@brumtech - I’ve avoided posting about this, because it is a fraught topic and frankly emotionally difficult for me, but seeing this made me reconsider. D. and I just went to James Taylor here a week or so ago, and sadly it was a very different experience and vibe. He was very up and sharp and funny as hell talking in between songs, but his singing was not happening right from the first tune, Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” - which he’s been doing for decades, but which is not easy, at least in the key he sings it.
Imagine these Joni performances without all the emotion and the backing singers turned up in the mix. He did actually have an absolutely superlative group of five backing singers, but there was no effort in the house mix to “cover” for his vocal difficulties. So it was really hard to hear. We left halfway through.
Dang Beef, that really sucks. I truly feel for you. Leaving the concert could not have been an easy decision for multiple reasons. I’ve avoided any of the YouTube clips of the Joni concert specifically for that reason. I guess I’m consciously selecting how I’ll remember my musical heroes? It seems like the news story purposely didn’t show long clips of her signing, but that’s just a guess. I did like that Brandi Carlile was doing it because she felt that Joni didn’t realize how much she means to people.
I wonder why JT is still at it when his vocals aren’t there. Do you think it was just an off night? I remember reading after Jerry Garcia died that he kept at it year after year in spite of deteriorating health because he felt obligated to all the employees of the company the Grateful Dead had become.
I think obligations must play a part in it - I’ve frequently watched the “Live at the Beacon Theater” show on DVD from just before “Hourglass” came out. Highly recommended. So around 30 years ago. He had the same bass player and at least two of the backing vocalists. The Plague has been hard on touring musicians for sure. He may have had contractual obligations from Pre-Covid. I dunno.
After I bought the tickets, I watched a phone video online from earlier in the tour, and hoped THAT was just an off night, but this was similar. You could tell the whole band knew it - the show was just not happening. I was excited to see Steve Gadd play, and hopefully play a solo, but I don’t know if there was one in the program after we left. The sound at Fiddler’s Green wasn’t great generally. Not sure whose PA it was. I saw Beck there a couple of years ago, and it was a great show all around.
I couldn’t recall ever leaving a show (a full-on “concert” vs. just going to see a band at a bar) before this. Just couldn’t deal with it. It was painful.
He was terrible at Tanglewood this July 4th.
But I couldn’t walk away. I would have this paranoid nightmare that he’d see us leave and send him back to drugs.
That is very kind of you. I suspect a lot of those in the audience had some similar feelings. They looked at us walking out with hangdog faces. It rained during the first hour, and a bunch of folks took the opportunity to leave, though we didn’t. I was happy to donate my ticket price to him and his band for the show, not to mention all of the years of great music.
He did donate all of or a large part of his proceeds back to Tanglewood. So no complaints about the tickets. Plus I just spent stupid money on power cables, so who am I to complain?
