Joni Mitchell rouses the Hollywood Bowl with an epic 3-hour Joni Jam (and F-bomb Trump diss)
As a long-time admirer and fan of Joni Mitchell, I must say that Saturday night’s concert was nothing short of breathtaking. The way Carlile and her fellow musicians honored Mitchell’s ambition by bringing her intricate and profound songs to life was truly moving.
You could hear her before you could see her: a throaty, rat-a-tat laugh — ha-ha-ha-ha — drifting through the cool canyon air.
80-year-old Joni Mitchell, seated on a golden armchair and positioned near the center of a rotating stage, gracefully came into sight at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night, as if she had just overheard a witty remark at a gathering. She chuckled once more, taking in the 17,000 fans eagerly awaiting her first headlining show in her adopted hometown since her near-fatal aneurysm in 2015. Her laughter echoed again as the dozen musicians nearby began the opening act of what would become a three-hour performance.
The melody was the casual “Stay Calm,” offering subtle life advice: “Charm them without startling them,” Mitchell sung, her hair in two pigtails under a playful beret, eyes sparkling behind trendy sunglasses. “Maintain a relaxed atmosphere and conceal your concerns.
Ha-ha-ha-ha.
This sense of play has been crucial to Mitchell’s return, which began with the so-called Joni Jams she began holding with the aid of singer Brandi Carlile as she recovered from the aneurysm at her home in Bel-Air. In 2022, she blew minds when she took the Joni Jam public with an unannounced performance at the Newport Folk Festival; last year she played a similar show at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington state. Along the way she’s picked up various high-level awards and commendations, including the Library of Congress’ Gerswhin Prize for Popular Song, which you’d be tempted to think has felt something like revenge for an artist with a famously complicated relationship with the rock ’n’ roll establishment.
Since she resurfaced, Mitchell hasn’t given any indication that she’s making this comeback for anyone else but herself. She isn’t returning to the stage to settle scores with the music industry or correct past injustices; instead, she’s doing it because it evidently brings her joy.
One thing that stood out during the first sold-out Joni Jams show on Saturday, which marked Joni Mitchell’s return to Los Angeles for full concerts after over 20 years, was its unusual structure. Unlike most shows, it wasn’t heavily focused on crowd favorites. Instead, Carlile and a large group of musicians, including Annie Lennox, Jon Batiste, Jacob Collier, Blake Mills, Rita Wilson, and Robin Pecknold, accompanied Mitchell as she performed deep cuts rather than hits. Some popular songs like “Help Me” and “Free Man in Paris” were omitted, with Mitchell choosing to perform more complex tracks from her later years such as “Harlem in Havana” and “The Sire of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song)”.
At the start, Carlile announced an unexpected surprise for everyone attending – a show filled with songs they might not anticipate hearing. This could potentially be nerve-wracking for casual fans. Later on, Carlile excitedly proposed a group sing-along, which was met with great enthusiasm. Subsequently, Carlile teamed up with Mitchell to perform “Carey” from the iconic 1971 album “Blue.” Mitchell also dueted with Marcus Mumford on “California,” and performed “A Case of You” in a way that highlighted the roughness now present in her once pristine voice.
She also sang a couple of well-known covers: “Summertime,” a classic by George Gershwin, which she confidently declared she gave her all, and a modified version of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.” Just like she did when Elton John and Bernie Taupin received the Gershwin Prize this year, she slightly adjusted some of the lyrics.
Nonetheless, the essence of Saturday’s performance (captured by various cameras) revolved around Mitchell’s deeper and intricate compositions from the ’80s and ’90s: “Sunny Sunday”, “Night Ride Home”, “The Magdalene Laundries”, “Dog Eat Dog”, “Come in From the Cold”.
Following the performance of her song “Dog Eat Dog,” which is about “snakebite evangelists, racketeers, and high-ranking financiers” with a dreamy and rhythmic soft-rock feel, Mitchell expressed her desire to participate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. She clarified that she is Canadian, stating, “I’m one of those unfortunate immigrants.” In response to audience encouragement, she echoed a remark from someone in the crowd, saying, “I dislike Donald Trump,” which was met with enthusiastic applause.
Ha-ha-ha-ha.
Even (or especially) in her darkest moments – such as the recollection of “Cherokee Louise,” a childhood account from Mitchell’s life in Saskatoon about a friend’s sexual abuse – it was captivating to observe her deliver these intricate songs about power, cruelty, and desire, seemingly using her success as a reminder to continually expand the limits of her creativity. It was just as enthralling to listen to: Despite being strongly associated with the folky acoustic guitar, Mitchell’s singing at this age was wonderfully complemented by Mills’ electric playing; Collier played an equally important role on piano, particularly during a breathtaking rendition of “Both Sides Now” that discovered a sense of ecstasy in surrender.
At the conclusion of the concert, Carlile expressed that serving Joni’s ambition tonight was likely one of the proudest moments of our lives, which succinctly and emotionally conveyed the role of the Joni Jammers as not mere upholders of a set legend but rather nurturers of an ongoing vision.
Even so — people, they like hits.
As Mitchell sipped her pinot grigio, I couldn’t help but wonder aloud, “Do you reckon they’ll join us for another song, Joni?
“‘Circle Game,’ you wanna sing along?” Mitchell said, as easy as a breeze. “Mmkay.”
Read More
- TOMI PREDICTION. TOMI cryptocurrency
- ONDO PREDICTION. ONDO cryptocurrency
- LAND PREDICTION. LAND cryptocurrency
- EUR UAH PREDICTION
- MANA PREDICTION. MANA cryptocurrency
- CET PREDICTION. CET cryptocurrency
- ATLAS PREDICTION. ATLAS cryptocurrency
- VELO PREDICTION. VELO cryptocurrency
- LEO PREDICTION. LEO cryptocurrency
- SILLY PREDICTION. SILLY cryptocurrency
2024-10-21 01:31