This past Saturday night, I was lucky enough to see Diana Krall at the Chicago Theater. What a great place this is to see a concert - a vintage theater, that's been beautifully restored, and with just about the best accoustic in town.
Diane put on a wonderful show, playing for about an hour and a half. This is the first time I've ever seen her live, and I enjoyed her much more live than on recording. While her records are beautifully done, they don't seem to take too many chances, and in my opinion, nothing on them come close to capturing the emotion she displayed performing A Case Of You at the Joni Tribute. After reading how she was still performing ACOY in concert, I decided I absolutely had to go see her, if for no other reason, then to see her do this one song. All night long, I sat back and waited for that one particular song, but I must admit, I was pretty damn entertained the whole time. She stuck pretty much to her usual formula of old standards, but her and her band were more relaxed then they are on record, and they opened up the songs incredibly in the process. But song after song went by, and still no ACOY. When she left the stage before her first encore, I started to worry that she wasn't going to do it at all! Upon returning, the rather refined crowd started throwing out suggestions, at which time, I couldn't stand it any longer and called out for ACOY. She then said she was going to play something for the gentleman in the first row, who she felt she some how insulted earlier in the evening, and so to try and make things up to him, she played S'wonderful. She then left the stage again, and so did about a quarter of the audience! I couldn't believe it - it couldn't be over already, but people were giving up and leaving. Fortunately, there was a resurgence in the applause, and out she came again - this time alone. Again I called out for ACOY, amidst all of the other cat calls from the audience. Peel Me A Grape was probably the most called for - one guy in the audience even yelled out "Peel Me A Grape, Baby!", at which time Diana just starred into the audience in total disbelief and questioned "Baby? Peel me a grape, BABY?!?" It was pretty hysterical. She then started talking about a very dear friend of hers, who was supposed to have been that night, but had to cancel because he was sick. She then explained that she was doing a Breast Cancer benefit in NY with this person in a couple of weeks, and proceeded to play The Border Song by Sir Elton John. It was a great version of a great song. Elton is one of my all time favorites, so this was a very special treat for me. But about half way through, I began to accept that this was the last song she was going to do, so I would not be hearing ACOY. Still, The Border Song was incredible, and sure enough, after she finished it, she thanked everyone, walked off of the stage, and on came the house lights. I sat there a little shell shocked, disappointed that she didn't play ACOY. I decided that I would have to be satisfied with hearing The Border Song (and believe me, that was very satisfying!), and rose to my feet to leave. And then a very nice thing happened. They started piping music into the theater, and lo and behold, it was Joni's orchestrated version of Both Sides Now. I sat back down in my seat, with a big old smile on my face, and listened as BSN filled the theater. As the song ended, I got up and proceeded to leave, completely content with the evening, even though Diana never played the one song I came there to hear. On my way out of the theater, I decided to see what sort of goodies they were selling. On display were a couple of T shirts, Diana's complete catalog on CD, two different posters, and a new DVD of her live in Paris. As I was reaching to check out the DVD, a woman came rushing up, almost frantic, and asked which of Diana's CDs had that song they played while we were leaving the theater. I perked up, and told her that was a Joni Mitchell song, Both Sides Now. She then looked at me rather incredulously, and said she knew it was a Joni Mitchell song, but she wanted to get a copy of Diana's version that they justed played on the PA. I then politely explained to her that it wasn't Diana, but Joni. I then told her about the BSN CD, but she still didn't seem convinced. Finally, another gentleman in the crowd assured her that I was correct, at which point she got a big smile on her face, said "Well I guess I know what I'll be buying tomorrow" and disappeared into the crowd. What a perfect night cap to a very enjoyable evening. Then, as I turned to leave, I remembered about the Live in Paris DVD. I picked it up, and turned it over, and there it was - Song number 17 - A Case of You! The final song on the DVD. Needless to say, I plunked down my 30 bucks, grabbed my new DVD and headed for home. An hour and a half later, I was in my basement, lights dimmed, candles burning, a glass of wine by my side, listening to the final encore of the evening - Diana doing another stunning version of A Case Of You! When it was all over, I blew out the candles, crawled up to bed, kissed my wife good night, and fell fast asleep. A beautiful night indeed! Jack
