// In which we hear of a great Nanci (and friends) concert, 
// and discuss the relative merits of "Flyer."
// Enjoy... [BP] 

_________________________________________________________________ 


Subject: NN: Nanci in Corning, NY 5/6/01
   Date: Mon, 07 May 2001 14:02:27 EDT
   From: ChocChippy@aol.com

We got more than we hoped for this weekend...scenery, ice cream, an amazing
museum of glass, and a whole bunch of really good music!

We didn't even know we'd be able to go until Thursday; the Tom Rush/Nanci
Griffith show had been marked "SOLD OUT" on the website, and a few calls to the
group putting on the show could only get a promise of being put on the list for
cancellations.

Well, we got the call Thursday morning, and a portion of the afternoon was
spent in rearranging the weekend plans, figuring out how to get there, and
finding a place to stay.

At the crack of, oh about 1 o'clock, on Saturday, we left, took the southern
route to Corning from NYC: across New Jersey and along the top of Pennsylvania
before heading north back into New York state. We left the overcast & drizzle
behind us as we headed west through mountains and crossing rivers. 

We pulled into Corning around 6:30 (having stopped for gas and cupcakes and to
stretch our legs); and once checked into the Best Western, got back into
Corning, where the Museum of Glass rather dominates the skyline.

The rent-a-cop in the parking lot had no idea what was going on or where
(thoroughly annoying my companion, who works in security), but we went to the
OTHER side of the big building and saw lots of cars parking and rather
well-dressed folks of all ages heading toward a door marked "auditorium."

Inside, the local group that puts on these events as a series was just getting
set up, and were a little too local at this point to be able to take credit
cards; but still individual and with enough common sense to send me upstairs to
the (closed) museum gift shop to use the ATM with the manager of the snack bar.

The auditorium is a well-built hall that holds a couple hundred people,
integrated into and surrounded on three sides by the museum, complete with
little exhibit cases, large pieces of glass sculpture, and glass, glass
everywhere (including stairs made of glass).

The entire evening was emceed by Tom Rush, who presented it as one of his "Club
47" concerts. If you're not familiar with those (and I wasn't), it's an
occasional evening hosted by Rush in the spirit of Club 47 in Cambridge, where
he and many others of his generation got their starts; he's been doing them
since 1981 with the idea that you take a couple of established acts out, and
some newcomers, and have an evening of fun and music.

Works for me!

He introduced the evening with the grace and humor of a guy who really likes
what he does, and gave us Lynn Miles to start with; she's a Canadian
singer/songwriter, who did a short set, including a rather lovely one on the
Dorothy/Wizard of Oz mythos. 

Rush came back out, as did Nanci, for her first song of the night, serving as
backup (with Miles) to Rush, who did the Circle Song (Joni Mitchell), also
accompanied by a piano player (who doubled on sax), I think the guy's name was
Joseph Abbott (he wasn't listed in the program).

Rush played a few more of his own songs, and talked about life in Wyoming,
where he moved a number of years ago; about having a 2-year-old daughter (he
said he'd decided to have his own grandkids and cut out the middle man); and
sang a song about a Wyoming pasttime, shooting coyotes. (He said a
bumpersticker he recently saw in Wyoming read: If God didn't want us to eat
animals, why'd he make them out of meat?)

We clapped and sang along from the balcony and when the lights went up for
intermission, went out to grab a drink and found Rush out there already, still
clutching his coffee cup.

He answered questions and signed CDs, and admired one little girl's blisters on
her fingers where she is learning to play guitar. He said he's been doing the
Club 47 nights for almost 20 years, and is proud to have presented some of
today's major artists as newcomers years ago (he named Nanci and Allison Krauss
as two of them).

Then we went back inside to hear the other newcomer, Vance Gilbert, who is
talented, and funny, and quite insane. He commented that when he saw the museum
of glass, he just wanted to go around pushing things off of shelves...which
drew a hearty roar of recognition from the crowd. He said: I'm just saying what
you're thinking! (Which is one of the definitions of an artist). He talked
about how much money you can make from being a folksinger: "hundreds and
hundreds of dollars...yearly!" and sang a love song he'd written to a man
because he said, men don't write enough love songs to men.

His set segued into Nanci's, and Gilbert was all but jumping up and down with
excitement as he praised her and said how much he was looking forward to
singing with her; they sang "Love at the Five and Dime," and Nanci beckoned him
to come over and sing at the same mic, and they harmonized beautifully, and
they embraced, and then he left the stage to let Nanci get to her set proper.

At the piano & keyboard was the fine James Hooker, who provided his inimitable
accompaniment. Nanci sang about a dozen songs, starting with These Days in an
Open Book, then some back-and-forth with Hooker before Gulf Coast Highway;
Flyer; From a Distance, and two from the new album: Clock Without Hands, and
Traveling Through This Part of You (detailing her trip last year to Viet Nam
and Cambodia, and her work for the Campaign against Landmines); then It's a
Hard Life, and she brought everyone out for a rousing "Hammer Song."

They all stayed on stage, and Tom Rush sat down and played some slide guitar
for "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm," and it certainly blew all the people away!

We wanted more...but it was already around 11 o'clock, and as I'd discovered at
intermission, Tom Rush's next gig was the next afternoon in New York City.
Since we'd driven out from there, we knew he had about 5 or 6 hours to go
before he got to sleep (and that we wouldn't make it back to his shows at the
Village Underground on Sunday).

We chatted with Vance Gilbert for a little and got the CD, "Live in
Somerville." A fellow Nanci fan I'd briefly chatted with earlier came rushing
up and grabbed my arm, and gently indicated that she was in the auditorium
signing autographs, as we hurred over there, a rather tall unpleasant man from
the local group stood in our way and told us to leave.

I was philosphical about it...if I'd been paying more attention, I might have
picked up on the signing earlier; and I certainly don't go to shows for the
autograph, I go for the music. I assume there'll be some other opportunity down
the line, and when it's meant to happen, it'll happen.

So we went back to the hotel and slept late on Sunday, ate in a wonderful
family-owned Italian restaurant in Corning (Sorge's), bought some shoes at the
outlet, had a sundae at the ice cream parlor, and took a long leisurely drive
back across NY 17, and got home just around sunset.

My idea of a great weekend...

Kathleen W.

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Subject: NN: Corning, NY
   Date: Tue, 08 May 2001 12:39:17 -0400
   From: "Michael Harrison" (miketeked@hotmail.com>

I was also at the concert in Corning, NY last weekend. I thought Lynn Miles 
was excellent, and I went out at intermission and purchased one of her CDs. 
They had a little different way of seating there, not really assigned seats, 
and we were lucky enough to get there early and sat in the front row.
Along with my wife, I brought along my 2 reluctant sons (ages 12 and 14). 
They REALLY weren't interested in going. Dad's music is just too slow. I'm 
not trying to push my musical taste on them, but I thought a little nudge 
wouldn't hurt. Now my 12 year old is in love with Nanci, and my 14 year old 
won't admit it, but I could tell he really enjoyed it too.
Nanci looked and sounded fantastic. Seeing that smile in person is something 
to behold. She really lights up the room. She mentioned that her new album 
will be released soon, and she sang a couple of songs from it. A Clock With 
No Hands was one of them.
She will be in North Adams, Massachusetts on June 2. So will I.

Michael
New Hampshire

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Subject: NN: Flyer
   Date: Sat, 5 May 2001 11:55:46 +0100
   From: "Bobby K" (bobbyk@esatclear.ie>

Hi all,

Been a long long time since I've written to the Nancinet, been busy with 
life and stuff, but still think it is the best damn newsgroup on the net 
by a long shot!
Anyway, just wanted to comment on Nanci's 1994 Album Flyer. Just 
wondered are there more of us out there who believe that this album 
represents the culmination of all of her finest songwriting talents ? 
See I've been playing all her albums lately in preparation for her 
forthcoming concert here in October (Front row, middle seats ...oh thank 
you God). Yeah, I know, long way off yet but no time like the present. 
But the one CD that keeps finding it's way into the player is Flyer. 
There are just so many great songs on there that I never ever tire of 
hearing. In fact our very own Francis Black, who Nanci has often waxed 
lyrical about, covered no less than 4 of the tracks from Flyer on her 
debut album Talk to Me. As Nanci herself said on the sleevenotes of 
Flyer.."..your voice retrieved my belief in myself as a songwriter with 
a heart of my own". I ,for one, wholeheartedly agree. God bless the 
Flyer :-)

Yours in glorious anticipation,

Bobby Kennedy
Dublin, Ireland.

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 14:40:16 -0700 (PDT)
   From: Reid Mitchell (reidmitchell@yahoo.com>

--- Bobby K (bobbyk@esatclear.ie> wrote:
> Anyway, just wanted to comment on Nanci's 1994 Album
> Flyer. Just wondered are there more of us out there who believe
> that this album represents the culmination of all of her finest
> songwriting talents ? 

I do. But FLYER was the first cd of Nanci's I listened
to and that might make a difference in how I evaluate
it.  I also was in a bad patch when I heard it and it
is, if such a phrase should be used, a Bad Patch Album
(an Album for Bad Patches?).  Something akin to TWO
STEPS FROM THE BLUES, WEE SMALL HOURS, BLUE, and BLOOD
ON THE TRACKS.  "Nobody's Angel" is one of my
favorites (despite, I would timidly suggest, a little
awkwardness in the construction of the lyrics around
the appearance of mixed metaphors starting with "I was
a forest for love songs").  Of course, I could even
turn "This Heart" into a blues if I put my mind to it.

Reid Mitchell

n.p.  THE RUTLES.

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 18:21:26 -0400
   From: "Dave" (dbrons@ptd.net>

> > represents the culmination of all of her finest
> > songwriting talents
>
> I do. But FLYER was the first cd of Nanci's I listened
> to and that might make a difference ....

Well it's definitely my favorite, and not among the first I listened to.   I
still rate LLA way up there right behind Flyer - it was the first one I
heard.

By the time Flyer came out I was, I thought, a little tired of some of
Nanci's stuff.  I remember buying the disc, putting it on and right away
hearing about a "plane fron San Antonio" and I thought uh-oh, she's run out
of things to write about.  Well, that was wrong!  Though not as "deep" maybe
as some of her work, I think of Flyer as the most well crafted of her
albums.  Though it doesn't try to knock you over with dynamics like LNGH,
the sound quality is stunning at times such as in what I think of as Nanci's
masterpiece - Goodnight to a Mother's Dream.

Her writing here is by far the most personal of all her albums.  Nanci
doesn't write many "love songs" and "Talk to me While I'm Listening" is a
treasure.  Likewise, "Goin' back to Georgia" with Adam Duritz.  There's
plenty of the more "traditional" Nanci type songs here too like "This Heart"
"Time of Inconvenience", and the great "These Days in an Open Book".

Dave

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 21:53:55 EDT
   From: Poetmuse@aol.com

bobbyk@esatclear.ie writes:

(( Anyway, just wanted to comment on Nanci's 1994 Album Flyer. Just =
 wondered are there more of us out there who believe that this album =
 represents the culmination of all of her finest songwriting talents ? = >>


It's funny you ask, Bobby- this topic has been rolling around my head lately 
too and I almost sent in a post about "Flyer" but canned it. It's one of my 
favorites and now, 7 years later, it still sounds as fresh and as great as it 
did the first day it found its home in my cd changer. The disc holds some of 
my personal *on that list of best songs! ever!* favorites and I think has 
some of Nanci's most personal and most heartfelt writing. I respond to things 
that have that ounce of truth about them- that certain something that reaches 
into the heart and grabs ahold of it. Many songs on Flyer do that for me.  
And I wholeheartedly agree with Dave- "Goodnight to a Mother's Dream" is one 
of Nanci's masterpieces: Seven years and a 1000 listens later it still makes 
me cry. Maybe more so now because of how much I identify with it, but also 
because it is an honest statement from Nanci's amazing, enchanting inner and 
outer voice. 
I've quoted that album and that song! so many times, it's almost as though 
it's a part of my skin. For this Nanci fan, it remains and always will be a 
treasure to love and admire for as long as she lives... or at least, as long 
as she can still listen (hear?!)  the music. 
:)

Christina "a heart not taken" Myers

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer - A Dissenting Opinion
   Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 12:52:30 +0800
   From: "Bob McConnochie" (rsm@ppp.com.hk>

Counting myself among her most devoted fans, criticism of any of Nanci's
material sounds churlish. But IMHO Flyer is a curious album, where the whole
is less than the sum of the parts. My favourite track - Going Back To
Georgia - seems like a towering peak in an otherwise irregular mountain
range......marred by some difficult chord changes in the opening track (I
know nothing about changing chords, by the way...) some brittle mixing
(stick with the drums, Larry.....) and perhaps an uneasy running
order....(did they put This Heart at the very end to wake us up after the
obvious closer Goodnight To A Mother's Dream?). Maybe it was the cast of
thousands that spoilt the broth. But I had a similar reaction to Blue Roses
>From The Moons three years later. Among the songs of those two discs hides
an absolute classic.

Anyway, I confess to being pernickety - an interloper doodling in the
margins of greatness. And our opinions are heavily influenced by when and
how we come across things and by those irreversible connections each of us
makes in our own life while the music plays. Still.... this summer I am
hoping for the crystal-shining smoothness and cohesion of Little Love
Affairs, and Last Of The True Believers....

"But if you're goin' south darlin I guess I'm travellin' with you......"

Bob

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 22:26:32 EDT
   From: Brimpls@aol.com

I also hold "Flyer" very close to my heart.  From the first chords to the 
last, it touches me like no other Nanci album and I just treasure those 
songs.  In fact, it is imprinted in my mind so that I can almost "play" it in 
my mind's ear without using a CD player...one of those precious musical 
entities which never really stops playing in my head! And the photography is 
beautiful, too. Great cover, don't you agree?

Thank you for the thread. It's wonderful to know there are so many people who 
"hear" what I hear!

Sabrina in Mpls.

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 23:00:06 -0400
   From: kenn lippert (lippert@nauticom.net>

>I also hold "Flyer" very close to my heart.  From the first chords to the
>last, it touches me like no other Nanci album and I just treasure those
>songs.  In fact, it is imprinted in my mind so that I can almost "play" it in
>my mind's ear without using a CD player...one of those precious musical
>entities which never really stops playing in my head! And the photography is
>beautiful, too. Great cover, don't you agree?
>
>Thank you for the thread. It's wonderful to know there are so many people who
>"hear" what I hear!

What always strikes me about Flyer is the diversity of material. 
 From the simply fun rock-a-billy, to the tender ballad, to the 
wistful love song; they are all so different, yet all so perfectly 
Nanci Griffith.  These songs don't have the brash simplicity of her 
earliest work (which i adore), but her talent for imagery and 
emotional clarity still come through.  The songs on Flyer certainly 
flow from a maturer, more worldly wise hand.  I have to agree this 
may be Nanci Griffith at the top of her songwriting.  And I also have 
to agree with Christine; "Goodnight to a Mother's Dream" is probably 
the most *personal* song we will ever hear from Ms. Griffith. We are 
fooled by her incredible talent at character and story, that we think 
just about every song she writes is "about her".  There are snatches: 
"'Whiter Shade of Pale' is my best kept secret", "when we lost 
John..", "never been haloed by New England snow", in other songs, but 
there is always the question of where Nanci Griffith ends and the 
fiction begins.  But in "Goodnight to a Mother's Dream" I think for 
that one musical moment she didn't just let her mask down, she took 
it off and set it down.  She gave us all a clean view of exactly who 
is behind it.  Makes me love her all the more.

Buenos Suenos,
kenn "a song, a song, high above the trees" lippert
-- 

_________________________________________________________________ 

Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 08:12:43 EDT
   From: Poetmuse@aol.com

lippert@nauticom.net writes:

(( But in "Goodnight to a Mother's Dream" I think for 
 that one musical moment she didn't just let her mask down, she took 
 it off and set it down.  She gave us all a clean view of exactly who 
 is behind it.  Makes me love her all the more.
  >>


Also in the story(s) she tells when she performs it live.  She openly admits 
its a personal song & she dedicates it to her mom and all the "women" who 
chose the path less traveled. How she sings it without ballin' is amazing to 
me! ;-) 


-Christina "hand me a hanky" Myers

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Subject: Re: NN: Flyer
   Date: Mon, 07 May 2001 08:53:35 -0400
   From: Steve Robertson (stever@mindspring.com>

The Flyer tour was certainly a high point among her live performances. This
was the only Atlanta concert in the beautiful Fox Theatre- which is where
all Atlanta Nanci concerts should be held:

	http://www.foxtheatre.org/

The theatre lighting crew rigged up some lights at the back of the stage
that- together with the jet engine sound effects- gave a credible impression
of a jet plane taking off at the beginning of "Flyer" Then, naturally, the
crowd reacted rather boisterously when she did "Going Back to Georgia".

-- 
>From the Georgia Pines,
Steve Robertson

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Subject: NN: LeAnn Rimes
   Date: Sun, 6 May 2001 16:46:59 EDT
   From: BMiller224@aol.com

I called up the Windows Media player on Saturday and clicked on the LeAnn 
Rimes link, where they are featuring a video series about her in the Yucatan. 
I don't know if it's on an album or published video or not.

One of the clips is of her doing the Janis Joplin arrangement of Kris 
Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" with acoustic instrumentation.  And she 
does a darn good job if it.  

I remember on Nanci Griffith's appearance on "Sessions at West 54th" she said 
in the interview section in a moment of (excessive) modesty that she didn't 
have a good singing voice.  She laughed about some record company exec that 
said, "Nanci Griffith has the kind of voice that hurts people's ears."  Nanci 
said (quoting from memory), "I can't sing. Now, LeAnn Rimes, *she* can sing."

This version of "Me and Bobby McGee" certainly supports Nanci's high 
valuation of LeAnn's voice.

But the Windows Media feature also has a clip of her singing "Lion Sleeps 
Tonight," aka "Wimoweh."  This one almost seemed like a spontaneous version, 
because it's pretty short.  And she and her band are giggling through most of 
it.  It's also pretty weak. 

So I think Nanci could safely say that her own version of "Wimoweh" tops 
LeAnn's version.  At least this particular one.

LeAnn also reminisces in the inteview clip about walking on the dirt roads in 
her native Mississippi as a child.  (And doesn't neglect to mention that 
there are still houses in Mississippi where "you're basically living in the 
dirt.")  And also mentioned that she's a fan of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile 
Hunter, my favorite snake-handler.

Bruce Miller
Oakland CA

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Subject: NN: O Brother Where Art Thou?
   Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 21:56:02 -0700
   From: JOHN PRIVE (prive@internetcds.com>

I enjoyed reading the article on the soundtrack from "O Brother Where
Art Thou?" I loved the movie and the music.

I was impressed when I saw Kasey Chambers in concert in March how she
has such a reverance for the roots of folk music. Much like Nanci
Griffith. She performed a 1930's cowboy song and she also sang songs by
Fred Eaglesmith and Lucinda Williams. Nothing homogenized about her.

Molly
(but I like Garth and the Dixie Chicks, too. shhhh!)

_________________________________________________________________ 


Subject: NN: Changes...
   Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 18:13:26 -0500
   From: Bill Page (bpage@itol.com>

Hey folks, 

In an effort to cut down on the unwanted messages that continue to sneak
through in spite of extensive filtering, I have changed the settings on the
list to allow only members of the NancNet or the digest to post to the list.
Hopefully this will weed out more of the spam...

Bill

_________________________________________________________________ 


Subject: NN: 16 Horsepower
   Date: Tue, 08 May 2001 12:16:53 +0100
   From: James Wilson (J.Wilson@ucc.ac.uk>

Hi,

I picked up a second hand CD from the record store the other day by a band
called "16 Horsepower". Slightly "way-out" Green on Red style country
music(American). Anyone heard of them?

Also picked up Static and Silence (latest Sundays album though about 3 years
old) which I'd recommend hands down to anyone.

Jim
Portsmouth
UK

_________________________________________________________________ 


Subject: Re: NN: 16 Horsepower
   Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 10:32:02 EDT
   From: Janf1914@aol.com

J.Wilson@ucc.ac.uk writes:
> I picked up a second hand CD from the record store the other day by a band
> called "16 Horsepower". Slightly "way-out" Green on Red style country
> 

16 Horsepower is a band out of Colorado somewhere.  Kind of an interesting 
blend of rock alternative and americana with lots of redemptive themes in 
their music.  I'll agree with the assessement of "slightly way-out."  You 
really have to be in the mood for them - so much dark stuff.  I've got one a 
copy of one of their cd's around here somewhere but must confess I hardly 
ever listen to it.  I think they just recently put out a new one.  Don't know 
the name.  All that said, I know a lot of people that think 16Hp are great.  
They have a lot of fans over on the Vigilantes Of Love mail list.  There are 
2 pretty good sites you can check out about them  www.16horsepower.net   and 
www.16horsepower.com   Both look pretty good - the first being an american 
fan page and the second being European.  Hope this helps.  Enjoy!

Be God's,
Janet

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Subject: NN: Nanci Tribute
   Date: Tue, 8 May 2001 11:38:28 -0400
   From: musemaker@innocent.com

Hi,

Was reading the Charlotte paper this morning and ran across a 
blurb, very short, about how Hootie & the Blowfish had just recorded 
"Ford Econoline" for an upcoming Nanci tribute album. This is the 
first I've heard about it...can somebody please fill me in?

Thanks,
David

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Subject: NN: Abundance!
   Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 13:46:57 -0400
   From: Tony Cox (tonycox@pacific.net.au>

With new CD's due out by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, Kasey
Chambers AND our Nance all in the next few weeks, all I can say is:
hot-diggity-damn, are we in for a feast!!

Tony - open wallet at the ready!

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