A Magical Night at Carnegie Hall

This is a painting of the cat that prevented me from seeing Joni Mitchell.

OK, so I didn't REALLY expect to see Joni at last night's tribute. But I was hoping against hope that she'd be there. I mean, who wouldn't? I was completely prepared to do whatever I could to get near her should she have attended.
Instead, as the producer took to the stage (in a scene very similar to Bob Balaban's in A Mighty Wind), he read a note from Joni herself, saying she wished she could have been there, but she was home taking care of a sick cat that she had to give medicine to twice a day, and he was getting better because last week his back legs were paralyzed, but she couldn't leave him...at that point I tuned out.

Of course, I know Joni loves her cats. And she has every right to take care of them. But did she really need to tell us about the cat? What do you think? Am I overreacting? She could have said she was ill. I would have felt a bit better about that...oddly enough.

Disappointment doesn't begin to describe the sinking feeling I had. Ah well--on with the show.

Last night's Joni Mitchell tribute at Carnegie Hall was a truly unique and completely eclectic musical experience. Two and a half hours, no breaks, a packed house and a production as sleek as it could possibly have been--all added up to one of my all-time favorite live musical memories.

Here's a complete list of who sang what--and a few notes on each of the performers.

Laurie Anderson. I gave one of two standing ovations to Laurie Anderson's interpretation of "Both Sides Now." She played some very strange little electronic guitar-ish thing and used her feet to control a computer that played haunting chords over her playing live. All 3,000 folks in attendance watched completely silent as she breathed new life into Joni's standard. Plus she looked fantastic.

Assembly of Dust Feat. Sonya Kitchell. Sonya Kitchell is a 16-year old performer who has a great voice. Assembly of Dust contains members of Phish (I think that's what they said; I'm not a Phan) and people who played with Talking Heads...and they did "Trouble Child," which I love. It started out fine, but then they just let it go on about 3 minutes longer than it should have. So I gave that performance an "ehhh." Watch out for that Sonya Kitchell, though.

Marc Cohn. It's funny--I just learned "Walking in Memphis" to teach to my piano student a few weeks ago. And Marc's performance of "For Free" was impeccable. He's actually much better than I thought he was. And you know, he was shot in the head while someone tried to carjack his car last summer...just F your I.

Judy Collins. She's the woman who made "Both Sides Now" a hit back in 1968, and there she was, singing it again, looking every bit the earth mother you think she'd be. Good job (and she got a standing ovation), but her phrasing irritated me--holding notes unnecessarily long and dragging through some of the verses. Laurie Anderson did a far superior job with the song.

Shawn Colvin. She sounded great. She sang "Turbulent Indigo" with Marc Cohn on piano and John Leventhal on guitar. It was a very cool choice, and I liked her performance. Problem was--she looked like she was wearing the interior of a cotton candy machine. Hands down, the most unflattering outfit I saw all evening. I can't even describe it.

Cowboy Junkies. I have loved them for years, ever since The Trinity Sessions in 1989, but I'd never seen them. They did "River," and for as many times as I've heard folks cover that song, I'd have to say theirs ranked among the best. Margo Timmons sounded lovely, looked incredible, and their version was warm, inviting and timeless. One of the best of the evening.

the eels. Apparently, they're big...I'd only ever heard of them before. I loved their version of "All I Want," even though it lacked the, shall we say, joy of Joni's original. They were done up in Mod suits; the lead singer had a cigar; and it was a very cool acoustic performance.

Amy Grant. I don't like Amy Grant. I never did, and not just because she sings Christian music. I don't like the fact that she did "Big Yellow Taxi" in 1994. But there she was last night, and she did the song, and she did a great job. So there, I'll admit it. I liked Amy Grant. Don't tell anybody. She mentioned that when she asked Joni if she could cover it, Joni sent her back a note saying, "Sure, just bump the price of seeing the trees up to $25."

Bettye Lavette. One of the three best performances of the evening. This woman WAILS, and she's amazing. She sang a very unusual version of "Last Chance Lost," and blew the house away. What guts in that voice! She had a terrific album last year called "I've Got My Own Hell to Raise," on which she covered Aimee Mann and Fiona Apple. She was just absolutely awesome.

Me'shell N'degeocello. She came on the stage in a huge hooded sweatshirt, with her bass, a guitar player and a percussionist. She spoke in a low bass, sang "Cherokee Louise" in a sweet soprano, complained to the hapless sound man (and well...he wasn't really that good, so she did have a point), and she was done. I liked her performance in spite of the fact she had nil stage presence. The sound man had more of a rapport with the audience.

Pharoah's Daughter. Now this act intrigued me--a group of young musicians who combine Middle Eastern sounds with modern jazz. They were assigned "God Must Be a Boogie Man" from Mingus...an odd song and a tough one for anyone to perform. But I liked their version--at times it was truly inspired; then it got rather scattered.

Tom Rush. Now I was thrilled to see Tom Rush. He's credited with introducing the world to Joni's songs. He said they met at a coffee house in Detroit right after she left Chuck Mitchell and was looking for a place to play. She gave Tom several songs--two of which, "Urge for Going" and "Circle Game," he performed last night. I have always loved--LOVED--his version of "Urge for Going" and he performed it flawlessly (I actually prefer his version to hers).

Jimmy Scott. This was hands down the most unusual and in some ways moving performance of the evening. Jimmy Scott is 80 years old, very very feeble, and has the voice of (how do I put this gently?) a dying woman. Seriously. And that's not necessarily a negative comment on his performance. He's a legend, really--having recorded since the 1950s and credited with being the only singer who can make Madonna cry. He did "At Last," from Joni's Both Sides Now album, and although I bristled a bit because she didn't write it, I can't help but think she would have really liked it. He got a standing ovation. He ain't gonna be with us much longer, methinks.

Neil Sedaka. So Neil Sedaka is 66 years old. He's a legendary Brill Building songwriter. He, too, can sound like a woman on occasion. He's written some classic songs, including "Love Will Keep Us Together." But why on EARTH he chose to cover "Raised on Robbery" is beyond me. It was pleasant enough, he bounced along just fine and played piano like he was in a honky tonk. He sounded like he always did...it was just bizarre to hear him do that particular selection.

Joanne Shenandoah. She actually opened the show. She sang "The Dawntreader," from Joni's first album--a song I love. But as Tiffany sang in 1987, "Could have been so beautiful; could have been so right." Joanne is an award winning Native American singer, and she had such personality you couldn't help but like her. But her singing was a bit off--a bit sharp, I thought. And her two backup singers were pretty much unecessary.

Suzanne Vega. Oddly, Suzanne Vega's performance--though her voice was crystalline and she did the gorgeous "Amelia"--was kind of forgettable. She looked terrific; did the song with a guitarist who amiably tried to replicate the sound of the Hejira album (no one can, really). I can't put my finger on why I was so unmoved; I just was. Love her, though.

Dar Williams. Now here's where I was moved. She was amazing. I'm starting to soften to Dar Williams, especially since her cover of "Comfortably Numb" came out last year, which I've blogged about previously. Dar sang "Rainy Night House" and I was transfixed. She sounded beautiful, looked incredible, and did what very few of last night's artists did--she didn't just sing a Joni Mitchell song--she internalized it, then translated it into her own language and communicated it beautifully. Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.

Michelle Williams. Yes, of Destiny's Child. She performed "Help Me," and I have to admit, she did great. She was a little too into it--asking the audience to clap hands along with the beat--but we weren't really having it. Other than that, she tackled a very tough song pretty well. It's my personal favorite Joni song, so that's a compliment. Go, Michelle!

The Wood Brothers. They did "Black Crow" and I loved it. Just two brothers, a guitar and a bass. One of them is with some jazz combo called "Modeski Martin and Wood," which I like. Good job on one of my favorite Hejira numbers.

OK, so there were some notable no-shows last evening--No Bebel Gilberto, no Tracy Chapman, no Joe Jackson, no Ben Folds and no Alison Krauss (folks who were billed to be appearing). But with 24 or so acts, you have to expect it. I imagine they had illing hamsters or sick cockatoos they needed to take care of. The surprise artists were well worth it, though.

Richie Havens. I nearly died when Richie Havens came onstage. I've been transfixed by his voice, his guitar playing and his mystique ever since I saw him in Woodstock performance footage. Fittingly, he sang "Woodstock," and it was amazing. Go check out Richie Havens if you never have. Well, wait til you're done reading this, then do it. He doesn't get near the credit he deserves.

Nellie McKay. She's a weird one, that Nellie McKay. I like her and am kind of turned off by her at the same time. Knowing her antics and her penchant for theatrics, I was thinking she'd do one of Joni's more challenging numbers; instead (looking like an FFA Sweetheart, by the way) she sat down to do a rather lackluster version of "Chelsea Morning."

Martin Sexton. Years ago a pal of mine in Pennsylvania made me a Martin Sexton mix tape, which I quickly ignored because...well, that's what I do when people make me mixes usually. But his version of "Marcy" last night was one of the night's big discoveries. His voice growled and howled and got all sweet and high and he breathed new life into a song I've never really dug that much. I will check him out some more.

I have saved the night's travesty for the very end.--the spectacle that was someone called Jesse Malin. Is this person a big star? Someone tell me. I don't know. If he is, I don't know why. He did an OK job of "Carey," but at the end, jumped off the stage like he was Chuck Bleeding Berry and threw more attitude than Mick Jagger. I thought it was wildly inappropriate (considering he was in the midst of some pretty amazing talent, none of whom felt compelled to draw the attention to themselves away from the material they had gotten together to celebrate). Apparently Ryan Adams and this Jesse person are big buds (and I wouldn't know a Ryan Adams song if it bit me in the ass) but MAN, if this is epitome of rock's new star, I don't see the appeal.

So two-and-a-half hours later, we emerged from what was an incredibly enjoyable evening. I can't help but think Joni would have been happy.

But damn that cat.