NanciNet Digest 12-03-99 // Concert reports -- full ones! And "best of 99" lists -- lots of 'em. // And more! // Enjoy...[BP] _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Anti-Landmine Concert at Stanford Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 03:36:31 EST From: BMiller224@aol.com I had the good luck to be at the concert Wednesday evening at Stanford, the first installment of a five-day, five-concert California tour that Emmylou Harris is putting on to benefit the Campaign for a Landmine Free World, cosponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF). The show itself was excellent, with Emmy, John Prine, Patty Griffin, Bruce Cockburn, Nanci Griffith, and Steve Earle (in seating order) performing in what Emmy described as the "singer-songwriter thing," meaning they sat in a row and performed sequentially. Mostly, each sang alone accompanying themselves on the guitar. Emmy sang harmony on several songs and sang lead on one of the verses on Nanci's last song. Nanci seemed to be having a great time and her voice sounded wonderful. She opened her first number by raving about Bruce Cockburn's guitar playing and introducing "Trouble in the Fields" by saying Emmy particularly liked it. She sang a brand new song, dedicated to her goddaughter in Montana, I'm guessing "Midnight in Missoula" as the title. The song includes mentions of Gershwin and Samuel Barber, so it sounds like Nanci's writing continues to be influenced by her classical music interests. Her other three songs were "Across the Great Divide," "Grafton Street," and "It's a Hard Life," Emmy singing the second verse on the latter with Patty Griffin also singing harmony. Emmy’s first song was "Raise the Dead," though she gave it a ghostly, Daniel Lanois-type treatment noticeably different from her recorded version with Linda Ronstadt. Her next three songs (she let everyone else do five songs) were new ones, all of them I believe written by her. I really enjoyed hearing her new material. But if someone were hearing Emmy for the first time Wednesday, they might think she was a female version of Townes Van Zandt on downers. The first new song was a piece with religious overtones that started out talking about dragons flying low, and included lines like, "Sorrow is constant/Joys are brief." The second was a song she said was her tribute to marriage. It included the narrator looking forward to binding up her mate's fatal wound and hearing the last breath leave his lips. It continued along the lines of, "When they excavate my heart/They’ll find the impression of your face there," or something to that effect. The third was a nostalgic, enigmatic piece which may be called "Michaelangelo." Interesting, even beautiful songs. But none of them the "silly love song" variety! The biggest hit of the show seemed to be Steve Earle singing his "Goodbye" with Emmy doing harmony (Emmy sings it on "Wrecking Ball.") Steve introduced it by announcing to the crowd he had been "clean" for five years this past September, to the crowd's applause. He said he didn't kick hard drugs because he wanted to, but because "they locked my ass up." He said "Goodbye" was the first song he wrote when he was released from jail to a recovery house, before he was sent back to jail a month later. Patty Griffin's "Mary" got the second most enthusiastic crowd response. I was not familiar with her work and Bruce Cockburn's, so this was a great introduction. I was somewhat more familiar with John Prine's material, and it was great to hear him and his funny, irreverent songs Wednesday. VVAF President Bobby Muller gave a brief but very effective presentation before the intermission about the anti-landmine cause. Several of the performers commented directly about the issue as well, although they left most of the details to Muller. Bruce Cockburn played a song of his called "The Mines of Mozambique" and gave the impression of having being actively involved with the issue for a while. Nanci introduced "Hard Life" with her standard line from Martin Luther King that there are no bad babies born into the world. She expanded it to say that the anti-landmine cause was to prevent babies from being blown up when they walk into the forest or the fields. Bruce C and Steve Earle also had quite a bit to say about the protests in Seattle. Bruce followed his comments with a song which seemed to be about how neocolonialist aggressive and corporate greed where pillaging the world and generally oppressing the poor. Or something to that effect. Also not one in the "silly love song" category. But it wasn't just an evening of only "protest" songs and general heavyosity. It was good entertainment and delivered a clear message about a worthy cause. And hopefully raised some money for it, too. Bruce Miller San Bruno CA _________________________________________________________________ Subject: Re: NN: Anti-Landmine Concert at Stanford Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 09:32:24 -0500 From: "Donate von Bredow-Gardner" (dvbgardner@genelogic.com> Bruce, thank you for a brilliantly told review of this concert.... I felt as if I was there (wishful thinking :). There aren't enough of these kinds of concerts here in the Washington, D.C. area - one would think this should be the perfect venue. The best concert here in recent years was Bonnie Raitt's/Indigo Girls' NoNuke benefit a few years ago, with Jackson Browne and Beth Nielsen Chapman and representatives of the Native American Nation. Poetry, Indian Chants and, of course, the wonderful artists listed above. Thanks again for including us in your reflections. Donate "who once was a protest songwriter but succumbed to the demands of the yucky corporate world to feed her kids" von Bredow-Gardner _________________________________________________________________ Subject: Re: NN: Anti-Landmine Concert at Stanford Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 19:58:29 EST From: Tricia9999@aol.com dvbgardner@genelogic.com writes: > Donate "who once was a protest songwriter but succumbed to the > demands of the yucky corporate world to feed her kids" von > Bredow-Gardner Actually, one of the things Steve Earle said as he was closing and talking about the Seattle stuff, was that he had sort of moderated when he had kids and was worrying about feeding them, getting them to grow up without too many problems. Then when he hit bottom and shouldn't have survived, but somehow did, he rethought, and realized that he was right the first time all along. He has apparently, in his 5 years of being clean, become quite an activist. Tricia Breen _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Review of Wednesday's Landmine concert Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 13:30:38 -0800 From: Ron Crain (ron@arken.net> I have scanned and posted to my web site below a review in today's San Jose Mercury News for anyone who might be interested. http://www.arken.net/ron/nanci.html _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: A concert report Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 18:58:42 GMT From: raj@inspace.net (Bob Juliano) Here is a note I pulled from BLUEGRASS-L regarding the Landmines show. Nanci gets a good review. Could not attend myself as I still live in Florida and Nanci has still not come round here lately. But there IS hope for a tour for this line-up, I've got my fingers crossed. It would be great. Reprinted in it's entirety with the author's permission. Still waiting for Nanci, Bob Juliano raj@inspace.net **MR LIST MANAGER: EDIT AWAY IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT NEEDS IT** __________________________quote___________________________ Emmylou Harris et al/ by Lee Jones Not bluegrass, but... I went to see Emmylou Harris and Friends last night in Palo Alto - a benefit concert for the Committee Against Landmines [1]. If you get a chance to see this tour, don't miss it: From right to left across the stage, Emmylou, John Prine, Patty Griffin, Bruce Cockburn, Nancy Griffith, and Steve Earle. I could have sat and listened to any *one* of these people for an evening, but having all of them was truly incredible. Executive summary: 1. Best overall: Gotta be Nancy Griffith, and I really didn't know her before the show. I recognized only one song she sang ("Trouble In the Fields"), thanks to Maura O'Connell's recording. But they were all great songs, and she has a beautiful voice. 2. Best instrumentalist: Bruce Cockburn. He's a wonderful guitar player, with a quasi-Koettke sound. 3. Most Politically meaningful songs: Bruce Cockburn. I didn't necessarily *agree* with all of them, but they were passionate and eloquent. 4. Most perverse lyrics: tie between Prine and Earle. Both are brilliant (if twisted) songwriters. I wished John had sung "Angel From Montgomery," but he's probably tired of performing that by now. 5. Best song of the evening: Nancy Griffith singing "Hard Life", with harmony by Patty and Emmylou. 6. Biggest disappointment: paucity of duets, trios, etc. Emmylou occasionally jumped in with a little harmony here and there, but it wasn't much, and what she did didn't particularly turn me on. Bruce Cockburn did some ad hoc things on guitar which were very tasteful and well-appreciated. But with that crowd, there could have been some stunning vocal combinations. 7. Overall score: B+ or A- If you get the chance, get out there and see it. Regards, Lee [1] As my friend along with us said, "Gee, *I'm* against landmines." [2] [2] If any of the statistics they quoted from the stage were *near* correct, it's truly obscene. 80-90 million anti-personnel landmines are currently deployed (with many of them no longer mapped by anybody), and 200 million stockpiled for future deployment. In Cambodia, a country of 8 million people, there are/were 10 million landmines planted. _________________________________________________________________ Subject: Re: NN: A concert report Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 22:25:16 -0500 From: Shawn Kimbro (kimbro@planetc.com> Bob Juliano quoted from BLUEGRASS-L wrote: > 1. Best overall: Gotta be Nancy Griffith, and I really didn't > know her before the show. I recognized only one song she sang > ("Trouble In the Fields"), thanks to Maura O'Connell's > recording. But they were all great songs, and she has a > beautiful voice. Yeah, that girl has a way of breaking bluegrass hearts, hey Bob? -Shawn _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: yet another concert report Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 22:57:51 -0800 From: nkn (jessiev@azstarnet.com> Hi, nan, here, having just found you-all, and delighted to have done so. And I can report on the second of the anti-land mind concert series. Last night, in Santa Rosa, CA. And I can but echo the earlier enthusiastic reports. It was *wonderful*! Interestingly, altho the line up was identical to that reported from the Stanford show, the song selections were significantly different. Nanci did 'The Wing and the Wheel', accompanied by a wonderful Sonoma county guitar virtuoso named Nina Gerber. And then a Kate Wolf tune, 'The Great Divide'. This might well have had something to do with Nina's presence as Nina was a very close friend of the late, and great Kate, and did a comp. CD of Kate's greatest hits last year with Nanci and Emmy Lou among other performers doing the tunes. A class job! She then did, amazingly I thought, an audience participation version of 'If I Had a Hammer', and finally what I think of as her signature piece, 'It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go'. And everyone else was super too. Been a John Prine fan since the sixties, and it was such a delight to see him. He did a new number he's just written for a film, yet to be released, a duet in which he sang both the boy and the girl, as he put it. And 'The Sins of Memphisto', one of my faves! Emmylou Harris is more beautiful than ever, taking perfect advantage of the changes the years have wrought in her voice. She did a number from the last album, the one with Linda Ronstadt, a new tune she said was quite literally hot off the presses, and one of my all time favorites, 'From Boulder to Birmingham'. Patty Griffith, a clear crowd favorite, is someone I've never heard before. And whoever it was that said 'Mary' was a huge hit, was right on! What a great tune. I scuttled myself off to Amazon.com first thing this morning to order her latest. Now I have never been a Bruce Cockburn fan, allowing as how his guitar is simply splendid, but finding his voice somewhat less than pleasing. Not to detract from his talent really, just to state a personal preference for certain sounds, or lack thereof. He sure does play a fine guitar! (G> And Steve Earle, as honest a performer as I've ever seen, was great, as usual. Absolutely brought down the house with a group version of his 'Christmas in Washington', which closed the show. And wowee, holy toledo, man oh man - did we ever get a bonus! Emmylou, speaking of her delight at the role of hostess for this event, stood up and told us how very very pleased she was to be able to announce a special guest performer when it was John Prine's turn (this was in the form of the singer/songwriter circle wherein each performer in turn did a tune), and up on the stage walked Bonnie Raitt. After the five minutes of cheers from the incredibly appreciative audience, and Bonnie talking about how she loves the house so (The Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa) and how she's played there so often but that this was the first time she ever got to sit in the audience, and that she was having such fun that she really didn't want to leave her seat - she and John did a duet of 'Angel From Montgomery'. I had to wonder if the house could hold up under the cheering crowds, all on their feet. What a moment! Ya know about dreams coming true? Two of my all time favorite voices. One of my all time favorite tunes. And there they were, the two of them who have done it better than anyone, he writing it and she doing the quintessential interpretation - there they were, singing it together. Wow. Doesn't get a whole lot better'n that, ya know? A great cause. Wonderful performances by singularly talented performers. Close to the perfect evening. It is music that feeds me, more than anything else. And last night? Fully fed! Most very fully fed! If you get a chance, GO! Spend the sixty five bucks, or forty five or eighty five. Hock something. Yr car probably needs a good work out anyhow, and the drive is worth it. Well worth it! And again, pleased to meet you all. Might just toss out my ten favorite albums for '99. Am finding it so very interesting that other than all of us being Nanci fans, our other musical tastes seem to vary so widely. another Nanci fan, nan _________________________________________________________________ Subject: Re: NN: yet another concert report Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 02:50:57 EST From: MAUDEENW@aol.com jessiev@azstarnet.com writes: (( she and John did a duet of 'Angel From Montgomery'. I had to wonder if the house could hold up under the cheering crowds, all on their feet. What a moment! >> This gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes!!! What a moment that must have been. ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY is a longtime favorite of mine. Once gave a street musician extra $$ just because she was singing it (g>. So I was thrilled just to hear John Prine sing it in October (I had gone to the concert to hear Iris Dement, so unfamiliar with Prine's work I didn't know he wrote AFM - so was thrilled. He has a new fan, BTW (g>). But to hear John and Bonnie do it together must have been an unbelievable experience. ~Maudeen http://maudeen.tripod.com/1999travels/index.html Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." C.S. Lewis _________________________________________________________________ Subject: Re: NN: yet another concert report Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 02:55:54 EST From: Annavedo@aol.com Aw, Nan..... I don't know whether I am thrilled or completely bummed out by your review! I was to have gone to the Santa Rosa concert, but life got in the way (my daughter's own high school winter concert---I'm a mother first and a Nanci fan second). I live in Colorado, but am a native of California (northern) and my sister lives in Santa Rosa. We had been talking of it for months and were so excited at the prospect of going to see this concert, together with a couple of our other siblings. When you mentioned that Nanci did "If I Had a Hammer" I found myself giddily chuckling aloud, as this is one of my favorite NG numbers. I pictured myself in that audience, wearing my NanciNet T-shirt, gaily singing along. But when you said BONNIE RAITT was a surprise walk-on, I had an emotional outburst that nearly woke my husband! Oh, to have been there! My only consolation is that my daughter was chosen to play tambourine in one of the numbers, and got to take a special place on stage, as well as special mention in the program (hey, these are the moments mothers live for...)! Thanks so much for sharing! *Anne* _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: mca years Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 05:25:23 -0500 From: "Charlie Butler" (Charles.Butler@BigFoot.com> (( but more importantly, i achieved a bit of an epiphany. while listening, i came to "love at the five and dime" which i had never heard live before. following the wonderful intro about all the woolworth's being the same all over the world, and listening to this simple, sweet love song, i suddenly remembered why i listen to music. >> Michel, I couldn't agree with you more about Five and Dime. I have heard several different versions of this song on her various albums and in concert and the slight differences between each version make this song stand out as a favorite for me. I heard Nanci sing it live in Oct of 97 and her discussion about the "elevator", her reproduction of the "dinging" sound and announcement that the elevator had reached "Ladies Lingerie" will always be with me. Chuck _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: mca years Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 15:25:51 EST From: RoanInish@aol.com Yes, "Love at the Five and Dime" is an extraordinary song, perhaps Nanci's finest. As much as I adore the spoken intro to it in the live version (and I do adore it), nothing can beat the original studio version which feature Lyle Lovett on backing vocal. It, wonderful monologue from the live version not withstanding, is the definitive version for me. _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: deadlines? Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 09:20:14 EST From: HenryJG@aol.com I saw that the top 10 of 99 has a Christmas deadline. Can someone tell me if there are deadlines for the top 100 of the century and top 20 of the 90s lists? Thanks, John _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Re: FAD-the book Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 09:16:16 -0600 From: Michael Wilt (mwilt@smp.org> Griffsters, A few days ago, I wrote, >>She [Nanci] points out, for example, that "no performance has ever been as dear as performing it once, with Julie on piano, at Carnegie in the fall of 1987."(( To which "Brian Mich" (b.mich@worldnet.att.net> responded, >I was there for the performance mentioned below (though I don't remember it as 1987, necessarily. I thought it was later.) Nanci opened for John Prine and it was truly a magical night, particularly that performance of "From a Distance". The post brought back a great memory, thanks.( I was also at that wonderful Nanci/Prine concert, and Brian is right--that took place later, on June 16, 1988 (my first date with my wife, so I remember--ain't I romantic? It was also Bloomsday, as I'm sure odddduck would like me to point out. [How ya doin', Bill?!]). So either Nanci is wrong about the date or there was an earlier Carnegie appearance with Julie. In any case, it was not their first or only pairing for From a Distance, which I saw them perform together at the Bottom Line a year or two earlier (dateless I was that night). Tonight we're out to see Lucy Kaplansky at the Pump House in LaCrosse, WI. Any other netters in the vicinity goin' that way? Michael "editor seeking new publishing position; resume available upon request" Wilt _________________________________________________________________ Subject: Re: NN: Re: Nanci/JulieGold/Springsteen/Lucy Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 13:33:41 EST From: Brimpls@aol.com Dear Michael, It's so sweet that your first date with your wife was a Nanci concert. What a good beginning! So it was a Nanci and John Prine night with an appearance by Julie Gold? Cool! I would never have discovered the wonderful Lucy Kaplansky were it not for this group of NanciNet people. Now her songs are a big part of me. I am sure you'll enjoy hearing her live. I have a quick Lucy story to share, if that's okay: My husband and I went to hear Broooooooce Springsteen and the E Street Band this past Sunday night here in Minneapolis. We got to our seats early and settled in; next to us was a family originally from Texas: the pretty mom about my age (42) was seated next to me, then her two daughters ages 10 and 13, and then her husband, a major Bruce fan. We got to talking and I distributed earplugs (I'm such a mom!), as I had many extra pairs in my purse. The girls were grateful. We discussed Bruce for a while. I had the set list from previous shows which I shared with them, and then out of the blue, before we'd even shared any more musical info, she said, "I bet you like Lucy Kaplansky!" Wow--that was so amazing! Of course I excitedly told her yes, that I listen to Lucy all the time, and that I was so sad I had to miss her concert in Mpls. in October, because I had tickets that night to see Lucinda Williams across town. Well, it turns out that this nice woman seated next to me at Springsteen had heard Lucy in concert in October, so we talked all about the show and the venue and such. It just made for such a nice connection. My husband said to me later, 'You should have gotten her name and phone number; she seems to have the same musical taste as you!' and of course he was right, but you know how it is at a concert, it just never occurred to me at the time. Anyway, it truly is a small world. And yes, Bruce and the band were absolutely fabulous. It was unforgettable. Sabrina in Mpls. _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Denice Franke Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 11:40:02 EST From: Tricia9999@aol.com I'm wondering if anyone has developed an opinion of her new album? I have been waiting to hear any reactions. Nice to hear a new song from Nanci at the concert the other night. All were great, although some were somewhat low energy (or maybe just somber due to the horrific facts of the landmines). I found Patty Griffin's Mary quite moving as did the crowd. Tricia Breen _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Top 10 of 99 Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 00:39:11 EST From: ChocChippy@aol.com KW's favorite albums of 1999: 1) Hedwig & the Angry Inch (soundtrack). Played more times than any other album I bought this year. The soundtrack of a brilliant rock musical is the best album David Bowie, the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and the Beatles never recorded. "Lift up your hands!" 2) Return of the grievous angel (v/a). Played almost as many times as Hedwig in fewer months. So beautiful. I wore this one out & need to buy a new copy! 3) Celebrity Skin/Hole. Another outstanding album from a great band. "Northern Star" is probably my favorite track. 4) She Talks to Rainbows EP/Ronnie Spector. If you ask me, this is the best collaboration between a Spector and a Ramone (Joey). Only problem is, it's not long enough! 5) Hamburger/The Muffs. So, I liked the compilation better than the studio album. It's a GREAT compilation by one of the my favorite bands of the 90s. The phone message from Courtney is priceless. 6) The Chieftains/Tears of Stone. Joni Mitchell's, "The Magdalene Laundries" is a searing, beautiful original. 7) Burnzy's Last Call (v/a) soundtrack. I love imaginary rock bands. particularly imaginary rock bands from the early-mid-late 60s. In this compilation, Deborah Harry, David Johansen, Graham Parker, The Smithereens, Evan Dando, Lou Christie & Soozie Tyrell pretend to be David Bowie, Herman's Hermits, Frankie Valli, Mary Hopkins, Perry Como and others. Smart AND you can dance to it. 8) Piece of Work/The Brain Surgeons. Sad, beautiful, hard rock. They do not go gentle into that good night. 9) The Dust Bowl Symphony. Because she's Nanci, dammit! 10) Fetish/Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Because she's Joan, dammit! Honorable mentions: Viva El Amor (Pretenders); Trio II; Julia Fordham Collection (Julia Fordham); Live at McCabe's (Nancy Wilson); Diana Krall's latest. _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Top Ten, etc... Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 17:53:11 -0500 From: "Kristina Plath" (flyer23@angelfire.com> Hi All (& Vicki) Ok, first, the top Cd's. I don't know if I can round up ten, for I am 16 and still rely on Santa for most of my music. There isn't much I bought this year that was released this year. But here goes. In order: Nanci-- DUSTBOWL SYMPHONY Kate Campbell-- ROSARYVILLE Lucy Kaplansky-- TEN YEAR NIGHT Cheryl Wheeler-- SYLVIA HOTEL Indigo Girls-- COME ON NOW SOCIAL Dixie Chicks-- FLY Mary-Chapin Carpenter-- PARTY DOLL Ok, it's only seven. But I could easily come up with a list of 1998 releases... hmmm..... I'd love to get in on the tape exchange, but I've promised far too many people tapes as is.... maybe next year.... If there's anybody out there still working on their 100 Songs of the Century, there's only a month left!! (Shawn!! : )) Wings & wheels... Kristina "cuz the weather's in my bones...." _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Another Top Ten Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 18:56:06 -0600 From: Ed Maier (eddie@flash.net> 1. A Far Cry From Dead- Townes VanZant 2. Western Wall- ELH and LR 3. Return Of The Grievous Angel- Various 4. Rosaryville- Kate Campbell 5. Dustbowl Symphony- NG 6. A Crash Course In Roses- Catie Curtis 7. Recommended For Airplay- David Allen Coe 8. The Pilgrim- Marty Stewart 9. Wandering Strange- Kate Campbell* 10. (Only bought nine that were released during this year) * Yah, I know it's not released yet. No, I don't have it. Just trust me, okay? Stick with me and you'll wear brass buttons. Ed _________________________________________________________________ Subject: NN: Re:The Music of 1999 Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 19:45:52 -0600 (CST) From: PhotoTwang@webtv.net (Richard Hill) I already posted a longer list on [moonpie], but my 'Top 10' were as follows: #1 (Album of the Year) Ten Year Night - Lucy Kaplansky #2 - What I Deserve - Kelly Willis #3 - Traveling Miles - Cassandra Wilson #4 - Forget About It - Alison Krauss #5 - Rosaryville - Kate Campbell #6 - Night in a Strange Town* - Lynn Miles #7 - Broken Things - Julie Miller #8 - The Man From God Knows Where - Tom Russell #9 - Return of the Grievous Angel - various (Gram Parsons tribute) #10 - In Spite of Ourselves - John Prine *(Lynn Miles' disc made some people's list for 1998, but wasn't 'officially' released in this country 'til January of this year). Also: Song of the Year: In Spite of Ourselves - John Prine & Iris DeMent Richard _________________________________________________________________ Questions about NanciNet? Send e-mail to bpage@scctel.com Return to Archives or The Blue Moon Page