Nice post Susan. Here's my recount on seeing/hearing that DAMN JONI MITCHELL........
It was I believe 1975,the venue was The University of Cincinnati Fieldhouse. My older sister and her then boyfriend had invited me to come along......... Our seats were up in the nose-bleed section.. sitting on bleachers and before SHE came out I was already a little sauced because the tequila&salt was passed up and down our row along with the HERB. The L.A. Express opened up with a few tight jazzy numbers and then the lights dimmed....out SHE walked,if you can call it walking, more like a stroll....(chills even now.. just as I had those many years ago) SHE opened with HELP ME. Wearing a black pant outfit,tomato red, silky blouse and a gaucho style hat. I could see she was a blond, her hair slightly exposed, but most of it tucked in the hat. MY very first reaction was what an incredibly stunning, beautiful& mysterious woman. (THE VOICE:I will just say for the people that have seen her live know what I mean when I write:THE VOICE. There are no adjetives to adequately describe;the soaring highs the low-ebb to it. Recordings DO NOT capture it.......what I heard back in 75.) She spoke very little other than to complain about her guitar being out of tune.... she fiddled quite a bit with her guitar. Taking a lot of time and you could feel her frustration. (there was a guy sitting to the right of us who would scream at her to PLAY something. I was quite annoyed by him as others were.) When she sat at the piano I can remember being sooooo transfixed losing all space and time. Losing my surroundings.. (it wasn't just the herb either)....it was just she and I.....this was an incredible moment!! Did I realize at the time the innovator she was/is.. no, nor the master musician? I did realize I needed to explore her more......of course not knowing at the time would be a live-long exploration. (hence,JMDL) As I remember she did three or four encores and on her last encore she took her hat off....*WOW!!.......her beautiful blond locks now free-flowing,silky sleeves rolled up....My Analyst told me..... _______________________________________________________________________ Soooooooo to sum it up.....I guess you can kind of read into it that I love Joni Mitchell. :-) *WOW:I often think of Mama Cass's facial expression when she saw Janis at the Monterey Pop festival back in 68/69, with her mouth agape....WOW!. (I have a little fund set aside so wherever SHE is in concert in the future......be it bum-blank Egypt or Tidewater,West Virginia (me mothers birthplace) I will be there........it's been WAY tooo long. Bree Mags wrote: close your eyes and remember those angst filled days and >how Joni became >the very thing that saved you. > >Mags my friend, this poem/prose was so lovely! I think for many of us, >the words you laid out here express the very time and place many of us >came from and to in our life long union with Joni. This is well >written and it definitely touches the soul of our reason for being >here .. well surely you touched mine. Thanks for sharing. > >Julius wrote: she would light candles and incense and read to me from >Sylvia Plath, Anais Nin or Hermann Hesse. > >Julus this is the woman for me! I love Wendy - hook me up! This is >like fairy tale so sweet a memory. If anyone recalls the old thread >about favorite books and authors, mine included all 3 mentioned here! > >My first REAL Joni listen was the summer of 1971. I had heard a few >things in pieces here and there and liked what I heard but I wasn't >listening close enough. Also, I was often hearing BSN - Judy Collins >versions. > >But the summer of 71 as I was turning 14 was the defining moment for >me. I was hanging out with a slightly older cousin who was busy >getting me high for the first few times of my life. We were listening >to a radio station that was very into playing the Blue album that >summer. Every song was an immediate love for me. The ones I remember >them playing were All I Want, California, Carey ... A Case of you well >all of them. > >I bought the album within the week and played it down to a hissing >sound. Actually I recall my mother going shopping and I giving her the >instrctions of what album to pick up for me. I immediately put it on >the turn table and was never the same - my mother on the other hand >imediately hated it and her. To this day when we argue about ANYTHING, >she still says, I am always trying to shove my opinions down her throat >and it all started with that damn Joni Mitchell! > >I felt proud to have "discovered" the album and buy it before my cousin >did. To know all of the words and have a personal relationship with >the whole package. I went out and bought LOTC and Clouds within a >month or 2 and then STAS. > >By January of 72 I was sitting in the 8th row and watching Joni live. >Except for a few moments in my life I can't think of anything that was >such a turning point and defining moment both creatively - soulfully >than that time in my life. I have looked for other "heroes" but just >like love it always hits you when you least expect it. > >Every lover I have had has either been indoctrinated by me with Joni - >or was as big a fan as I. I believe those are reasonable prerequisites >for being my lover - don't you agree? > >Peace >Susan >Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! >http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
