb anyone with my enthusiasm. ;) 'with no caring' -- the horn section joined Veda and her band here and it was furious and brilliant. 'Slumber Queen' -- oh, yum. This was one of my favourite songs of the evening. It took a while for her to tune and while she was doing so she encouraged the audience to make noise that the microphone above them could pick up... then she mentioned that the recorders/mixers can 'manipulate what you say however they like' and I chimed in with 'Thus the deafening silence.' she said, 'What was that?' and I repeated myself -- now that is going to be a moment to remember. My two-second 'conversation' with Veda. So after Veda was done tuning they started the song, and in the middle they had this great jam session that had everyone tapping their feet and headbanging (if that can be done at a Veda show ;)). 'seasoned' -- I remember thinking of a few songs that would be incredible for me if she played them live; this was one of them. She didn't play it on the guitar. Instead she played it on the Rhodes. Now she was facing me and playing that beautiful instrument which gave the song this smooth, urgent texture, this warmth and blood, and at one point I thought she might've made eye contact with me (but I was probably wrong)...and it was just what I needed, that song. 'INSTRUCTIONS' -- It started with Veda playing a quick, almost jarring piano part and then the band came in. The song started to get loud at around instruction #6 ('when you hear a mechanical instrument, think of a child shrieking'). The intensity of 'clean the wound and take note of the metal' gave me chills. By the end it was extremely powerful. 'song for snake' -- always, always one that I enjoy. She started off sounding angry, and by the end she was livid. 'I'm starving. Do I sound starving?' -- she sounded like someone who hadn't eaten the food of the heart and soul for months, someone who was so desperate to be nourished that they would kill, and it was... 'shamus and stone' -- I distinctly remember hearing the opening chords of this song and letting out a whispered 'Oh, my God' -- because it was a song that has become dear to me, and a song that I thought wouldn't be played live very often, simply because of its cadence. But she played it, and it was intense and slow and rich with significance for me. She didn't whisper the final verse of the song but sung it using her high register which was beautiful. I just...this and 'seasoned' have become foundation songs for me; I listen to them and I am filled with something more than life; they articulate what I cannot. To hear them live was (nearly?) transcendent. Here ends my (long!) review...I know I've probably got things wrong so feel free to yell at me. I wish that I wasn't moving out of Vancouver; although looking at her past tour dates, it seems like she tours Ontario quite often. Thanks for listening to me gush, Emily _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. ------------------------------ End of trajectory-digest V6 #8 ******************************