Joni Mitchell: A Tribute In Song - Coyote Rick and Jimmy's Excellent Evening
Article © Joni Mitchell.com
October 16, 2001
Dear Correspondents:
Tonight, JMDLer Jimmy Stewart from Fort Myers, FL and I attended Canada's tribute to Joni's music. It was absolutely fantastic for someone who appreciates excellent music, not to mention dyed in the wool Joni fans such as Jimmy and I. I'll just start off by saying we thought it was even better than the TNT tribute done some time ago.
I'll get to the setlist and JimmyRick critique in a minute but first would like to describe the venue. It is a small theatre (the Premiere Dance Theatre) seating maybe 300 people in the Harbourfront district. The acoustics were perfect and there were no bad seats, even with open seating. The theatre is located on the 3rd floor of a huge, lovely office/retail complex located on the waterfront. It appears to be the adaptive reuse of a large, old maritime building, but I'll leave that to the residents of this part of Canada to verify.
To use the word classy is to understate the atmosphere of the evening. Joni would be so damn proud of her country men and women's work. Musical Director, Aaron Davis put together an evening rivaling that of the most celebrated Hollywood or New York counterpart. Our quick count showed about 200 people in attendance.
Okay, now let's start the music.
The tribute opened with the introduction of the band which was so amazing in their perfection they deserve credit here (as introduced):
Rob Piltch on guitar,
Kevin Breit on lead guitar and strings,
George Koller on bass,
Mark Kelso on drums (man, you should see this guy in the flesh!), John Johnson on woodwinds,
and as mentioned Aaron Davis (soon to be musical director of Holly Cole's European tour) as musical director and playing keyboards.
The first singer was Suzie Vinnick, whose new release ThirtyThree Stars is due soon. Suzie first sang a riveting WOODSTOCK in a style similar to that JM would employ. She has a very sweet, soulful voice. I felt a Melissa Ethridge quality. She followed this up with her swinging version of BIG YELLOW TAXI. This included a sax highlight by John Johnson which was wonderful. She played acoustic guitar and had a large following in the audience. What a start!
Next we moved to Jimmy's favorite, the sultry Rebecca Jenkins - Michelle Pfeiffer look-a-like with the voice of Allanis Morrisette. Her first task was FOR FREE which was stunning - especially the finish which was about two minutes of an enchanting REAL GOOD refrain. Blew us all away. She moved to another stunning rendition of MORGANTOWN which was mystical with back-up singer David Sereda (best left on back-up, but more of that in a minute). In this, John Johnson performed a clarinet solo which was as mystical as Rebecca's interpretation of MORGANTOWN.
Our next delight was Tuku, an African-American woman with a Chaka Kahn appeal (and dreadlocks) wearing a beautiful camouflage dress. Her voice was that of a soft Lauren Hill. Tuku's first number was WOMAN OF HEART AND MIND which was backed up by heavy drums, percussion, bass, and piano. After much applause, she moved to ALL I WANT which featured a cool clarinet solo, heavy drums, electric guitar, and piano accompaniment. She finished this with a stylized "FREE" refrain, again for about two minutes. You can't fathom how many ways that word can be sung -- it was astonisinhg.
Next up was the aforementioned David Sereda. David is an absolute fan of JM. He has a show at the Stray Dog Salon here in Toronto called Joni Nights. He has also written an opera called the "Twelve Minute Opera." He is a very talented musician with a highly trained, pure voice probably more suitable for Broadway than that of this venue. His first number was HEJIRA. He hit every note perfectly, but it sounded as if it were an excerpt from a perfectly executed Broadway show than a tribute to JM. Think Joel Gray in looks in a Sondheim production. I was disappointed in his next number A CASE OF YOU which he did perfectly but without the commitment I think a woman brings to the song. In fact, Jimmy and I said a man should never sing that song and we hope it never happens again in our lifetime. David is a great guy and I loved that he said Joni's music is words in love with music and harmonies in love with melodies. It's a perfect foursome.
Glad that was over, the next performer was the redeemer Martina Sorbara who starts a US tour very soon. She chose Rebecca Jenkins as her back-up on CAREY! WOW! It was amazing the fun they had and how well they sang this song. Martina is totally cool in her parachute pants exposing her naval ring. She was the first that made CAREY sound brand new with a Dance Club remix soon to follow. Again with Jenkins she did HOW DO YOU STOP - again young, current, and totally a tune of 2001. The band was a bit loud and maybe overpowered her at times -- but it was still an incredible performance.
Intermission was next. Here's a thought from Jimmy: If we think we are the only ardent JM fans, folks, we are wrong. These kids (for the most part) can put us all to shame.
Back to our seats. Songwriter Mark Jordan is up next -- he looked as if he has been up for three days and let Bob Dylan do his hair. He may write songs for Rod Stewart, Cher, Kenny Loggins, and Natalie Cole, but this guy can also sing. He did BSN in a jazzy manner followed by MICHAEL FROM MOUNTAINS in a more traditional manner. He used printed music for both (unlike everyone else, except one) accompanied by light piano and drums. It was a totally unplugged performance and quite nice.
Boy, if that was acoustic -- we weren't ready for Ember Swift! She's Toronto's lead singer of the year and a well deserved title. This girl is beautiful and has the voice of a hardened angel. Kinda punk. She started with a personal tribute to JM admiring her huge influence on women in music. To paraphrase, she noted JM's statement that JM does what she wants to do and is not a feminist. She made music as a musician genderless. YEAH! She did a nearly PUNK version of LESSON IN SURVIVAL followed by a very jazzed version of DRY CLEANER FROM DES MOINES. Wow! She even (for lack of a better word) imitated the sound of a trombone throughout the song -- it was amazing and blew the audience away. Watch this girl. I bought her CD.
Then they brought on Jane Siberry, a Canadian (?) treasure. Certainly the most well-known and maybe most anticipated act of then night. Well, what can we say? We know she did Joni's Jazz and she has a lot of fans on the JMDL. But, she was just mediocre tonight. Certainly she has a very nice voice, but she didn't seem connected to the music and like Mr. Jordan, used printed music to lead her through her set. It was more like a recital than the other artists we saw. On a bitchy note, Jimmy thought she looked like Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her in terms of her appearance. Nuff said. Oh yeah, she sang SISOTOWBELL LANE and an unemotional AMELIA. Guess we all have our bad nights.
Then we had Emm Gryner, who toured (or will tour?) with Bowie and has done her sixth album for an independent label. Oh man, you guys should have heard this. She did LITTLE GREEN - just her and the piano. Then she called Tuku on stage to back her up for HELP ME. Get the hell out of the way Wynnona and k.d.! This is the only song of the night that the audience applauded when it started. Good old POP 40 stuff. I have NEVER heard a better interpretation.
It left my heart pounding.
Well, that was it -- except for the finale. All gather back on stage except "the stars," Jordan and Siberry for SHADOWS AND LIGHT. A perfect song for the finale. It was a bit awkward, but all pulled it off beautifully and left the crowd to a standing ovation.
Jimmy and I were so happy to have been there. It was one of those events that happen so rarely for fans of an obscure, yet enduring artist. Our only regret was that more of us from the JMDL weren't there to share in this joy.
(Please excuse typos and misspellings -- it's late, but we were committed to making this post before bedtime.)
No regrets,
Coyote Rick (and Jimmy)
Casa Alegre (actually Executive Apartments)
Hollywood, California (actually T.O.)
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Article © Joni Mitchell.com
October 16, 2001
Dear Correspondents:
Tonight, JMDLer Jimmy Stewart from Fort Myers, FL and I attended Canada's tribute to Joni's music. It was absolutely fantastic for someone who appreciates excellent music, not to mention dyed in the wool Joni fans such as Jimmy and I. I'll just start off by saying we thought it was even better than the TNT tribute done some time ago.
I'll get to the setlist and JimmyRick critique in a minute but first would like to describe the venue. It is a small theatre (the Premiere Dance Theatre) seating maybe 300 people in the Harbourfront district. The acoustics were perfect and there were no bad seats, even with open seating. The theatre is located on the 3rd floor of a huge, lovely office/retail complex located on the waterfront. It appears to be the adaptive reuse of a large, old maritime building, but I'll leave that to the residents of this part of Canada to verify.
To use the word classy is to understate the atmosphere of the evening. Joni would be so damn proud of her country men and women's work. Musical Director, Aaron Davis put together an evening rivaling that of the most celebrated Hollywood or New York counterpart. Our quick count showed about 200 people in attendance.
Okay, now let's start the music.
The tribute opened with the introduction of the band which was so amazing in their perfection they deserve credit here (as introduced):
Rob Piltch on guitar,
Kevin Breit on lead guitar and strings,
George Koller on bass,
Mark Kelso on drums (man, you should see this guy in the flesh!), John Johnson on woodwinds,
and as mentioned Aaron Davis (soon to be musical director of Holly Cole's European tour) as musical director and playing keyboards.
The first singer was Suzie Vinnick, whose new release ThirtyThree Stars is due soon. Suzie first sang a riveting WOODSTOCK in a style similar to that JM would employ. She has a very sweet, soulful voice. I felt a Melissa Ethridge quality. She followed this up with her swinging version of BIG YELLOW TAXI. This included a sax highlight by John Johnson which was wonderful. She played acoustic guitar and had a large following in the audience. What a start!
Next we moved to Jimmy's favorite, the sultry Rebecca Jenkins - Michelle Pfeiffer look-a-like with the voice of Allanis Morrisette. Her first task was FOR FREE which was stunning - especially the finish which was about two minutes of an enchanting REAL GOOD refrain. Blew us all away. She moved to another stunning rendition of MORGANTOWN which was mystical with back-up singer David Sereda (best left on back-up, but more of that in a minute). In this, John Johnson performed a clarinet solo which was as mystical as Rebecca's interpretation of MORGANTOWN.
Our next delight was Tuku, an African-American woman with a Chaka Kahn appeal (and dreadlocks) wearing a beautiful camouflage dress. Her voice was that of a soft Lauren Hill. Tuku's first number was WOMAN OF HEART AND MIND which was backed up by heavy drums, percussion, bass, and piano. After much applause, she moved to ALL I WANT which featured a cool clarinet solo, heavy drums, electric guitar, and piano accompaniment. She finished this with a stylized "FREE" refrain, again for about two minutes. You can't fathom how many ways that word can be sung -- it was astonisinhg.
Next up was the aforementioned David Sereda. David is an absolute fan of JM. He has a show at the Stray Dog Salon here in Toronto called Joni Nights. He has also written an opera called the "Twelve Minute Opera." He is a very talented musician with a highly trained, pure voice probably more suitable for Broadway than that of this venue. His first number was HEJIRA. He hit every note perfectly, but it sounded as if it were an excerpt from a perfectly executed Broadway show than a tribute to JM. Think Joel Gray in looks in a Sondheim production. I was disappointed in his next number A CASE OF YOU which he did perfectly but without the commitment I think a woman brings to the song. In fact, Jimmy and I said a man should never sing that song and we hope it never happens again in our lifetime. David is a great guy and I loved that he said Joni's music is words in love with music and harmonies in love with melodies. It's a perfect foursome.
Glad that was over, the next performer was the redeemer Martina Sorbara who starts a US tour very soon. She chose Rebecca Jenkins as her back-up on CAREY! WOW! It was amazing the fun they had and how well they sang this song. Martina is totally cool in her parachute pants exposing her naval ring. She was the first that made CAREY sound brand new with a Dance Club remix soon to follow. Again with Jenkins she did HOW DO YOU STOP - again young, current, and totally a tune of 2001. The band was a bit loud and maybe overpowered her at times -- but it was still an incredible performance.
Intermission was next. Here's a thought from Jimmy: If we think we are the only ardent JM fans, folks, we are wrong. These kids (for the most part) can put us all to shame.
Back to our seats. Songwriter Mark Jordan is up next -- he looked as if he has been up for three days and let Bob Dylan do his hair. He may write songs for Rod Stewart, Cher, Kenny Loggins, and Natalie Cole, but this guy can also sing. He did BSN in a jazzy manner followed by MICHAEL FROM MOUNTAINS in a more traditional manner. He used printed music for both (unlike everyone else, except one) accompanied by light piano and drums. It was a totally unplugged performance and quite nice.
Boy, if that was acoustic -- we weren't ready for Ember Swift! She's Toronto's lead singer of the year and a well deserved title. This girl is beautiful and has the voice of a hardened angel. Kinda punk. She started with a personal tribute to JM admiring her huge influence on women in music. To paraphrase, she noted JM's statement that JM does what she wants to do and is not a feminist. She made music as a musician genderless. YEAH! She did a nearly PUNK version of LESSON IN SURVIVAL followed by a very jazzed version of DRY CLEANER FROM DES MOINES. Wow! She even (for lack of a better word) imitated the sound of a trombone throughout the song -- it was amazing and blew the audience away. Watch this girl. I bought her CD.
Then they brought on Jane Siberry, a Canadian (?) treasure. Certainly the most well-known and maybe most anticipated act of then night. Well, what can we say? We know she did Joni's Jazz and she has a lot of fans on the JMDL. But, she was just mediocre tonight. Certainly she has a very nice voice, but she didn't seem connected to the music and like Mr. Jordan, used printed music to lead her through her set. It was more like a recital than the other artists we saw. On a bitchy note, Jimmy thought she looked like Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her in terms of her appearance. Nuff said. Oh yeah, she sang SISOTOWBELL LANE and an unemotional AMELIA. Guess we all have our bad nights.
Then we had Emm Gryner, who toured (or will tour?) with Bowie and has done her sixth album for an independent label. Oh man, you guys should have heard this. She did LITTLE GREEN - just her and the piano. Then she called Tuku on stage to back her up for HELP ME. Get the hell out of the way Wynnona and k.d.! This is the only song of the night that the audience applauded when it started. Good old POP 40 stuff. I have NEVER heard a better interpretation.
It left my heart pounding.
Well, that was it -- except for the finale. All gather back on stage except "the stars," Jordan and Siberry for SHADOWS AND LIGHT. A perfect song for the finale. It was a bit awkward, but all pulled it off beautifully and left the crowd to a standing ovation.
Jimmy and I were so happy to have been there. It was one of those events that happen so rarely for fans of an obscure, yet enduring artist. Our only regret was that more of us from the JMDL weren't there to share in this joy.
(Please excuse typos and misspellings -- it's late, but we were committed to making this post before bedtime.)
No regrets,
Coyote Rick (and Jimmy)
Casa Alegre (actually Executive Apartments)
Hollywood, California (actually T.O.)
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